APULICA / MEATS AND CURED MEATS
Signora of Conca Casale
PAT · Slow Food Presidium · Meats and cured meats · Molise
In brief
- A large pork sausage from Conca Casale, a small village above Venafro, made with loin, shoulder and lardo cut with a knife. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Signora di Conca Casale)
- It is seasoned with peppercorns, coriander, chilli and wild fennel and stuffed into the caecum, washed with cornmeal, citrus, vinegar and wine. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Signora di Conca Casale)
- Only one could be made from each pig, and it was traditionally given to the village notables to return a favour. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Signora di Conca Casale)
- It is made in winter, smoked for a few days and aged at least six months, weighing from 800 grams to 5 kg. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Signora di Conca Casale)
History and origin
The Signora is a large pork sausage born in Conca Casale, a small mountain village of about two hundred people above Venafro, in the province of Isernia. The recipe is kept by a group of elderly women of the village, who have handed it down over time.
The name tells its story. It was by no means a humble salami: those who made it rarely ate it, because it was traditionally given to the village gentry, such as the doctor or the notary, to return a kindness or a favour. Only one could be made from each pig, which added to its value.
Like all traditional cured meats, it was made in the coldest days of winter to be eaten in the warm season. Today production is tiny and the Slow Food Presidium supports those who keep it going; the Signora is also listed among Molise's traditional products.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Signora di Conca Casale · Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026)
Area and method of production
The cuts are the prime ones: loin and shoulder for the lean part, belly and back fat for the fatty part; today parts of the leg and the sirloin are also used. The meat is chopped with a knife, partly fine and partly coarser to bind the mixture better, and seasoned with black peppercorns, coriander, ground red chilli and wild fennel gathered by the village women. The mixture rests for a few hours before stuffing.
Meanwhile the pig's blind gut, called the zia (aunt), is prepared with a very particular wash: coarse maize flour, orange and lemon juice, vinegar and wine. Stuffing is done by hand with a kind of funnel, and it is the most delicate step: the mixture must be spread evenly, filling every fold.
Tied with string, the Signora is smoked for a few days and then cured for at least six months, depending on its size. The meat comes from small pig farmers in the village.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Signora di Conca Casale
How to recognise it
The Signora is easy to recognise by its shape and size. Its weight depends on the casing and ranges from 800 grams to 5 kilos; the irregular shape recalls a beehive, and Italia.it likens it to a rugby ball.
When sliced it has the texture of a coarse-grained raw salami. On the palate the full flavour of the meat comes through, with wild fennel to the fore and a citrus note that comes from washing the casing with orange and lemon.
The long curing, made necessary by its large size, follows a short smoking. For the Signora to cure well, the Presidium notes, the mixture must fill the casing evenly: this is where the skill of the person stuffing it becomes decisive.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Signora di Conca Casale · Italia.it: prodotti e piatti tipici del Molise
In the kitchen
The Signora is eaten on its own, cut into thick slices, to appreciate its coarse grain and the aromas of fennel and citrus.
Traditionally it was made in winter and reached the table in the warm season, after months of curing: a way of bringing the work of the cold days to summer meals.
Among Molise's cured meats, which Italia.it describes as rich in variety, from ventricina to guanciale and liver sausage, the Signora holds a special place for its rarity, tied to a single village and very few producers.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Signora di Conca Casale · Italia.it: prodotti e piatti tipici del Molise
Where to taste it
The Signora is found only in Conca Casale, in the province of Isernia, a small mountain village above Venafro. Production is very limited and in the hands of very few people, so the best way to get to know it is to seek it out in its home village.
It is made in winter, while the cured product is ready after at least six months, and tradition keeps it for the summer season.
A trip to western Molise, around Venafro, combines this rare salami with the region's other flavours: the cured meats of the pork-butchering tradition, cheeses such as caciocavallo di Agnone and Molise PDO olive oil.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Signora di Conca Casale · Italia.it: prodotti e piatti tipici del Molise
Protection
- Traditional agri-food product (PAT) — Molise, n. 15, 26th revision (Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026))
- Slow Food Presidium — signora-di-conca-casale (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Signora di Conca Casale)
When
- The sources consulted give no months.