I bought these last time (3 months ago), and just ate one last week, with still another one to go. Once opened, I recommend removing the ENTIRE casing, as it’s impossible to remove once chilled. After opening, I’d recommend eating within a week (kept in the fridge), but I’ve let it go as long as 2 with no problems.
EDIT: The last woot for these was 3 months ago, not 4. But I have no doubt these would remain fine (unopened) for months to come. The salami never really “spoils”, it just hardens more. See their website for details.
I would cut a chunk off, then a horizontal slit. Grab a corner of peel with paper towel, then start pulling and work my way around. It would come off fairly easy. Others mentioned to wet it with a wet paper towel, but I didn’t need to do that, even after 3 months.
I make my own dried sausage (hung in my garage in winter) with natural pig casings, but it doesn’t get the white stuff on outside. So I usually just slice/eat it, peel and all. But I didn’t want to risk eating this white stuff. As long as I felt I got most of the peel off, I would just start slicing slivers off of the mostly-peeled chunk.
You can probably freeze it. I mentioned earlier I make my own dried sausage (german recipe). It’s all done curing at the same time and I end up with too much, so I experimented and started freezing it (cryovac’ing it). It comes out nearly the same, just outside is a little wet when thawed. But once I dry it up w/ a paper towel maybe let air dry in the fridge, it cuts/tastes as if it was never frozen. So that may work on this too.
Creminelli salamis are allowed to develop a natural mold bloom during the aging process. In addition, they continue to breath, developing their flavors throughout the entire process, never being peeled or vacuum-packed until you’re ready to eat them. The result is true, traditional artisan salami and the best possible cured meat flavor.
Salami is often served with the peel left on. However, the peel can be difficult to chew or tasteless so you may prefer removing it. Cutting salami very thin will make the peel easier to eat.
To remove the peel, cut off the tip, score the salami lengthwise along as much of the salami you plan to eat, and the peel off that portion of the peel by getting your fingernails under the scored edge and slowly pulling it off. It often takes several tries, particularly when the peel is dry and brittle. You can moisten the skin by keeping the salami in a plastic baggy for several hours or by wetting it with a wet paper towel for about a minute.
I can’t think of a more manly food than aged dry salami. However, everyone’s tastes are different. I would only purchase this for someone who I know is a fan of cured meats. They have a very unique (and very stinky) smell and taste, which isn’t for everyone.
It’s definitely guy food. Serve with hearty red wine and quality cheese, fresh baguettes or (San Francisco-style) sourdough bread. Add your lovely self and an appropriate picnic location in the wilderness, and you will find the salami even better than the book of verse…
