My girlfriend is from the US, and she is trying to find hard salami, apparently she used to get the Oscar Meyer brand but that isn’t sold here. I go to the store and see a million types of salamis with Italian names, a few Polish and German salamis and Hungarian salamis, but no “hard salami”.

Does anyone know another name for what I am looking for? What is the closest type of salami to Oscar Meyer’s “hard salami”?

14 comments

  1. “Hard salami” originated in Germany, but in the US it’s generally made entirely of beef so that may be a good place to start with beef vs pork. It’s usually smoked giving it that harder texture, with no liquid added making it more dry. So a smoked beef sausage may be something to look for

  3. I don’t know that it has any other name. Here in the states there’s a variety of salami called “hard salami” which is, as the name suggests, harder in texture, less fatty. A quick Google search suggests that hard salami is German in origin.

  4. From robustkitchen.com:

    ” Probably originating in Poland, Germany, or the Czech Republic, this variety usually consists of a mixture of pork and beef.

    In the United States, many brands of hard salami are beef-only. Hard salami is relatively mild, spiced only with white pepper and a little garlic.

    Unlike other salumi, it generally uses no additional moisture (like wine) in its recipe, resulting in a hardier, drier sausage. Its texture is quite stiff and chewy, and it is dark in color because of the beef.

    It is also usually smoked during or after the curing step. A hard texture is typical of smoked sausages since smoking pushes additional moisture out of the outer layers.”

    As far as I can tell from google, In the US it’s more of a general name. In the grocery store you usually only have a choice of “Genoa” or “hard” salami.

    Maybe you could describe it to your grocer and they’ll be able to suggest an equivalent?

  6. Hey OP, you want to get a sliced salami that’s been smoked.

    Something like Maple Leaf’s hardwood smoked salami should work pretty well.

  7. So, sorry if this comes across as rude, but oscar meyer, while certainly loved by many, is not exactly a premium brand. It will go for about $12 per pound, while other salamis will go for $18 to $22 per pound. Again, not trying to be rude, but I think this informs what you’re looking for, as you’re looking for something that is very basic, not spicy, not overly strong, pungent, etc. I’d look at a picture of oscar meyer salami online (google image search) and then buy the most basic salami you can find with a similar appearance.

    edit: of course, there is a decent chance of failure with this approach, as people who like oscar meyer may like it due to good childhood memories, and these folks will notice if something is slightly different.

  9. I had to google it as I have never heard of it before, but from the packaging it would be kept with the refrigerated lunch meats and not deli meats. I am not actually sure there would be a foreign comparison as I am not sure it could really be considered salami.

    May I suggest doing a salami taste test with her, buy a few types and see what she thinks.

  10. Something important to note here is that “hard salami” isn’t fundamentally different from other types of salami; it’s just a regular salami that’s been dried. Traditionally, Jewish delis would hang salami out to dry and then serve it as hard salami. The salamis they’d hang were the same salamis they’d serve soft. You can still see this done in some Jewish delis in the U.S.

  11. Hard salami is usually served in Jewish Deli’s here in the US. The biggest thing is that it’s made of 100% beef. It might be hard to find in Germany.

  14. OP’s sitting here asking me to just ignore that he’s telling us his girlfriend is looking for hard salami lmao

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