Salama da sugo

Keywords:	Italian Cuisine ¦ Traditional ¦ Seriously Unusual ¦ Seriously Slow Food ¦ Not for vegetarians ¦ Slow Food ¦ Not for the faint-hearted
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This medieval Italian sausage from Ferrara nearly made me pass out.

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Those who enjoy laws and sausages should not see how they are made, said Otto von Bismarck. I head this at a dinner last night and wished they had told me before.

A couple week ago, I met this man from Calabria at the Slow Food Fair in Torino. He sold large sausages not unlike the Swiss Jesus, but with a dark, dusty exterior. The salama da sugo [sahlahmah dah soogaw] has been made in Ferrara since the Middle Ages and is a cult dish in this town. It does not sell well outside of Ferrara though.

What's in it? I asked like Jack the Lad. They looked at each other, embarassed, and I immediately regretted my question. You like tongue? the man asked. I nodded mechanically. Ah, well then there is tongue inside. You like lungs? he continued. I didn't move. He looked resigned. Well there is not so much lungs inside. We also put spices and a loooot of wine. Finally the sausage looked so intriguing, I decided to buy one.

Back home, I hanged it to a hook and researched the salama da sugo.

Do you crumble it in a tomato sauce to make some ragù to serve with pasta, I asked the guy. He looked very seriously and answered. Not at all. This is not salciccia fresca. This is an ancient product of noble descent. It is mentionned since the 15th century and part of the court cusine of Ferrara.

He started explaining how to prepare that mighty sausage. The night before, soak it in water and leave it overnight. I plunged the sausage in a Kuhn Rikon pot.