Which cured meat is made from the hind leg of a pig?

The cured meat made from the hind leg of a pig is prosciutto. The Italian word generally refers to ham, but in culinary use it most often means a dry-cured ham made from a whole pork hind leg.

To make prosciutto crudo, producers trim and salt the leg, then allow it to dry and mature for months or years. The process concentrates the meat’s flavor while producing the soft, rosy slices associated with famous varieties such as Prosciutto di Parma and Prosciutto di San Daniele. The meat is usually sliced very thin and served uncooked after curing.

Prosciutto is different from mortadella, which is a large cooked sausage containing finely minced pork and characteristic fat cubes. Salami is also a cured meat, but it is generally made from chopped or ground meat stuffed into a casing. Bresaola is another cured specialty, but it is made from beef rather than pork.

The hind-leg detail helps distinguish prosciutto from many other Italian pork products. “Prosciutto cotto” is cooked ham, while “prosciutto crudo” is the dry-cured style most people mean when discussing traditional Italian prosciutto.