Spreadable Sausages of Abruzzo
Since I was probably two years old, I’ve been used to eating bread with spreadable sausages (under oil or lard) made by my Nonna. I ate it either as my school snack or as an afternoon tea. In summer, she stored the sausages in her cellar, which had a stable temperature of about 15 degrees. For me, that place was magical. It was a place with the smell of wine, endless bottles of passata sauces, hams, salami, sausages, cheeses, and many more treasures. That magic place is still there today! And I still love to enter that squeaky door with a hanging bell, placed by my Nonna, to hear if someone had snuck in.
Continue reading about this delectable delicacy from the Abruzzi. And if we leave you feeling inspired, why not book a place on one of our Abruzzo Food Tours?
How are the Abruzzi’s spreadable sausages prepared?
Well, all my life, I thought that every Italian knew and ate spreadable sausages. But while living abroad and meeting other Italians, I discovered that the tradition of conserving soft sausages under oil or lard is fully an Abruzzese tradition.
The preparation of these ‘Salsicce’ includes cuts of pork: shoulder, neck, pancetta, and thigh. The meat is cleaned and de-boned before adding 10 to 20% of fat. The mixture is ground finely and mixed by hand, adding rosemary, pepper, and salt. Simple! This is how we produce them at my family’s place in Campovalano, a small town within the Teramo province. Every town and family in Abruzzo has its way of producing them, and the spices vary accordingly. The mixture is left to rest for some hours so that the meat seasons throughout.
The natural casings of Abruzzese sausages
In the meantime, the natural casings (intestines) of the pig (these will be used to preserve the meat naturally) are washed with lemon and vinegar. This process is repeated a few times to ensure they are perfectly clean. Now, you can find them already cleaned at the butcher, but until ten years ago, you had to clean them by yourself. In our family, we prefer using the ones from our pigs, just to make sure everything is super genuine.
The sausages’ stuffing
The seasoned meat is packed into the natural casings. To prevent air from entering, the sausages are tightened by hand with a string. Usually, the ‘Salsicce’ are about 12 cm long and 4 cm in diameter. For the first couple of weeks, the ‘Salsicce’ is left to dry on local bamboo sticks in a warm place, and later, they are moved into a cooler room. When the sausages reach the right dryness, they can be stored inside glass jars with EVO or lard.
Oil or lard to preserve your spreadable sausages?
Many people now use seed oil instead of Extra Virgin Olive (EVO) Oil for storing sausages, but the latter is much better. However, my favorite ones are the sausages stored in lard. They are much softer and have a greater flavor than the ones under oil. The preparation process might sound disgusting to many people, but it isn’t at all. In Abruzzo, this is just the normal way of preserving sausages. We don’t throw anything away from the pork. Everything gets used, from making delicious food to natural soap bars. Ensure they are well covered by lard or oil; otherwise, the uncovered sausages will go bad. If this happens, you remove the bad ones and keep storing the others.
Storage of the sausages
Away from the sunlight, the now-ready ‘Salsiccie’ can be stored and used throughout the whole year for the famous ‘Sdijun’ (Abruzzese for brunch) or with a warm bruschetta accompanied with a glass of Montepulciano D’Abruzzo wine.
The sausages must be unpeeled from their natural casings (just with a cut along with the sausage). This means that they will never touch the oil or the lard directly, so using a paper cloth to help you will avoid getting your hands dirty at all.
Salsiccie di Fegato – Liver sausages
A variation of these sausages can include the liver’s meat. ‘Peperoncino’ (chilly) and some orange peel is also added to the meat mixture. I swear, if well made, they taste super good. You have to come here and taste them. Usually, liver sausages are not used and stored under oil, but just dried and then cooked on the grill.
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Marino Cardelli