What is the best Italian meat dish?

By our diners' ratings it's Arrosticini, the charcoal-grilled mutton skewers of Abruzzo, at Nº 505 worldwide. Behind it come Umbria's stuffed porchetta, the plain Italian meatball polpette, and the classic porchetta roast eaten across the country.

What meat is Italy known for?

Pork, above all. Italy's ranked meat is dominated by the roast porchetta, which appears in regional versions from Umbria, Ariccia and Marche alongside the plain national form. Sausages, veal shanks and lamb skewers round out a bench of 172 dishes.

What is the most famous Italian meat dish?

By number of ratings it's Polpette, the Italian meatball, with 172 reviews, just ahead of porchetta on 148 and the Milanese veal shank ossobuco on 126. Fame and our top score rarely line up: the best-rated is Abruzzo's arrosticini.

Arrosticini are Abruzzo's mutton skewers, small cubes of sheep meat threaded on a stick and grilled fast over a long charcoal trough. Once a shepherd's way of using up tougher cuts, they are now eaten by the fistful, and by our raters they are Italy's best meat dish at Nº 505.

Which region of Italy has the best meat dishes?

By our data three regions tie for the deepest bench, with seven ranked dishes each: Marche, Piedmont and Tuscany. Rome and Lazio field six apiece and Abruzzo five, though 22 ranked dishes are logged simply as pan-Italian rather than to one region.

Where else should I look for great meat dishes?

Across the borders and beyond: worldwide the department runs to 1,423 dishes from 155 countries, topped by Greece's grilled lamb chops païdakia at Nº 2. Nearer rivals, France fields 61 ranked meat dishes and Spain 54. See Meat Dishes worldwide.

Italian Meat Dishes, Ranked — All 172, Best to Worst

For a cuisine the world files under pasta, Italy keeps a serious carnivore's larder: 172 ranked meat dishes, 12.4 percent of everything it fields. It leans on the pig above all, the slow-roasted porchetta in a dozen regional forms, but it also runs to Milanese veal shanks, coiled Lombard sausage and the meatball the Italians eat on its own, not on spaghetti.

The best-rated is not a city showpiece but a shepherd's snack: Arrosticini, Abruzzo's mutton skewers, Nº 505 worldwide. Fame keeps its own ledger. The most-reviewed meat dish here is Polpette, the humble meatball, with 172 ratings, well ahead of the porchetta that outranks it. Read them below: the signature cuts, by region, or the complete list of all 172.

The Signature Cuts

Twelve signature meat dishes in rank order, four told in full, then eight more from the butcher's block.

1Nº 505 worldwide

Arrosticini

Lamb Dish · Abruzzo

Abruzzo's answer to the kebab: little cubes of mutton or castrato threaded onto a stick and seared fast over a long charcoal trough. Born as shepherds' food in the mountains, they are now grilled by the dozen and pulled straight off with the teeth.

★ 4.2|72 ratings

2Porchetta UmbraNº 622

Pork Dish · Umbria

The Umbrian take on Italy's great pork roast. Where other regions keep it lean, here the belly is stuffed with the pig's chopped offal, lard and garlic, then roasted until the skin turns to glass. Sold by the slice at every fair and market stall.

★ 4.1|21 ratings

3PolpetteNº 955

Meatballs · Italy

The Italian meatball as Italians actually eat it: ground beef or veal bound with egg, parsley, garlic and often Parmigiano, rolled small and served on its own as a snack or antipasto. The spaghetti underneath is an American invention, not a Roman one.

★ 4.0|172 ratings

4PorchettaNº 982

Pork Dish · Italy

Italy's iconic pork roast. A whole pig or piglet is boned, seasoned hard with salt, garlic, rosemary and fennel, rolled tight and turned slowly over wood until the meat runs moist and the crackling shatters. Every region claims its own version.

★ 4.0|148 ratings

5
Luganega
Nº 1,199
Sausage · Italy★ 4.0
6
Ossobuco alla Milanese
Nº 1,241
Veal Dish · Milan★ 4.0
7
Porchetta di Ariccia
Nº 1,391
Pork Dish · Ariccia★ 3.9
8
Porchetta (Marche)
Nº 1,450
Pork Dish · Marche★ 3.9
9
Coniglio all’ischitana
Nº 1,886
Rabbit Dish · Ischia★ 3.9
10
Mazzafegato
Nº 1,903
Sausage · Marche★ 3.9
S11
Salsiccia di Fegato (Marche)
Nº 1,904
Sausage · Marche★ 3.9
12
Salsiccia di Calabria
Nº 1,921
Sausage · Calabria★ 3.9

The Gazetteer

Where Italy's meat is cooked

The regions of Italy with the deepest meat traditions. Choose one to filter the complete ledger below.

Placed dishes only · top 6 regions

Another 22 ranked dishes are logged simply as pan-Italian, with no single regional home.

The Complete Ledger

All 172 Italian meat dishes in the world ranking, every entry.

Order

172 entries

505 Arrosticini Lamb Dish Abruzzo ★ 4.2
622 Porchetta Umbra Pork Dish Umbria ★ 4.1
955 Polpette Meatballs Italy ★ 4.0
982 Porchetta Pork Dish Italy ★ 4.0
1,199 Luganega Sausage Italy ★ 4.0
1,241 Ossobuco alla Milanese Veal Dish Milan ★ 4.0
1,391 Porchetta di Ariccia Pork Dish Ariccia ★ 3.9
1,450 Porchetta (Marche) Pork Dish Marche ★ 3.9
1,886 Coniglio all’ischitana Rabbit Dish Ischia ★ 3.9
1,903 Mazzafegato Sausage Marche ★ 3.9
1,904 S Salsiccia di Fegato (Marche) Sausage Marche ★ 3.9
1,921 Salsiccia di Calabria Sausage Calabria ★ 3.9
2,172 Salmì di cervo Game Dish Valtellina ★ 3.8
2,185 Abbacchio alla Romana Lamb Dish Rome ★ 3.8
2,221 Spezzatino con piselli Pork Dish Italy ★ 3.8
2,252 Manzo all'olio Beef Dish Rovato ★ 3.8
2,258 Lesso e Pearà Meat Dish Province of Verona ★ 3.8
2,379 Salsiccia di Bra Sausage Bra ★ 3.8
2,461 Coniglio alla ligure Rabbit Dish Liguria ★ 3.8
2,578 Coniglio in agrodolce Rabbit Dish Sicily ★ 3.8
2,645 Salsiccia di Fegato (Abruzzo) Sausage Abruzzo ★ 3.8
2,657 Piccata al limone Veal Dish Italy ★ 3.8
2,710 L Luganega Trevigiana Sausage Province of Treviso ★ 3.8
2,732 Tonno del Chianti Pork Dish Panzano in Chianti ★ 3.8
2,875 Brasato al Barolo Beef Dish Piedmont ★ 3.8
2,877 Pollo alla cacciatora Chicken Dish Italy ★ 3.8
2,928 Luganega (Lombardy) Sausage Lombardy ★ 3.8
3,012 Saltimbocca alla Romana Veal Dish Rome ★ 3.8
3,085 Tzigoiner Beef Dish Valtellina ★ 3.8
3,146 S Salsiccia (Marche) Sausage Marche ★ 3.8
3,214 Morzello Offal Dish Catanzaro ★ 3.8
3,267 Pampanella Pork Dish Molise ★ 3.8
3,443 Tagliata di manzo Beef Dish Italy ★ 3.8
3,476 Salsiccia Sausage Italy ★ 3.8
3,514 Scottadito Lamb Dish Metropolitan City of Rome Capital ★ 3.8
3,691 P Pollo alla 'ncip 'nciap Chicken Dish Offida ★ 3.7
3,739 S Salsiccia di Ceriana Sausage Ceriana ★ 3.7
3,740 S Salsiccia (Liguria) Sausage Liguria ★ 3.7
3,741 P Porchetta di Monte San Savino Pork Dish Monte San Savino ★ 3.7
3,752 Costoletta alla valdostana Veal Dish Aosta Valley ★ 3.7
3,753 Petto al forno Veal Dish Italy ★ 3.7
3,754 P Piccatine al limone Veal Dish Lazio ★ 3.7
3,760 Maiale ubriaco Pork Dish Tuscany ★ 3.7
3,796 Torcinelli Offal Dish Molise ★ 3.7
3,824 Sciusceddu Meatballs Messina ★ 3.7
3,825 T Trippa alla Marchigiana Offal Dish Marche ★ 3.7
3,835 Braciole messinesi Beef Dish Metropolitan City of Messina ★ 3.7
3,849 Grilled Rabbit (Coniglio alla griglia) Rabbit Dish Italy ★ 3.7
3,959 Uccelli scappati Meat Dish Brescia ★ 3.7
3,985 F Fagiano alla ghiotta Game Dish Umbria ★ 3.7
4,134 Pollo alla Romana Chicken Dish Lazio ★ 3.7
4,403 Su porceddu Pork Dish Sardinia ★ 3.7
4,473 Veal Scallops in Marsala (Scaloppine al Marsala) Veal Dish Piedmont ★ 3.7
4,476 Brovada e muset Sausage Dish Friuli-Venezia Giulia ★ 3.7
4,542 Pork Involtini (Involtini di maiale) Pork Dish Tuscany ★ 3.7
4,641 Falsomagro Meat Dish Sicily ★ 3.7
4,644 Cotoletta alla Milanese Veal Dish Milan ★ 3.7
4,770 Spiedo Bresciano Meat Dish Province of Brescia ★ 3.7
4,772 Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (Polpette al sugo) Meatballs Italy ★ 3.7
4,775 Scaloppine al limone Veal Dish Italy ★ 3.7
4,907 Cotechino in galera Sausage Dish Province of Modena ★ 3.7
4,961 Involtini di manzo Beef Dish Rome ★ 3.7
5,001 Pollo con capperi Chicken Dish Lazio ★ 3.7
5,020 Cotechino Modena Sausage Emilia-Romagna ★ 3.7
5,053 Cotoletta alla Bolognese Veal Dish Bologna ★ 3.7
5,098 Cima alla Genovese Veal Dish Genoa ★ 3.6
5,508 Manzo al limone Beef Dish Lombardy ★ 3.6
5,563 Arista Pork Dish Tuscany ★ 3.6
5,940 Fegato alla Veneziana Offal Dish Venice ★ 3.6
5,971 Pezzetti di cavallo Horse Dish Apulia ★ 3.6
6,027 Straccetti Beef Dish Lazio ★ 3.6
6,067 S Salsiccia (Campania) Sausage Campania ★ 3.6
6,131 Bollito misto Meat Dish Piedmont ★ 3.6
6,172 Zampone Modena Sausage Emilia-Romagna ★ 3.6
6,338 Trippa alla Parmigiana Offal Dish Province of Parma ★ 3.5
6,494 Salama da sugo Sausage Province of Ferrara ★ 3.5
6,976 Pollo alla Marengo Chicken Dish Spinetta Marengo ★ 3.5
7,143 Braciola Meat Dish Italy ★ 3.4
7,235 Stigghiola Offal Dish Palermo ★ 3.4
7,942 Polpette di cavallo Horse Dish Catania ★ 3.3
8,039 Nervetti Meat Jelly Dish Metropolitan City of Milan ★ 3.2
8,070 Pizzaiola Meat Dish Metropolitan City of Naples ★ 3.2
8,160 Trippa alla Fiorentina Offal Dish San Frediano ★ 3.2
8,290 ' 'O pere e 'o musso Offal Dish Naples ★ 3.1
8,634 Cotechino Sausage Emilia-Romagna ★ 2.8
8,654 P Punta di petto alla parmigiana Veal Dish Province of Parma ★ 0.0
8,801 C Coratella con carciofi Offal Dish Umbria ★ 0.0
9,210 A Arrosto di vitello farcito reggiano Veal Dish Emilia-Romagna ★ 0.0
9,451 S Salsiccia di Verduno Sausage Verduno ★ 0.0
9,468 B Braciole rifatte Beef Dish Florence ★ 0.0
9,476 Bruscitt Beef Dish Piedmont ★ 0.0
9,477 Q Quaglie alla scaligera Game Dish Veneto ★ 0.0
9,479 Juniper Chicken (Pollo al ginepro) Chicken Dish Aosta Valley ★ 0.0
9,499 Buglione d'agnello Lamb Dish San Martino sul Fiora ★ 0.0
9,637 S Salsiccia affumicata Sausage Campania ★ 0.0
9,638 S Salsiccia di Brugnato Sausage Brugnato ★ 0.0
9,639 S Salsiccia sotto sugna Sausage Campania ★ 0.0
9,640 S Salsiccia di Pignone Sausage Pignone ★ 0.0
9,641 S Salsiccia di polmone Sausage Campania ★ 0.0
9,642 S Salsiccia sotto sugna di Vairano Patenora Sausage Vairano Patenora ★ 0.0
9,643 S Salsiccia (Basilicata) Sausage Basilicata ★ 0.0
9,644 P Porchetta di testa Pork Dish Italy ★ 0.0
9,677 M Messicani alla milanese Veal Dish Milan ★ 0.0
9,678 Tomaxelle Veal Dish Liguria ★ 0.0
9,679 S Scaloppine al latte Veal Dish Italy ★ 0.0
9,680 R Rovelline lucchesi Veal Dish Province of Lucca ★ 0.0
9,683 S Scaloppine al pompelmo Veal Dish Italy ★ 0.0
9,718 Garofolato Beef Dish Metropolitan City of Rome Capital ★ 0.0
9,720 C Costata di manzo con cipolle Beef Dish South Tyrol ★ 0.0
9,721 M Manzo alla California Beef Dish Province of Lecco ★ 0.0
9,800 Intingolo con fagioli Pork Dish Lombardy ★ 0.0
9,802 A Arrosto di maiale con latte Pork Dish Metropolitan City of Florence ★ 0.0
9,803 T Tiella alla silana Pork Dish Calabria ★ 0.0
9,804 P Pecora e verdure Mutton Dish Sardinia ★ 0.0
9,890 Papero alla frutta Duck Dish Veneto ★ 0.0
9,892 A Anatra farcita alla Novarese Duck Dish Novara ★ 0.0
9,920 T Trippa comoda Offal Dish Province of Novara ★ 0.0
9,921 T Trippa alla Campobassana Offal Dish Campobasso ★ 0.0
9,922 T Trippa alla Mormannola Offal Dish Mormanno ★ 0.0
9,923 C Coda in padella Offal Dish Province of Viterbo ★ 0.0
9,924 F Fegato piccante Offal Dish Tuscany ★ 0.0
9,926 T Trippa alla Pennese Offal Dish Penne ★ 0.0
9,927 Rognoni trifolati Offal Dish Emilia-Romagna ★ 0.0
9,928 F Fegato al limone Offal Dish Italy ★ 0.0
9,938 F Fegatini di pollo alla salvia Offal Dish Tuscany ★ 0.0
9,948 Pollo in potacchio Chicken Dish Marche ★ 0.0
9,949 P Polastro imbotio Chicken Dish Veneto ★ 0.0
9,952 A Agnello con le olive Lamb Dish Italy ★ 0.0
9,954 P Pecora al cotturo Lamb Dish Abruzzo ★ 0.0
9,982 T Trippa alla Cagliaritana Offal Dish Metropolitan City of Cagliari ★ 0.0
9,983 T Trippa alla Ragusana Offal Dish Province of Ragusa ★ 0.0
9,984 T Trippa alla Pisana Offal Dish Province of Pisa ★ 0.0
10,011 A Agnello al rafano Lamb Dish Friuli-Venezia Giulia ★ 0.0
10,012 C Cutturiedde Lamb Dish Apulia ★ 0.0
10,028 C Coiettas Beef Dish Sardinia ★ 0.0
10,031 Sopa coàda Game Dish Treviso ★ 0.0
10,072 Luganega da riso Sausage Province of Treviso ★ 0.0
10,079 B Brain Soufflé (Budino di cervella) Offal Dish Trentino ★ 0.0
10,086 Pollo fritto alla fiorentina Fried Chicken Dish Florence ★ 0.0
10,104 Faraona al Barolo Game Dish Piedmont ★ 0.0
10,115 Boccette in brodo Meatballs Rome ★ 0.0
10,120 Picchiapò Beef Dish Rome ★ 0.0
10,139 B Brains with Butter and Lemon (Cervello al limone) Offal Dish Lazio ★ 0.0
10,140 Fegatelli di maiale Offal Dish Tuscany ★ 0.0
10,149 A Arrosto all'arancia Pork Dish Italy ★ 0.0
10,161 R Rognone in umido Offal Dish Lazio ★ 0.0
10,186 P Pollo alla Potentina Chicken Dish Province of Potenza ★ 0.0
10,207 A Agnello cacio e ova Lamb Dish Abruzzo ★ 0.0
10,223 P Pork Cutlets in Wine (Braciole ubriache) Pork Dish Tuscany ★ 0.0
10,298 V Venetian Fried Chicken (Pollo fritto alla Veneta) Fried Chicken Dish Veneto ★ 0.0
10,326 A Agnello in salsa bianca Lamb Dish Sardinia ★ 0.0
10,340 N Ndocca Offal Dish Province of Teramo ★ 0.0
10,357 M Medaglioni alla Rossini Beef Dish Pesaro ★ 0.0
10,402 F Fagiano alla milanese Game Dish Milan ★ 0.0
10,444 M Manzo all'aceto Beef Dish Lombardy ★ 0.0
10,447 P Pollo in crosta di sale Chicken Dish Italy ★ 0.0
10,448 T Tacchino alla canzanese Turkey Dish Canzano ★ 0.0
10,465 Capretto arrosto Goat Dish Italy ★ 0.0
10,466 Capra alla neretese Goat Dish Province of Teramo ★ 0.0
10,549 Faraona al Mascarpone Game Dish Lombardy ★ 0.0
10,557 A Antipasto di coniglio Rabbit Dish Piedmont ★ 0.0
10,559 C Coniglio con peperoni e olive Rabbit Dish Apulia ★ 0.0
10,561 G Gnocchi di pasta lievitata con ragù di coniglio Rabbit Dish San Michele del Carso ★ 0.0
10,608 Coniglio all'Arneis Rabbit Dish Piedmont ★ 0.0
10,636 Q Quails with Peas (Quaglie con piselli) Game Dish Marche ★ 0.0
10,652 C Cif e ciaf Pork Dish Abruzzo ★ 0.0
10,690 Z Zuzzu Meat Jelly Dish Sicily ★ 0.0
10,747 Abbacchio brodettato Lamb Dish Rome ★ 0.0
10,806 S Sedano alla pratese Meat Dish Province of Prato ★ 0.0
10,819 C Carne al piatto Meat Dish Italy ★ 0.0
10,823 Spit-Roasted Pigeons (Piccioni all spiedo) Poultry Dish Umbria ★ 0.0
10,831 B Bollito ripieno Poultry Dish Province of Parma ★ 0.0

Leaf 1 of 4

Questions, Answered

Italian meat dishes, frequently asked, answered from 1,257 ratings.

What is the best Italian meat dish?: By our diners' ratings it's Arrosticini, the charcoal-grilled mutton skewers of Abruzzo, at Nº 505 worldwide. Behind it come Umbria's stuffed porchetta, the plain Italian meatball polpette, and the classic porchetta roast eaten across the country.
What meat is Italy known for?: Pork, above all. Italy's ranked meat is dominated by the roast porchetta, which appears in regional versions from Umbria, Ariccia and Marche alongside the plain national form. Sausages, veal shanks and lamb skewers round out a bench of 172 dishes.
What is the most famous Italian meat dish?: By number of ratings it's Polpette, the Italian meatball, with 172 reviews, just ahead of porchetta on 148 and the Milanese veal shank ossobuco on 126. Fame and our top score rarely line up: the best-rated is Abruzzo's arrosticini.
What is arrosticini?: Arrosticini are Abruzzo's mutton skewers, small cubes of sheep meat threaded on a stick and grilled fast over a long charcoal trough. Once a shepherd's way of using up tougher cuts, they are now eaten by the fistful, and by our raters they are Italy's best meat dish at Nº 505.
Which region of Italy has the best meat dishes?: By our data three regions tie for the deepest bench, with seven ranked dishes each: Marche, Piedmont and Tuscany. Rome and Lazio field six apiece and Abruzzo five, though 22 ranked dishes are logged simply as pan-Italian rather than to one region.
Where else should I look for great meat dishes?: Across the borders and beyond: worldwide the department runs to 1,423 dishes from 155 countries, topped by Greece's grilled lamb chops païdakia at Nº 2. Nearer rivals, France fields 61 ranked meat dishes and Spain 54. See Meat Dishes worldwide.

This Department, Elsewhere

Meat dishes from Italy's neighbours and rivals, ranked the same way.

CroatianMeat Dishes69 SpanishMeat Dishes54 GreekMeat Dishes28 PortugueseMeat Dishes18 SerbianMeat Dishes9 BosnianMeat Dishes8 CypriotMeat Dishes5 SlovenianMeat Dishes5 MacedonianMeat Dishes4 MalteseMeat Dishes2 GibraltarMeat Dishes1 MontenegrinMeat Dishes1 AlbanianMeat Dishes1

← Back to Italy See Meat Dishes worldwide →

Italian Meat Dishes

Arrosticini

Luganega

Ossobuco alla Milanese

Porchetta di Ariccia

Porchetta (Marche)

Coniglio all’ischitana

Mazzafegato

Salsiccia di Fegato (Marche)

Salsiccia di Calabria

Where Italy's meat is cooked