Cicotto di Grutti
In this small medieval village the roast pork it is not the only meal to be cooked in wood – fired ovens, there is another traditional dish, the Cicotto, a recipe passed from generation to generation.
In this small medieval village the roast pork it is not the only meal to be cooked in wood – fired ovens, there is another traditional dish, the Cicotto, a recipe passed from generation to generation. The first historical background about the Cicotto di Grutti dates back to 1500s, when the pork leg was known with this word.
Still today the leg is the main ingredient of similar dishes in all over Umbria, but in Grutti other parts of the animal are used, rigorously from the Middle Valley of the Tiber and grain – fed. From little legs to ears, from tripe to tongue, any cuts are washed and sectioned to be cooked. Meat, placed in a bowl, is fired in the oven at 200 degrees of heat, where it stays for 9 – 12 hours cooking thanks to the lard and to the cooking juice which dripping down while preparing the porchetta (roast pork), under which the bowl for the cicotto is properly placed. This particular baking gives to the juicy meat a spicy flavor and a vaguely smoky note. Once drained the lard and the cooking liquid, after it had cooled down, the cicotto is ready to be served, to be used to prepare sauces or other local dishes (with escargot, beans or chickpea), or to be stored.