Whether it’s summer or winter, raw or cooked, at La Casina Mamma Marinella’s Carne Salada reigns supreme on the menu

Carne salada is a traditional dish of Upper Garda gastronomy, born halfway between the mountains and the lake, in a territory that also offers high-altitude pastures ideal for cattle farming. The traditional areas of carne salada production are historically the Adige Valley and Lake Garda.

The earliest historical references to this specialty date back to the 1500s, when it was already served paired with olive oil from trees grown along the shores of the lake.

Born from the need to preserve meat for long periods of time, today it has become a true delicacy, refined and highly appreciated.

Mamma Marinella knows this well, having inherited the ancient family recipe: a tradition passed down from generation to generation, leaving each person the freedom to choose a secret ingredient that makes the flavor truly special and unique.

But let’s put things in order. Carne salada is not like other cured meats: it is a raw beef salumi that can be enjoyed naturally, sliced extremely thin and dressed with a drizzle of olive oil and Trentingrana shavings, or cooked. In fact, at the beginning of its history it was cooked and eaten like boiled meat.

Be careful not to confuse it with roast beef or bresaola: the latter is stuffed, dried, and aged, while carne salada remains in brine, is continuously massaged, then washed of the salt and vacuum-sealed until consumption.

But what makes carne salada special?

The ingredients are simple: coarse salt, black peppercorns, rosemary, bay leaves, fresh garlic, and cuts of mature beef topside; but what truly matters is the combination of the cut selection and the preservation technique. Mamma Marinella explains that the meat is first massaged so that salt and spices penetrate a few millimeters into the surface. It is then placed in a barrel to rest in the refrigerator for fifteen days. After fifteen days in brine, it is ready to be enjoyed either raw or cooked… but the special ingredient that gives our specialty its true flavor remains a mystery!

Whether it’s the quality of the raw material, the uniqueness of the air, or the perfect balance of temperature and humidity, we are certain that what makes it so good is the alchemy of all these elements—the perfect meeting of today’s flavors and the knowledge of the past.

At La Casina, carne salada is always on the menu, and we can’t wait to welcome you to taste it!