Figatellu/Corsican sausage

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moikel

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Jul 26, 2011
3,198
218
Sydney &Greenwell Point Australia
I was watching a repeat of Rick Steins Mediterranean TV series,he was in Corsica. He was watching the local butcher make this traditional sausage that Corsica is famous for.

It has pig liver,pork fat ,minced pork & pig heart red wine spices.Lightly smoked over chestnut then hung up for 2 weeks.Looks like its served grilled like a chorizo.

I have had a search around I can find it for sale,reviewed ,raved about but no how to. 

I should start sausage making with something simple,a full recipe ,tried & true but thats not really me. 

I can buy great sausage here particularly from my local butcher & all sorts of things from different ethnic groups in this big multicultural city but this Figatellu just looks intriguing .

Anybody got any ideas.I have my MES ,my friends will give me casings for smoked fish/bottarga.Pig liver /heart,check. Weather is cooling off here,laughable to you Northern Hemisphere types I know but down here its coming into salami etc season.
 
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Moikel  food for Thoughts

1 sausage making is addictive

2  sausage making is addictive

3 you need cure #1 for hot smoking(short curing)

4 you need cure#2 for cold smoking and dry curing(long curing)

5 a grinder

6 a staffer

for fresh sausage that you grill you don't need cure.
 
Moikel  food for Thoughts

1 sausage making is addictive

2  sausage making is addictive

3 you need cure #1 for hot smoking(short curing)

4 you need cure#2 for cold smoking and dry curing(long curing)

5 a grinder

6 a staffer

for fresh sausage that you grill you don't need cure.
I am already obsessed since I  got MES. Still have the first memory of helping make all sorts of traditional stuff with Calabrian family when I  was 20,.First step kill the pig,then helping learning watching how they used stuff we used to throw away.

One day I m going to have a shot at this I remember thinking well that day has rolled around. 

Cure #2 on order .Grinder stuffer been on net already.,just got to work out some space to hang stuff,here or down the coast or both.
 
Ahron I know you have the Rick Stein book & DVD, From what I can see they can be fried ,grilled or left to dry a bit further like a salami.I figure if they hang for 2 weeks they are going to need cure#2.

I need to work a few things out first,particularly well ventilated area. I will wait until I get a few things worked out before I start asking questions.
 
Yes, Corsican sausage/figatelli is pretty darn tasty...

But (and there's always a "but"), it is a victim of its own success and not surprisingly, local butchers, market vendors and specialty shops have been keen on taking advantage of this.

What do I mean? Put simply, Corsica produces about  9K tons of 'charcuterie' (deli meats), that is, made from the animals (pigs) that live on the island. Oddly enough, they sell about 100K tons of the stuff - all marked as Charcuterie Corse.

But, Zipperneck, how is that possible? Living up to their reputation... and as the demand is so high, the Corsicans have found a way to work around this problem.

To do this, they IMPORT frozen meat from the EU (France, Italy, Romania..). Owing to current legislation, they can put the Corsican label on the stuff they make from it if some major part of the transformation process actually takes place in Corsica. In this case, it is the final process known as "salage" or salting/flavoring. It is, of course, very tasty, but not as tasty as real stuff made from Corsican pigs that have lived in the wild eating berries, truffles, chesnuts and whatever other goodies they can find in the wild!

They have even invented new products in order to diversify the market - notably "donkey sausage", all bearing the Corsican label. This is, of course, a pure invention as no Corsican donkeys are made into sausages. The Corsicans use them as working animals, not for food!

At any rate, if you're travelling to Corsica and you want to buy real Corsican sausage, you're going to have to know where to look and what questions to ask... or they'll just sell you some imported stuff from Romania or wherever.

Zipperneck

On the French Riviera

 
 
Yes, Corsican sausage/figatelli is pretty darn tasty...

But (and there's always a "but"), it is a victim of its own success and not surprisingly, local butchers, market vendors and specialty shops have been keen on taking advantage of this.

What do I mean? Put simply, Corsica produces about  9K tons of 'charcuterie' (deli meats), that is, made from the animals (pigs) that live on the island. Oddly enough, they sell about 100K tons of the stuff - all marked as Charcuterie Corse.

But, Zipperneck, how is that possible? Living up to their reputation... and as the demand is so high, the Corsicans have found a way to work around this problem.

To do this, they IMPORT frozen meat from the EU (France, Italy, Romania..). Owing to current legislation, they can put the Corsican label on the stuff they make from it if some major part of the transformation process actually takes place in Corsica. In this case, it is the final process known as "salage" or salting/flavoring. It is, of course, very tasty, but not as tasty as real stuff made from Corsican pigs that have lived in the wild eating berries, truffles, chesnuts and whatever other goodies they can find in the wild!

They have even invented new products in order to diversify the market - notably "donkey sausage", all bearing the Corsican label. This is, of course, a pure invention as no Corsican donkeys are made into sausages. The Corsicans use them as working animals, not for food!

At any rate, if you're travelling to Corsica and you want to buy real Corsican sausage, you're going to have to know where to look and what questions to ask... or they'll just sell you some imported stuff from Romania or wherever.

Zipperneck

On the French Riviera

 
Hey zipperneck.. Welcome to SMF and were glad to have you aboard..... Can you swing over to roll call and introduce yourself so we can give you a proper welcome........
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Hey Mick............I will be looking forward to your Figatellu/Corsican sausage
 
Nice post Zipperneck I think there are plenty of examples of substitution in Europe.I remember buying porcini mushrooms in Italy only to have a local tell me they were probably from Yugoslavia.I said "But the box said Product of Italy .Local said " The box is from Italy whats in the box isnt!' I speak very rough Italian comes out a  sort of a cross between a 7 year old boy & drunken sailor.I was rewarded for my efforts by the local getting me the real local deal from the "boscoiolo " forest man.

I know from way down here we send wild pigs deep frozen to Europe.Those big ugly razorbacks.I saw a hell of a lot of wild boar charcuterie in Europe & not a lot of wild boars
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I am working my way to figatellu been fairly busy in nose to tail lately. Pig liver is also a bit strong for me.I have had the local Italian version. Got an idea in my head for a duck version.
 
 
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