Aggressively salty sheep's milk cheese built for cacio e pepe.
Brunelli Pecorino Romano DOP from Lazio, Italy. Hard, sharp, hand-salted sheep's milk cheese aged in tufa caves. Built for cacio e pepe. Ships to 48 states.
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Pecorino Romano from Brunelli is a hard sheep's milk cheese from Lazio, made the way Romans have been making it for centuries. DOP rules govern the recipe and type of milk used. Brunelli uses old-school hand-salting on every wheel before sending them into tufa caves to age.
The paste is dense and dry, breaking into sharp granular shards under the knife. It's aggressively salty up front, with that pronounced sheep's milk character that's been concentrated by months in the cave. A peppery bite builds on the back palate, classic Romano sharpness, and the finish holds for a long time with a savory, slightly mineral pull.
This is the cheese built for pasta. Grate it over cacio e pepe, fold it into carbonara, or shave it onto a salad of bitter greens. It is also worth a slice on the board with a drizzle of acacia honey and a Chianti, where the salt and the sweetness meet in the middle.
Hard and dense, breaks into sharp granular shards under the knife with a dry, slightly crumbly paste.
Big assertive sheep's milk punch, driven by aggressive salting and long aging — this is the cheese built to stand up to a plate of cacio e pepe.
Lingering salinity that holds on the back of the tongue, with a savory sheep-milk pull that keeps going long after the bite.
The fresh milk has dried out with age; what's left is a concentrated savory note rather than a creamy or yogurty one.
A toasted, browned-butter quality runs through the paste from the long aging, sitting under the salt.
A faint mineral, cave-aged quality from the tufa caves, but the salt and sheep character dominate.
A peppery sharpness on the back palate, classic Romano bite that builds with each taste.
Natural rind
Natural rind, hard and dry from cave aging — typically trimmed before eating.
Pecorino Romano stands on its own, but the right partners turn a wedge into a moment. Regional pairings first — they were built for each other.
The sharp salinity wants a structured Italian red with tannin to match, or a crisp Lazio white like Frascati to refresh between bites.
The salty, peppery bite balances against sweet honey or ripe pears, which soften the edges without flattening the character.
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“Traditional Lazio sheep's milk cheesemaking — hand-salted wheels matured in the region's native tufa caves, the way Roman shepherds have done it for generations.”
Hand-salted Pecorino Romano aged in ancient tufa caves, with Ricotta Salata pressed and salted from the leftover whey.
Hand-cut to order the day it ships. Packed cold for overnight delivery.
Taste it for yourself →Cold-ship 2-day overnight nationwide
