I gotta tell ya, products that I have NOT liked from Trader Joes are few and far between. While the company does not make product themselves, they contract with top manufacturers in the US and overseas to bring fine quality foods with an international flair the to snooty grocery shoppers like me.
Trader Joe’s frozen pizza,from Italy and France, are some of the best available. The mushroom flatbread and the truffle flatbreads are a-ok, too.
For their Truffle Salami, they went to one of America’s biggest processors, Busseto, parked on the edge of America’s garden (the San Joaquin Valley) in Fresno, CA. TJ’s description of the product is thus: “Overseen by an esteemed salumiere from Como, Italy, the pork is seasoned simply with salt, pepper and garlic, and then infused with the black summer truffles. Stuffed into casing, the Truffle Salami is air dried in a delicate process that takes 3-4 weeks.”
It’s a lean product, with a very mild earthy flavor from the truffles, and a distinct salami flavor from the dried pork. It’s a really excellent product, but Busseto only makes quality,whether under their own label or companies they do contract production for. To me, there is such a taste difference between really good salamis and the ones from the mass produced giants. Wish I could accurately describe what I think that is.
Listed ingredients are pork and salt. A few other ingredients at less than the 2% level, including the truffles, and celery juice, which is becoming the new “MSG.”
According to the packaging, the product comes out of USDA Establishment 9882, and if Google maps is correct, a pic one of their Fresno operations is below.
Busseto makes a wide array of processed pork products, available packaged and in deli counters most everywhere in the U.S. Not for nothing, but Busseto also makes uncured salami for Applegate, which I have tried before.
Trader Joe’s aren’t everywhere yet, but probably will be someday. For now, find your nearest store here. In the meantime, if you’d like to try some of Busseto’s great salamis, they can be shipped right to your door.
No Loitering!
Truffle Salami Review