Types of Salami: A Field Guide to Every Major Style

By the site editors. Fact-checked against USDA FSIS, FDA and university extension sources. Last updated October 31, 2026.

Short answer: "Salami" isn't one thing. It's a big family of cured sausages. In the US, FSIS labeling policy describes plain "Salami" as "a dry sausage that requires an MPR [moisture-protein ratio] of 1.9:1 or less" (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'SALAMI'). The styles you'll see most at an American deli counter are Genoa, Milano, hard salami, soppressata and pepperoni, and they differ in meat, grind, spice and smoke (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'GENOA OR GENOA SALAMI'; 'MILAN OR MILANO SALAMI'; 'SALAMI, HARD'; 'SOPPRESATE (IT)'; 'PEPPERONI'). Italy also protects some salami names by law, like Finocchiona, Salame Felino, Soppressata di Calabria and Salamini italiani alla cacciatora, which can only be made in set areas to set rules (Regulation (EU) 2015/629; Regulation (EU) No 186/2013; Regulation (EU) 2015/1287; Regulation (EC) No 1778/2001; archived copy).

How salami types differ

Line up a few salamis and you'll notice the differences come down to a handful of choices:

Meat. Genoa is "all pork or ... a mixture of pork and a small amount of beef," while hard salami "is made with beef and pork" (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'GENOA OR GENOA SALAMI'; 'SALAMI, HARD').
Grind. Genoa meat "is given a coarse grind," while Milano is "an Italian-type salami, except the meat is finely cut" (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'GENOA OR GENOA SALAMI'; 'MILAN OR MILANO SALAMI').
Spice. Garlic shows up in a lot of them. Soppressata is "generally, hotly seasoned with paprika and black or red peppers," and Finocchiona is defined by the aroma of fennel, used as seeds and/or flowers in the mix (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'SOPPRESATE (IT)'; Disciplinare Finocchiona IGP, 2024).
Smoke. "No smoke is used" in Genoa, but hard salami is "usually more heavily smoked than Italian Salami" (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'GENOA OR GENOA SALAMI'; 'SALAMI, HARD').
Dryness. US policy sets a different maximum moisture-protein ratio for different styles: pepperoni 1.6:1, dry salami and Italian salami 1.9:1, Genoa and Sicilian salami 2.3:1 (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'MOISTURE PROTEIN RATIO (MPR)'). Lower means drier.
Dry or cooked. Most salami is dried, and many US dry salamis also get a heat step: FSIS says salami "may be cooked to shorten drying period" (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'SALAMI'), and dry and semi-dry sausages "are, with a few exceptions, cooked" (FSIS: Sausages and Food Safety). Some styles, like cotto, are fully cooked, softer, and must be refrigerated (FSIS: Sausages and Food Safety; FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'SALAMI, COTTO'). On a US label, salami generally has to say "Cooked" if it's cooked, with listed exceptions (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'SALAMI, COOKED').
Region and protected status. Some names are tied to a place by EU law, as PDO (protected designation of origin) or PGI (protected geographical indication). More on that below.

The main types of salami

American deli-counter styles

Type	Meat	Grind	Key seasoning	Smoked?	Source
Genoa	All pork, or pork with a little beef	Coarse	Wine or grape juice, garlic	No	FSIS LPB 'GENOA OR GENOA SALAMI'; FSIS: Sausages and Food Safety
Milano	Beef, pork fat	Fine	Garlic	Not stated	FSIS LPB 'MILAN OR MILANO SALAMI'
Hard salami	Beef and pork	Not stated	Garlic	Usually more than Italian salami	FSIS LPB 'SALAMI, HARD'
Italian salami (US style)	About 80% finely chopped pork, plus beef	Fine	Not stated	Not stated	FSIS LPB 'SALAMI, ITALIAN'
Soppressata	Not stated	Not stated	Light garlic, often hot paprika and pepper	"To varying degrees"	FSIS LPB 'SOPPRESATE (IT)'
Calabrese	Usually all pork	Not stated	Hot peppers	Not stated	FSIS LPB 'CALABRESE (IT)'
Pepperoni	Pork, or pork and beef	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	FSIS LPB 'PEPPERONI'; see Salami vs. Pepperoni
Cotto salami	Usually beef and pork	Coarse	Whole or visible peppercorns	Cooked in dry heat	FSIS LPB 'SALAMI, COTTO'

Field plates: deli-counter styles

Genoa. Illustration, not a photo: a round slice with large white fat pieces in pink lean, showing a coarse grind, inside a natural casing.

Milano. Illustration, not a photo: a round slice with many tiny white fat specks, showing a fine cut, with cord tied around the outside.

Hard salami. Illustration, not a photo: a side view of a salami tied with twine loops that give a scalloped outline. The grind is not stated in our sources, so no slice face is drawn.

Italian salami (US style). Illustration, not a photo: a round slice with fine white fat specks, showing finely chopped meat, with a white mold covering on the outside.

Soppressata. Illustration, not a photo: a generic slice outline. Our US source does not state the grind, fat pattern or casing, so they are not drawn.

Calabrese. Illustration, not a photo: a generic slice outline. Our US source does not state the grind, fat pattern or casing, so they are not drawn.

Pepperoni. Illustration, not a photo: a generic slice outline. Our US source does not state the grind, fat pattern or casing, so they are not drawn.

Cotto salami. Illustration, not a photo: a round slice with large white fat pieces, showing a coarse grind, and dark whole peppercorns.

Beef salami. Illustration, not a photo: a large round slice with large pieces, showing coarsely ground beef, in a large casing.

A few details worth knowing:

Genoa is "moistened with wine or grape juice and seasoned with garlic" (FSIS: Sausages and Food Safety), and it's "enclosed in a natural casing" (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'GENOA OR GENOA SALAMI').
Milano "has a distinctive cording" (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'MILAN OR MILANO SALAMI').
Hard salami is "tied with loops or twine that gives a scalloped appearance" (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'SALAMI, HARD').
Italian salami, as US policy describes it, "is usually prepared in the San Francisco area and is easily distinguished by its covering of a white mold" (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'SALAMI, ITALIAN').
Soppressata is "an acceptable name for a dry salami with an MPR of 1.9:1" (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'SOPPRESATE (IT)').
Calabrese is "a salami originating in Southern Italy" (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'CALABRESE (IT)').
Looking for salami with peppercorns? That's cotto salami, which "contains whole or visible pieces of peppercorns" (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'SALAMI, COTTO'). It's cooked and cured, not dried.
Beef salami in US policy is "a cooked, smoked sausage, usually mildly flavored, in a large casing, containing coarsely ground beef" (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'SALAMI, BEEF').

Italian salami with protected names

These four are registered in the EU, so the name comes with a rulebook. (Quotes from Italian-language rules are our translations.)

Finocchiona (PGI), Tuscany's fennel salami. It's registered as a PGI (Regulation (EU) 2015/629). Under its Italian product rules (our translation), it's "characterized by the aroma of fennel, used as seeds and/or flowers in the mix, and by the soft texture of the slice, which sometimes tends to crumble." The official EU single document says the same in English: it's "characterised by the aroma of the fennel contained as seeds and/or flowers in the mixture," and it's "coated with the characteristic feathery mould that develops during maturation" (EU single document, OJ C/2024/7560; archived copy). Every 100 kg of mix gets 200 to 500 grams of fennel seeds and/or flowers, plus ground and whole or cracked pepper and garlic. The outside shows a characteristic bloom of mold that develops while it ages, and it can only be made in mainland Tuscany, not the islands (Disciplinare Finocchiona IGP, 2024).

Finocchiona. Illustration, not a photo: a slice with small green fennel seeds through it and a white mold bloom on the outside. The grind is not stated in the article, so the meat pattern is left generic.

Salame Felino (PGI), from Parma. Its production area "is the administrative territory of the Province of Parma." It's made from pig meat with "salt, pepper and garlic" (wine is optional), and when sliced it's "ruby red in colour" with "a mild and delicate flavour." A whole one is "cylindrical, with one end fatter than the other" (Regulation (EU) No 186/2013, single document; current single document, unchanged on these points: OJ C/2025/2973; archived copy).

Salame Felino. Illustration, not a photo: a side view of a cylindrical salami with one end fatter than the other, and a ruby red slice. The grind is not stated, so the slice face is left plain.

Soppressata di Calabria (PDO). It's been a PDO since 1998 (Regulation (EC) No 134/98) (Regulation (EU) 2015/1287, recital 1; eAmbrosia); its rules were last amended in 2015 (Regulation (EU) 2015/1287). Under its current EU product description, it's made from coarsely ground pork ("tritata a medio taglio" in the Italian rules), at least 50% from the ham and up to 50% from the shoulder and/or fillet, with 4 to 15% selected fat. It's seasoned with black pepper, hot or mild red chile or bell pepper, wine, spices and natural aromas, and it must mature for at least 45 days. It comes in a slightly flattened cylinder 10 to 18 cm long (about 4 to 7 inches). A version made only for slicing may be 40 to 60 cm long in an edible collagen casing (OJ C 82, 10.3.2015, p. 7; text mirror; Italian text, MASAF).

Soppressata di Calabria. Illustration, not a photo: a slightly flattened oval slice with large white fat pieces in pink lean, showing coarsely ground pork, with black pepper flecks.

Salamini italiani alla cacciatora (PDO), the hunter's salami. It's been a PDO since 2001 (Regulation (EC) No 1778/2001; archived copy). It's small: no more than 350 g (about 12 oz) and 200 mm long under its rules, and "cylindrical in shape" (current single document, OJ C/2025/2737; archived copy). The consortium says it's made from pork "along with salt, pepper and a small amount of garlic," and that the name "is a reference to how hunters would often carry it in their shoulder bag together with some bread" (Consorzio Cacciatore Italiano).

Salamini italiani alla cacciatora. Illustration, not a photo: a small cylindrical salami, at most 200 mm long, shown with a ruler. The grind is not stated, so no slice face is drawn.

Two more you'll see in US searches

'Nduja. It's a soft one. La Cucina Italiana calls it "a spreadable spicy cured pork salami from Calabria," "produced with only pork, salt and chili pepper," and ties the real thing to the town of Spilinga (La Cucina Italiana). 'Nduja isn't a protected name in the EU: as of October 2026 there's no 'nduja entry in the EU's register of geographical indications (eAmbrosia).

'Nduja. Illustration, not a photo: a soft red paste spread with a knife on a plain board, showing that 'nduja is spreadable.

Dominican salami (salami dominicano). This is a different product from Italian dry salami. It's "made from beef and pork, a large pre-cooked sausage that Dominicans traditionally serve as part of our traditional breakfast," and it's often served fried (Dominican Cooking). One popular US-sold brand lists "Pork, Pork Hearts, Beef" first in its ingredients and markets it as smoky (Cibao Meat Products, Induveca Super Especial).

Dominican salami. Illustration, not a photo: a slice fried in a pan, since it is often served fried. The grind and fat pattern are not stated, so the slice face is left generic.

US labels vs. Italian protected names

In the US, names like Genoa and Milano work as style names, not places. FSIS generally requires a place name that doesn't reflect true origin to be qualified with "style" or "type," "unless specifically approved by the Administrator as a generic term, e.g., 'Lebanon Bologna,' 'Genoa Salami,' Milan Salami" (FSIS Labeling Policy Book, Sept 8, 2025, 'GEOGRAPHIC AND RELATED TERMS'). So a Genoa salami made in Ohio is perfectly legit.

Italy's PDO and PGI names work the other way. Salame Felino PGI, for example, comes from the Province of Parma (Regulation (EU) No 186/2013), and Soppressata di Calabria has to be made in Calabria from pigs raised in Calabria ("pigs reared in the Calabria Region") (OJ C 82, 10.3.2015, p. 7). These rules are EU registrations. We haven't covered how the names are handled on US shelves here, so check the label for the PDO or PGI wording if that matters to you.

Picking salami for a charcuterie board

Mix textures and flavors: a coarse, unsmoked Genoa, a fine-grained Milano, something spicy like soppressata or Calabrese, and fennel-scented finocchiona give you four very different bites, based on the descriptions above. If you'd rather make your own, start with How to Make Salami at Home, dose your cure with the cure calculator, and log weight loss in the drying tracker.

A quick safety note

Dry salami and cooked salami are made and handled differently, and some types above (cotto, beef salami, Dominican salami) are cooked products. For what that means for eating it, see Is salami raw?, and for storage, see Does salami go bad?.

Sources

FSIS Labeling Policy Book (Sept 8, 2025), Wayback snapshot 2026-03-11. Entries: SALAMI; SALAMI, BEEF; SALAMI, COOKED; SALAMI, COTTO; SALAMI, HARD; SALAMI, ITALIAN; GENOA OR GENOA SALAMI; MILAN OR MILANO SALAMI; SOPPRESATE (IT); CALABRESE (IT); PEPPERONI; MOISTURE PROTEIN RATIO (MPR); GEOGRAPHIC AND RELATED TERMS.
FSIS: Sausages and Food Safety, Wayback snapshot 2024-02-16
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/629 (Finocchiona PGI)
EU single document for Finocchiona, OJ C/2024/7560; archived copy; Disciplinare di produzione, Finocchiona IGP (June 26, 2024), Consorzio Finocchiona IGP
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 186/2013 (Salame Felino PGI); current single document, OJ C/2025/2973; archived copy
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1287 (Soppressata di Calabria PDO)
Soppressata di Calabria amendment and single document, OJ C 82, 10.3.2015, p. 7 (text mirror); Italian text: Disciplinare di produzione, Soppressata di Calabria DOP (MASAF)
Regulation (EC) No 1778/2001 (Salamini italiani alla cacciatora PDO); archived copy; current single document, OJ C/2025/2737; archived copy; Consorzio Cacciatore Italiano (Salumi Italia)
La Cucina Italiana: The Incomparable 'Nduja of Spilinga
Dominican Cooking: Salami Frito
eAmbrosia, EU geographical indications register
Cibao Meat Products: Induveca Super Especial Salami