APULICA / MEATS AND CURED MEATS
Salsiccia di Calabria (cured sausage)
PDO · Meats and cured meats · Calabria
In brief
- The pigs, of large breeds such as the Calabrese, Large White and Italian Landrace, are born in southern Italy and reach Calabrian farms by four months of age; slaughter and processing take place in Calabria. (Qualigeo — Salsiccia di Calabria DOP)
- The mixture is at least half shoulder meat, plus rib meat and lard, seasoned with pepper, wine and fennel seed; there is a sweet and a hot version. (Qualigeo — Salsiccia di Calabria DOP)
- It is tied in a chain or a U shape and aged for at least thirty days. (Qualigeo — Salsiccia di Calabria DOP)
History and origin
Sausage is one of Calabria's oldest cured meats. As early as 1691, in «Della Calabria illustrata», Father Giovanni Fiore da Cropani lists «salsicci» among salted meats, next to lard and soppressate. The roots of regional pork curing most likely go back to the Greek settlers of the Ionian coast.
In the early nineteenth century the Statistica Murattiana of 1811 describes the widespread preference in both Calabrias for salted pork and notes that in every district pork was the only meat preserved in salt. Pork processing remains a living tradition in the region today.
Salsiccia di Calabria has been a protected designation of origin since 1998 and, together with Capocollo, Pancetta and Soppressata, is one of Calabria's PDO cured meats.
Sources: Qualigeo — Salsiccia di Calabria DOP · eAmbrosia — Salsiccia di Calabria (PDO-IT-1568) · Qualivita — Consorzio di tutela dei Salumi di Calabria DOP
Area and method of production
It is made throughout Calabria from the fresh meat of pigs of large traditional breeds such as the Calabrese, Large White and Italian Landrace, born in Calabria or in the permitted neighbouring regions, raised in Calabria from four months and slaughtered and processed there.
The mix combines shoulder meat, at least half, and lower rib meat, with 6 to 20% of lard added. Everything is minced and seasoned with salt, black pepper both whole and ground, wine, fennel seeds and other natural flavourings. For the hot version, hot red pepper or hot pepper cream is added; for the sweet one, sweet red pepper or sweet pepper cream.
The mix is stuffed into natural pork casing, which is then pricked, and aged naturally for at least thirty days. The scirocco and the region's other hot, dry winds help ageing even in summer.
Sources: Qualigeo — Salsiccia di Calabria DOP
How to recognise it
Salsiccia di Calabria is cylindrical, twisted into the typical chain shape or tied in a «U». When cut it has a medium grain with evenly distributed fat.
The colour is a natural red when the mix contains black pepper, bright red when it contains chilli, sweet or hot. The aroma is natural and the seasoning balanced, more intense in the hot version.
It is available all year in three types, Piccante, Dolce and Bianca, loose or vacuum-packed or in a modified atmosphere, whole, in pieces or sliced. Traditionally it is kept hanging from the ceiling in cool, dry rooms, where it lasts about twelve months; it can also be kept under oil or fat in closed glass jars.
Sources: Qualigeo — Salsiccia di Calabria DOP
In the kitchen
Salsiccia di Calabria is an essential ingredient in many traditional recipes of Southern Italy. The simplest way to enjoy it is as a starter, sliced and served with other cured meats and local cheeses, together with sourdough bread.
The sweet and hot versions let you choose the intensity: the sweet one, naturally red, has a balanced savouriness; the hot one, bright red from chilli, tastes more intense. In both, fennel and black pepper give the typical aroma.
Thanks to its long keeping, hung up or under oil, the sausage has always been a household reserve, used through the year to add flavour to traditional dishes.
Sources: Qualigeo — Salsiccia di Calabria DOP
Protection
- Protected designation of origin (PDO) — PDO-IT-1568 (eAmbrosia — Salsiccia di Calabria (PDO-IT-1568))
When
- The sources consulted give no months.
Where
Read more
Calabrian PDO cured meats: capocollo, soppressata, salsiccia and pancetta
Capocollo, Soppressata, Salsiccia and Pancetta di Calabria: four PDOs since 1998, pigs raised in the region, set ageing times, and what, like 'nduja, is not PDO.
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