Caciocavallo Impiccato: Southern Italy's Best Grilled Cheese
A closer look at the origins of “hanged” caciocavallo
Caciocavallo melting over the grill photo credit Kristine Jannuzzi
Caciocavallo is one of the most unusually shaped cheeses. After seeing it, you may be curious to learn how it gets its distinctive shape and how it is enjoyed in Italy, as well as what it tastes like.
The curvy shape of caciocavallo suspended on a rope is suggestive food porn on its own—but when you hang the cheese on a chain over a fire and smear the melting, dripping, gooey bottom on toasted bread with a gleaming knife, it’s next level. It's a cheese with a devoted and eager fan base.
History of Caciocavallo Impiccato
The origins of caciocavallo impiccato (impiccato translates to “hanged”) go back to nomadic shepherds in Southern Italy, according to Michele Mastrangelo of Caseificio AltaMangiuria in Campania. I first encountered caciocavallo impiccato at his stand at Formaggio In Villa, a cheese festival in Cittadella, in 2023. I was mesmerized and posted a video on my @nyccheesechick Instagram feed that unexpectedly went viral with over 10 million views.
Legend goes that shepherds would hang the cheeses over a branch during the night and light a fire to keep warm, then eat the resulting melted cheese on bread. Others say this hanging technique is a more modern invention—an alternative to grilling slices of caciocavallo that gained popularity in the last 20 years. In either case, it was a delicious idea.
How to Enjoy Caciocavallo
Serving up caciocavallo photo credit Kristine Jannuzzi
My cousins in Salerno bring their own caciocavallo to public barbecues in the mountains where they hang it and enjoy it with family and friends, and there are multiple summer festivals celebrating caciocavallo impiccato in Southern Italy. Mastrangelo travels to different areas with his street food preparation and offers a few variations, including topped with porcini mushrooms or truffles, with mortadella studded with pistachios, and with porchetta and mayonnaise.
Look online to find a sagra or food festival dedicated to caciocavallo. There is a Sagra Arrostini e Caciocavallo Impiccato in Caserta. There's also an Italian company selling at-home kits and a "trolley" for use in restaurants, with an Instagram account with over 29K followers. Not surprisingly, the feed is filled with gooey photos and videos of melting cheese and the assembling of bruschetta.
Caciocavallo is available in the US, although I have not personally seen it served in this particular way here. It’s one of the most famous pasta filata cheeses from Southern Italy; the name translates to “horse cheese,” possibly due to the way it is traditionally hung in pairs with a rope over a wooden beam as it ages, akin to a horse’s saddlebags and impiccato means "hanged."
If you can get your hands on one, Mastrangelo suggests slices of younger caciocavallo with a glass of falanghina, and of course melted on bread, perhaps drizzled with honey; older caciocavallo pairs well with cured meats and a full-bodied red wine such as aglianico. And if you stumble upon caciocavallo impiccato in Italy, I highly recommend you hang around for a taste—it’s an unforgettable feast for the senses.