When last we met, we were busy tasting Italy’s cured meats, like prosciutto. Today, we move on to the sausage and fat/lard categories.
“There just has to be something wrong when we classify fat and lard as a meat”
And right up front, I need to tell you the bad news about bringing back Italian meat products from your trip abroad. Those cured hams, like prosciutto, and the soon to be described salami, cannot be brought into the U.S. Lest you think I jest, here is a direct quote from the USDA’s website: “Cured hams (prosciutto) and salami from areas within …Italy…may not be brought into the United States by travelers. These items may only enter in commercial shipments because there are special restrictions that require additional certification and documentation.”
So, now that we got that unsavory government business out of the way, let’s talk sausage.
SAUSAGE
The meats in this category are ground, mixed with spices, and encased, as opposed to being whole, cured hunks of meat as discussed last week.
SALAMI
Pork (sometimes beef)
I’ll start with salami, as there is a bit of confusion…at least there was in my mind…and there are still confusion echoes rattling around in there. That confusion stems from the fact that most of the sausages mentioned below are technically a form of salami. It seems to be both a general and specific term.
It's a sausage made mostly with ground pork and cubes of fat, seasoned with garlic, salt, and spices. You will find it to be fairly large, at 3” to 4” in diameter. It’s stuffed into the pig's large intestine…I know, right? Yuck…but then, it tastes good, and always has. There is a smaller version called salamino, which is only 1-inch across.
There are several types of salami, the differences being the region of Italy where they are made. For instance, Genoa Salami is a hard, dry cured meat that is typically made of pork, salt, garlic, pepper, fennel seeds, and wine. Then there’s Finocchiona Salami, which is a spicy Tuscan specialty that is dry cured and made with fennel seeds and black pepper.
I guess we can add pepperoni to the list, though it is an American variety of salami, made from a cured mixture of pork and beef seasoned with paprika or other chili peppers. Pepperoni is characteristically soft, slightly smoky, and bright red in color. I’m not sure it falls into the Italian meat category.
And oh, you know that white powder covering the casings of salami. It’s a white mold that helps in salami’s curing.
SALSICCIA
Pork
Salsiccia are link sausages made with ground pork, cubed pork fat, spices, and herbs.
Fresh salsiccia can be cooked in its casing (like American breakfast link sausages). More often though, you will remove the salsiccia from the casing before cooking (like the tubes of sausage we get at the supermarket…can you say Jimmy Dean?) and use it as just one more ingredient in a recipe.
Then there is an aged variety, i.e. cured sausage. This creates a completely different taste profile. After aging for a couple of months, they start to resemble salami.
SOPPRESSATA
Pork
The Italian soppressata is a traditional dry salami/sausage that varies significantly within Italy. They are mainly prepared with roughly cut pork meat and fat.
The dry Soppressata is a dry-cured Italian deli meat made from coarsely ground pork sausage.
Soppressata Toscana
There are two distinct forms of soppressata. First, there’s Soppressata di Basilicata which is made using only coarsely ground fillet and thigh meat.
Then there’s Soppressata Toscana, which is made with ham, pork shoulder, and tongue with a ton of added spices ranging from nutmeg and cinnamon to orange peel and lemon zest. The Toscana version might not sit well on our American palettes…looks kinda like headcheese, doesn’t it?
VENTRICINA
Pork
The folks in the Abruzzo and Molise regions put together a cured sausage known as Ventricina.
Like the soppressata, there are significantly different varieties.
Ventricina del Vastese is a hard, cured sausage made with coarsely chopped lean pork, garlic, sweet and spicy pepper, black pepper, and wild fennel seeds.
Then we have Ventricina Teramana. It is a soft, spreadable variety made with fattier parts of pork, lard, garlic, rosemary, fennel seeds, peperoncini, orange zest, and salt.
Let’s not forget what they do in Molise, If you see the shape of Italy as a boot (kicking the soccer ball of Sicily), Molise would be where your ankle would be situated. Their Ventricina di Montenero di Bisaccia is a round sausage stuffed in a pigs stomach, and is made with pork from local pigs that feed exclusively on cereals (probably not raisin bran and Cheerios) and dried legumes.
NDUJA
Pork
Uhmmm, don’t ask me how to pronounce it. But whatever, the Nduja sausage is considered to be an Italian delicacy, It is produced in Calabria (the toe of the afore mentioned boot).
Nduja has the texture of pâté, and you would consume it much as you would a pâté…like smeared on toasted bread. Add some ricotta and you’ve got a tasty treat.
MORTADELLA BOLOGNA
Pork
I just love to say the word ‘mortadella’…it sounds so Italian, doesn’t it. And, it’s so much more sophisticated sounding than what we call it…baloney.
The ancient Etruscans found that a diet of acorns and tubers created a unique pork taste, and they incorporated that pork into Mortadella, and that’s how it is still done today. But today, pistachios are added to the pork and spices.
The name mortadella stems from the word ‘mortaio’. And a mortaio is a large mortar where the ground pork is mashed into a paste. If you don’t like that etymological concoction, some sources say that the name comes from an old Roman word for myrtle, which was used for seasoning instead of pepper. I guess it’s really not that important, so let’s move on.
After the squishy paste is squeezed into its casing, Mortadella is a cooked for several hours at a low temperature with low humidity.
Mortadella Bolgna is no baloney…which is what most of us called Mortadella Balogna when we were young and ill informed. Balogna or baloney - it’s the same thing. I considered it an extra-special treat when mom would fry my round of baloney…sorry, I mean bologna…before putting it on my sandwich.
FAT/LARD
There just has to be something wrong when we classify fat and lard as a meat. But then again, as they say, “When in Italy…”.
Lardo di Colonnata
Not only is this meat made of fat, or lard, the prefix to the word ‘colonnata’ doesn’t thrill me, either. But, we’ll give it its due.
There is a Tuscan province known as Massa Carrara, where Michelangelo got his marble. In that province is the very small village Colonnata, with just a few hundred souls who like fat. They start with lard, they salt it, and then they season it with pepper, rosemary, garlic and coriander. Then they smash it all up.
‘Do they age their fat?’, you ask. Yes they do…for about six months. They can’t hang up the gooey mixture like a pork leg, so they stuff it in marble tubs called canaloni (not to be confused with cannelloni)…after all, they are located between a couple of Carrara marble quarries.
What do they do with it after it is aged in these marble tubs? I have no idea. I guess they eat it…or maybe give it away as Christmas gifts to distant friends instead of fruitcake. I jest of course…but I really don’t know what they do with it…spread it on toast? Let’s go with that.
Hold the presses, I have late breaking news about Lardo di Colonnata. Some typical Italian taverns in the Massa Carrara area offer menus based entirely on Lardo di Colonnata, from cold starters to pasta, main courses and, amazingly, even ice cream! Based on this information, I will stop joking around about the lard-eating proclivities of those in Massa Carrara, and I offer my apologies for having done so.
Well, we’ve come to the end of our meat-fest, and none too soon, as it is time for lunch. Ellen has put together a charcuterie platter with cheeses and a vast selection of thinly sliced Italian meats…except for the colonata thingie, which she’s put into a pastry piping bag. It’s time for me to go now…after this tasty lunch, I have to go get my cholesterol checked.
Ciao for now,
Steve
PS: You know, the colonnata wasn’t half bad. As you can see here, Ellen found some with quite a bit of meat!