Quality you can taste

South Tyrolean Meats & Kaminwurzen

Buying South Tyrolean meat is a conscientious choice with regard to animal welfare and taste. If strict rules regarding animal husbandry and slaughter are observed, beef from South Tyrol has been permitted to bear the South Tyrolean Quality Seal since 2010. Pork with the South Tyrolean seal of quality has been available since 2014. South Tyrolean game, goat and sheep meat as well as South Tyrolean Kaminwurzen have been awarded the quality seal since 2024.

What are the most important quality criteria?

Animals are born and raised in the region and are slaughtered here.
Animals are fed with hay from the farm or natural feed free of genetic engineering, antibiotics and hormones.
Animals are kept according to animal welfare principles.
The journey to the slaughterhouse must not take more than 4 hours.
rapid and appropriate slaughtering

made from 100% regional meat with the South Tyrolean Quality Seal
free from preservatives and flavourings
use of natural casings

subject to regular checks by an independent inspection authority
holistic use of animals and promotion of regional economic cycles

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This is how it works

South Tyrolean meat & Kaminwurzen in numbers

215

local farmers produce South Tyrolean beef.

cattle are fattened per farm each year on average.

At least 60

days moving freely outdoors are enjoyed by the cattle every year.

100 %

traceability back to the farm: guaranteed for meat with the South Tyrolean seal of quality.

100 %

South Tyrolean meat is used to produce Kaminwurzen bearing the South Tyrolean Quality Seal.

Around 140,000

Kaminwurzen with the South Tyrolean Quality Seal are produced annually.

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How do the animals live?

When it comes to meat, if you want to have something good on your plate, you have to pay attention to proper animal husbandry practices. South Tyrol’s mountain meadows, pastures and forests provide optimal conditions. The breeding farms are mostly family-run and small-scale operations. They must provide bovines, pigs, goats and ovines with sufficient exercise and stall space. Animals are exclusively fed natural, GMO-free feed, much of which is farm-grown feed, such as rich and aromatic hay from the Alpine pasture. The tender, tasty and nutritious meats are a reflection of the welfare of the animals
When talking about beef, an age distinction between different cattle groups should be drawn. The following bear the South Tyrolean Quality Seal: veal (under 8 months old), calves (8 to 12 months old), steer/cow/heifer (up to 36 months old).

How is the Kaminwurze produced?

Processing South Tyrolean meat into Kaminwurzen ensures every part of the animal is used 'from nose to tail'. Smoking is a procedure that refines the fresh meat into sausage and preserves it for a long time. When there was no electricity, fridge or refrigerator, smoking was used to keep meat fresh. The Kaminwurze got its name from a period when many farms in South Tyrol still smoked their own meat in the house fireplace chimney, the so-called ‘Kamin’ in German.

Types of beef

Consistency and taste vary depending on the piece of meat. The following is a practical overview of the various cuts of beef and corresponding tips for their preparation in the kitchen:

Infographic presenting an overview of various beef cuts.

Neck for minced meat for soup broth and soup meat
Chuck tenderloin for braising and cooking
Boneless chuck for braising and cooking
Boneless blade for goulash soup, goulash and meat broths
Shoulder for goulash, for braising and cooking
Brisket for sausages, soup meat and roasts
Shank for goulash, for cooking and meat broths
Whole sirloin for roasts, T-bone steaks and entrecôte
Flank for sausages and as soup meat
Rump for schnitzels, rump steaks, roasts and tartars
Whole-roasted fillet, steaks and fondue
Thick flank for schnitzel and braising
Loin for cooking and braising
Topside for cooking and braising
Lean topside for schnitzels and roulades
Eye of round for cooking and braising

What types of pork are there?

To get the most out of pork bearing the South Tyrolean seal of quality, be sure to use the cuts of meat that best suit your meal ideas.

Infographic presenting an overview of the various cuts of pork meat.

Pork neck for grilling, braising and steak
Shoulder for cutlets, roasts, pot roasts, steaks and frying
Fatback for lard, braising fat, lardo
Whole-roasted fillets for grilling and frying
Sirloin pork roast for roasting
Picnic for roasting and braising
Shoulder for roasts, goulash, minced meat and ragout
Flank, ribs for grilling (spare ribs), pancetta, boiled pork belly, roasts and braising
Topside, leg for smoked ham and ham
Lean topside for schnitzel, ham and roasts
Thick flank, large and small, for schnitzel, pot roast and fondue
Shank, pork knuckle for ossobuco, pork knuckle and for grilling