Polydish city guide
Best Ciccioli in London
“Compressed, dried, and aged pork scraps that emerge as either tender slices or crunchy chips—nothing wasted.”
What the real thing tastes like
Ciccioli are pressed cakes of fatty pork. They are known under this name in Emilia-Romagna, being popular in Modena, Reggio Emilia, Bologna, Parma, Piacenza, and Romagna. In Naples and Apulia they are called cicoli, in Lazio and Umbria sfrizzoli, and in Calabria risimugli. Ciccioli are made by compressing, drying, and aging fatty, leftover pieces of pork. These scraps are compressed using a special press where the meat is wrapped in sack cloth, then slowly squeezed over several weeks to remove excess liquid. They can either be prepared in a wet preparation that can be sliced and served, or in a very dry, crunchy, chip-like form often called ciccioli frolli. They result also as leftovers from the preparation of strutto.
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Ciccioli are pressed cakes born from pork scraps—the Italian answer to letting nothing go to waste. Wrapped in sackcloth and slowly squeezed over weeks, these fatty offcuts transform into something altogether different: either sliceable and tender, or dry and crunchy like a savory chip. Known by different names across Italy's regions, from Emilia-Romagna's ciccioli to Calabria's risimugli, they're a study in patience and pressure, a byproduct of making strutto that became something worth seeking out.
Order it here when it has
- resourceful use of scraps
- long shelf life through aging
- versatile texture options
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