I recently bought a whole bunch of really good, freshly-cut prosciutto in Italy, and I plan to eat it in about a week or two. However, I'm reluctant to stick it in the fridge until that time. In my experience, when I put deli meats or cheese in the fridge, they start to lose their flavor and texture pretty quickly, even if carefully wrapped in butcher paper. Also, in the past, I've carried around a vacuuum-sealed packet of freshly cut jamon iberico for about two weeks without refrigeration, and it did not suffer at all for it. (My current prosciutto bundle is vacuum-sealed as well.) This makes sense to me because it's a cured meat after all, but maybe it was a fluke and I'm totally off.
Is it OK to play it safe and avoid the refrigerator? Or should I stick it in the fridge ASAP? (It's already been out for a few days.) It's my utmost priority that the prosciutto feel and taste as close to fresh as possible! If I take it out and it's stiff and flavorless, I'm going to cry.
In addition to the prosciutto, I also have some mortadella. My understanding is that it's not "cured" like prosciutto is. Should it be treated differently?
Best Answer
Mortadella does need to be refrigerated.
As for the proscuitto ... if it's real cured ham (and not the fake 'cured' stuff you get in the US) and was trimmed with a clean knife and wasn't otherwise contaminated when being cut, and it's not the middle of the summer where you are, it's likely fine being stored in a cool area of your kitchen.
Mind you, the US FDA would't agree, and you would get cited for health code violations if you were a restaurant. You may also want to be more cautious if you're going to be serving the meat to people with compromised or otherwise weak immune systems (eg, small children or the infirm).