Prisuttu is the dry-cured raw ham of Corsica, made from the whole hind leg of the island's nustrale pig, salted, pressed, and air-dried for a year or more. It is the king of Corsican charcuterie — sliced thin and eaten raw as a starter, deep red and threaded with sweet, chestnut-fed fat. Hung in cool mountain cellars through the winter, it carries the flavor of the maquis and the animals that forage in it.
Corsican ham belongs to a pan-Mediterranean dry-curing tradition, but its defining feature is the nustrale, a slow-growing native Corsican pig that ranges semi-wild in the chestnut and oak forests of the interior, feeding on acorns and chestnuts in the autumn fattening season. The traditional charcuterie of the island — prisuttu, lonzu, and coppa — was recognized as a protected designation of origin in the 2010s, which fixed both the breed and the methods. Curing is seasonal: pigs are slaughtered in the cold months so the hams cure through winter, never in summer heat.
Cut paper-thin, prisuttu is deep garnet-red with ribbons of ivory fat that turn translucent and melt on the tongue. The flavor is concentrated and savory, less salty and more nutty than industrial hams, with a sweetness that traces straight back to the chestnut diet. The texture is firm but yielding, the long-aged lean almost silky. It is eaten plainly — with bread, a little cheese, a glass of Corsican wine — so the cure can speak for itself.
Curing is a controlled dehydration and salt-driven preservation. Dry salt drawn into the leg pulls out moisture by osmosis and lowers water activity until bacteria can no longer grow, while the salt also seasons the meat. Over a year of slow drying in cool, humid mountain air, enzymes break down proteins and fats into the aromatic compounds that give aged ham its depth — the same proteolysis that makes any long-cured ham taste of more than just salt. The nustrale's thick, well-marbled fat is essential: it cures slowly, protects the lean from drying out, and carries the chestnut sweetness.
Variations
Prisuttu is the leg; the same animal and method give lonzu (the loin) and coppa (the shoulder-neck), forming the trio of Corsican cured meats. Some producers smoke lightly over chestnut wood; aging time varies, with longer-hung hams growing drier and more concentrated. Bayonne ham from southwest France is a French cousin, but the Corsican nustrale breed and the chestnut diet set prisuttu apart.
On the Palate
Where Prisuttu sits in the French flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 12How it's made
6 steps · 1 day
- 140 min
Trim the whole hind leg and rub thoroughly with coarse sea salt.
- 27200 min
Bury the leg in salt and press to draw out moisture for several days.
Watch outBury the leg in salt and press it several days until the salt has pulled the moisture out — this draw-down is what preserves it; skimp and the ham can spoil inside.
- 330 min
Brush off the salt, rinse, and rub with pepper or a little wine.
- 460 min
Hang the leg in a cool, ventilated cellar over the winter.
- 5259200 min
Dry-age for at least 12 months, longer for a drier, more concentrated ham.
Watch outDry-age at least a year in cool, humid air — the long slow cure is where enzymes build the deep aroma; cut it early and it just tastes of salt.
- 620 min
Slice paper-thin to serve as a starter with bread and cheese.
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