Salami Week on the Blog: Featuring Bolzano Pitzotl

We love living in Milwaukee. It's a lovely "big" small town with friendly people, a beautiful lake view, a nice dose of culture, plenty of universities to keep things interesting, and a growing food scene with some of the best artisan producers of delicious food products in the nation.

Among those artisans, we're lucky to claim Bolzano Artisan Meats, producer of seven of the finest handcrafted salamis you'll ever eat.  They are the first company in Wisconsin to bring back the lost art of dry curing, and one of the only in the nation to make their products from locally raised heirloom hogs.  Best of all,  their products are delicious.

That's why we were tickled when Scott Buer, owner of Bolzano, approached us and asked if we'd coordinate a Wisconsin food blogger project, wherein 6 food bloggers would receive samples of Bolzano salamis, and -- in return-- create two delicious recipes using the products.  We solicited volunteers, and got a great group of bloggers to participate (see the list at the end of this post).

For our part, we got to sample the newest variety of salami - Pitzotl - made with chiles and cocao. The flavor of the salami is pretty special. It's salty and spicy, with the kick of a quality pepperoni and a bit of depth we can only attribute to the addition of the cocoa.

We developed two recipes that we feel showcase the best qualities of the salami -- including some delicious stuffed jalapeno peppers (a bit like poppers), and a dinner-party-appropriate stuffed chicken breast with salami, sundried tomatoes, cumin garlic butter, and Queso Fresco.

So, this week is Salami Week on the Burp! blog.  Be sure to check back on Wednesday and Saturday for two great recipes ... and your chance to win a stick of the salami of your choice!

And don't forget to check out all the great salami recipes being featured this week on these other Wisconsin Food Blogs:

• Rebecca from CakeWalk: featuring Pamploma Runner Chorizo with smoked paprika
• Molly from Peanut Butter & Pickles: featuring RauchZwiebel Salami with smoked sea salt and onion
• Susan from Little French Bakery: featuring Old School Salami with cracked black pepper
• Melanie from From Fast Food to Fresh Food: featuring Fin Oh Kee Oh Na Salami with ground fennel seed
• Anna from Tallgrass Kitchen: featuring Pig Red Salami made from heirloom Red Wattle pork

©BURP!