Bresaola della Valtellina

Bresaola della Valtellina is a salted and naturally aged whole-muscle beef product, produced exclusively from specified muscles of the upper hind leg of cattle aged between 18 months and four years, and made entirely within the Province of Sondrio in Lombardy. Its shape follows the muscle used, trimmed to a cylindrical form, and it is consumed uncooked.

About this designation

Registered as a PGI on 2 July 1996 under file number PGI-IT-1525, Bresaola della Valtellina is produced exclusively within the entire territory of Sondrio province, the main valley of which gives the product its name. The specification permits only five named muscle groups from the upper hind legs of beef cattle aged between 18 months and four years: fesa (topside, comprising the internal rectus, adductor and semimembranosus muscles), punta d'anca (fesa without the adductor muscle), sottofesa (biceps femoris), magatello (semitendinous muscle) and sottosso (anterior rectus and vastus lateralis, medialis and intermedius muscles). Each cut carries a minimum commercial weight: fesa at least 3.5 kg, punta d'anca whole at least 2.5 kg (or at least 2.0 kg when pre-packaged for slicing), sottofesa at least 1.8 kg, magatello at least 1.0 kg and sottosso at least 0.8 kg. The mandatory production steps — trimming, dry salting, packing into casings, drying, ageing, slicing, cutting and packaging — must all take place within Sondrio province. Packaging and slicing must likewise occur within the defined area to prevent adverse effects from temperature and humidity changes during transport. At release for consumption, fat must not exceed 7 %, sodium chloride must not exceed 5 %, and ash must be at least 4 %; moisture and protein limits vary by cut and packaging type as set out in the specification. Labels must carry the name Bresaola della Valtellina in clear, indelible characters immediately followed by the abbreviation PGI and the PGI symbol. The Consorzio di Tutela Bresaola della Valtellina is the applicant producer group.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PGI on 2 July 1996 under file number PGI-IT-1525, eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013402.
• The specification permits only five named muscle groups from the upper hind legs of beef cattle aged between 18 months and four years; no other cuts are permitted.
• All production steps, including slicing and packaging, must take place within the entire territory of Sondrio province.
• Fat at release for consumption must not exceed 7 % and sodium chloride must not exceed 5 %.

Tasting notes

Lean air-dried beef with deep ruby color, delicate aromatic notes of dried herbs and juniper, clean iron-mineral finish, very low fat. Texture firm but yielding when sliced thin.

HoReCa use

Sliced paper-thin and served as antipasto with rocket, shaved Grana Padano and lemon olive oil; rolled around goat cheese as canapé; chopped over salads.

Packaging

• whole-piece-vacuum-2-3kg
• half-piece-vacuum-1kg
• deli-sliced-vacuum-100g
• deli-sliced-vacuum-80g
• pre-sliced-tray-200g