While visiting my in-laws in Calabria, Italy this past Christmas, one of my husbands requests were that I participate in their annual sausage preparation. Once a year they get together to make their typical Salumi: Soppressata, Capicollo, Pancetta,and ‘Nduja. Soppressata is an aged sausage that is mixed with a special Calabrese peperoncino (spicy pepper) sauce. This is the sausage you will find hanging in most Italian Salumeria’s, however it is sooo different than what is available in the US. Capicollo, is also a dried type of sausage, however it is not passed through the meat grinder and is delicate yet salty, and my favorite. Pancetta is the pork belly, seasoned, then rolled by hand, and cured for several months. It is great for appetizers or perfect to sauté and make delicious sauce bases. ‘Nduja, is the same meat as you use to make soppressata however it is passed through the grinder twice to make the meat thinner and spreadable. This spreadable spicy delicacy is great with pasta and bruschetta.
Cutting Pancetta
I’m a big fan of this mysterious, dried, spicy sausage, but never dreamed of actually making it myself. Therefore, since I married a true “Calabrese Boy” this was part of my family initiation, although I’ve been married for 2 1/2 years….. (well this is what I thought anyway).
My family and I working on the Salumi.
So, on a Tuesday after New Years, the family gathered at the country house to participate and make their specialty Calabrese Sausage. The star of the show was a 300 lb. pig that was as organic as you can imagine, bought from a friend, and butchered by the local “macellaio”. The day started at 7:30 AM with the butchering of the pig, then the different parts of the pig were laid out for everyone to slice and dice, and get the meat ready for the grinder. Everyone knew their place, there were no pauses. Although the occasional laughter and constant yelling (which is just the way they communicate) – everyone was really focused. The women were really running the show, especially my mother in law who was running around chopping, and yelling, and mixing the meat with her hands with her secret spicy pepper sauce for the Anduja. I didn’t know what I was doing but I went along and tried to be helpful and not really think about what I was witnessing. I looked around at one point and thought, “What am I doing here????” Who would have thought that a girl from New York, who was a vegetarian for 10 years, would be chopping up a pig to make soppressata! If my father could see me now………..
My son was there too, napping near the fireplace and then playing outside with his uncles. Although he will not remember this day, we will show him pictures and hopefully one day when he is older he can participate too. The best part of the day was after chopping and grinding the meat for the casings, LUNCH! While waiting for the sauce to cook, my husband prepared bruschetta with some of the first pork that had been passed through the grinder and seasoned it with salt, parsley and olive oil, then wrapped it in tin foil and put it under the ash inside the fireplace. Then Nonna and my mother in law, who is a fantastic cook, took the first cuts of meat and boiled it in a huge pot outside, bones and all, then other cuts were used to make a delicious tomato sauce. After trying this, it will be hard to make sauce with regular store bought pork. It was served over rigatoni to catch all the little pieces of pork which fell off the bone after slowly cooking for two hours. Also, a simple leek frittata was made with fresh leeks from the garden, eggs that were laid the day before and fried together in olive oil. I know this sounds very simple, but this was one of the best frittata I have ever eaten! This meal was well deserved after a long morning of hard work.
The pork meat and bones cooking in the fire place.
I will never forget this day, although hard for me mentally because I had never seen an animal exposed in this way, it was a beautiful experience. I’m fortunate to have been able to experience a tradition that has been taking place in families in Italy for hundreds of years. In times of poverty families use to make soppressata so that they would have it to eat all year long. Today, many families stopped making soppressata due to the intense life they live and find it easier buying it at the local grocery store. However, especially in south Italy, there are still families who enjoy doing it and find a way to gather together and keep the tradition alive.
I look forward to the next time we can go back and experience this as well other traditions that still keep families like ours “linked”.
The results were outrageous. Great for brunch, or to bring to a friend’s house for lunch, it is easily portable.
