As you may know, I was born and brought up in Milan. Foodwise, Milan is famous for risotto (especially Risotto alla Milanese, made with saffron), ossobuco, cotoletta, panettone and cassoeula. As you can see, I have already shared the recipes for the most famous Milanese food… all, but one: Cassoeula. The reason why it took me so long to share such an iconic recipe from the city I was born in is simple. I could not find Verzini sausages anywhere and these sausages are a main component of the dish. So, after successfully making Salame Cotto, my own Pork Sausage and Cotechino, I thought it was time to try and make verzini too. Verzini are basic sausages, they are leaner than the majority of sausages and are actually very easy to make. Their main characteristic is their size as they are usually about 5 cm – 2 inches thick and about 10 to 12 cm – 4 to 5 inches long. I only had normal sausage casing at home, so mine were a little thinner, but I was very happy to find the right balance of spices at the first try and these home-made verzini tasted exactly like the ones I used to eat in Milan. Give it a go and I am sure you won’t be disappointed! Don’t miss my next post on how to make Cassoeula! Enjoy and remember to check out all my other Regional Italian recipes!
Home-made Verzini
A tutorial on how to make your own Verzini Sausages at home - a recipe from Northern Italy!
Ingredients
- 800 gms – 1.75 lbs. pork scotch fillet
- 400 gms – 0.9 lbs. pork rashers skin removed
- 20 gms – 1.25 tbsp salt
- 115 ml – ½ cup red wine infused with 2 smashed garlic cloves for at least 1 hour
- ½ tbsp freshly ground pepper
- ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
- ¼ tsp coriander powder
- ¼ tsp mace powder
- Edible sausage or thin salami casing soaked in tepid water for at least 20 minutes and rinsed
Instructions
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Roughly chop the scotch fillet and the rashers.
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Grind the scotch fillet and the rashers using a 0.5 cm – 0.2 inch diameter grinder.
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Put the ground meat in a bowl. Add the salt, wine, cinnamon, coriander, mace powders and ground pepper and knead well.
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Stuff the meat mixture into the casing and tie knots every 10 to 12 cm – 4 to 5 inches.
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Let the verzini rest, uncovered, at 20° to 25°C (68°F – 77°F) for 24 hours before cooking or freezing them.
Recipe Notes
You can also keep the verzini to rest in the fridge before cooking them.
Soooo impressed! Brava
Thanks for the great information. I’m in Colorado, US. I could use some clarification on the pork cuts. Scotch fillet sounds like Boston butt. As far as I know are strips of bacon. Are they cured, smoked, or raw pork belly slices?
Hi Frederick
Sorry for the late reply! Yes, Boston butt seems like the right cut. Rashers would be sliced raw pork belly. Hope it helps! 🙂