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I made the luganaga from Len Poli�s site. It was pleasant, but that was about all.
Seemed a bit flat.

I am trying to reproduce the luganaga sold by Cammisa of Old Compton Street (I
expect some of you know them).

Maybe it is the fat I am missing and it is not possible to reproduce this sausage.

But any alternative or proven recipes welcome.

Luganega Sausage

A traditional Italian pork sausage made throughout Italy, which is considered to be a mild homemade or country sausage. It is often made with the meat from the cheek or neck of the pig, seasoned with nutmeg, coriander, pepper, and cinnamon, and encased as a long continuous length of meat. Different sausage makers add ingredients to make it spicier or more flavorful as occurs when it is stuffed with cheeses such as Parmesan. It is most often boiled or broiled and added to pasta, sauces, or polenta. Luganega is also known as luganeghe.

Luganega
Taken from �Home Sausage Making� by Charles G. Reavis ISBN 0 88266 477 8

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4 feet medium (2-inch diameter) hog casings
3 � pounds lean pork butt, cubed
� pound pork fat, cubed
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
� teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
� teaspoon finely ground coriander
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon freshly fine ground black pepper
1 small clove garlic, very finely chopped
1 � teaspoons salt, or to taste
� cup dry vermouth

1. Prepare the casings
2. Grind the pork and fat together through the fine disk.
3. Sprinkle the remaining ingredients over the meat and mix well.
4. Stuff the mixture into casings and twist off into eight or ten inch lengths.
5. Separate the links and allow them to dry in a cool place for two or three hours.
6. Refrigerate and use within two or three days or freeze. The flavour of the lemon and orange is intensified by freezing the sausage so the sausage is best used fresh.

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Kind regards

Parson Snows

PS if you do make any please let us know how you get on.

They sound yummy - what could one use instead of vermouth?

Aris asked

what could one use instead of vermouth

I would suggest a dry white wine, such as a Chardonnay or for a NON alcoholic version
I would suggest a NON alcoholic cider (Not Sweet)
as you're only using 1/2 cup it shouldn't change the overall flavour too much.

kind regards

Parson Snows

I have tried Luganega a couple of times and both tiems I have been dissapointed. I don't think the peel works well with the pork, it sounds like a good idea but seems to give it an isipid flavour, on the whole whole the sausage is 'limp' and needs a little something extra.

Franco

Franco wrote

on the whole whole the sausage is 'limp' and needs a little something extra.

As I posted

Luganega Sausage

A traditional Italian pork sausage made throughout Italy, which is considered to be a mild homemade or country sausage. It is often made with the meat from the cheek or neck of the pig, seasoned with nutmeg, coriander, pepper, and cinnamon, and encased as a long continuous length of meat. Different sausage makers add ingredients to make it spicier or more flavorful as occurs when it is stuffed with cheeses such as Parmesan. It is most often boiled or broiled and added to pasta, sauces, or polenta. Luganega is also known as luganeghe.

Typically this is a MILD sausage. if someone comes up with some variations/added spices please post them

Franco wrote

I don't think the peel works well with the pork, it sounds like a good idea but seems to give it an isipid flavour

You really need to use a zester to get the pieces small and you MUST make sure that none of the pith is added. Lemon peel has been added to Oxford Sausages with great sucess since 1861.

kind regards

Parson Snows

Thanks for the dialectic guys.

My memories of this sausage were NOT that it was particularly spicy, just that it was excellent fried with pasta plain, or in salsa pomodoro fresh or baked. It was rich and creamy, and the more I think about it, the more I think what was missing from the "taste" was the fat.

I find that I use 3 times as much garlic now as I used to, more chilli, etc. As we discussed earlier Parson, this seems to have a lot to do with the elimination of fat, and therefore of the flavour carrier.

I will give your version a try, and I think I will be prepared to ramp up the spices/flavourings by two or three times. Not traditional, but....... needs must.

Franco, you could allways get hold of some of the sausages that Cammisa makes and have a look at them. If you want.

Regards,

Darkstream wrote

the more I think about it, the more I think what was missing from the "taste" was the fat.

As mentioned

� pound pork fat, cubed
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

not a lot of fat, really

Darkstream wrote

I will give your version a try, and I think I will be prepared to ramp up the spices/flavourings by two or three times. Not traditional, but....... needs must.

As I mentioned it is not my recipe but comes from �Home Sausage Making� by Charles G. Reavis ISBN 0 88266 477 8.
Please post all your findings as I'm sure that a lot of others on the forum have been advised to lower their fat intake. From what I can see; I may be wrong but I don't think so; you're the forum's "LOW FAT" adviser, like it or not.

kind regards

Parson Snows