Laguneca Italian

[CarolinaQue]

I’ve wanted to make an “authentic” Italian sausage to make a sausage ragu for our family’s Sunday dinner. I’ve been making scratch pasta with the kids and then doing chicken parm as well, and we sit down to eat around 3 or 4 in the afternoon treating as the main meal of the day.

I looked on Len Poli’s site and found what is claimed to be an authentic Laguneca sausage recipe from Piacenza in Italy.

http://lpoli.50webs.com/index_files/Salsiccia-luganeca-Piacenza.pdf

I liked that it’s mild, and I plan on using it as the base of my sausage ragu this weekend. I made a sample in the pan after combining and I really liked the fresh rosemary and light garlic flavor. It’s a great alternative to the standard fennel variety I think.

The one change I made was to soak two smashed garlic cloves in the white wine, as I didn’t put any actual chopped garlic into the combination. I also added a bit more salt and pepper than called for.

 

[MeatSkull]

Nice!

 

[motocrash]

Welcome CarolinaQue.That is some mighty fine looking sausage.I am not a big fennel fan either.
That's a good bit of parm,was it cheesy?

 

[ab canuck]

That sausage looks great, and I like that recipe, I think it will have to go on my list to try.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Nice looking sausage. Very evenly stuffed. How is your Ragu made? Even though my family is 100% of Polish decent, we love a Sunday Gravy of mixed meats and sausages.
Great move teaching the kids how to make pasta. My three girls started at around 2 years old. Mostly getting covered in flour and egg at that age. But now all in their 20's they make pasta frequently. A couple of weeks ago the oldest 2 made a Duck Leg Ragu over Sage Pappardelle. Magical!...JJ

 

[gmc2003]

Sausage looks great, very uniform in size.

Point for sure.
Chris

 

[CarolinaQue]

Welcome CarolinaQue.That is some mighty fine looking sausage.I am not a big fennel fan either.
That's a good bit of parm,was it cheesy?

Surprisingly it wasn’t cheesy. It definitely serves to mellow it a bit, maybe made it a touch creamy if that makes sense? Kind of like a brat with milk or cream in the recipe.

 

[CarolinaQue]

Nice looking sausage. Very evenly stuffed. How is your Ragu made? Even though my family is 100% of Polish decent, we love a Sunday Gravy of mixed meats and sausages.
Great move teaching the kids how to make pasta. My three girls started at around 2 years old. Mostly getting covered in flour and egg at that age. But now all in their 20's they make pasta frequently. A couple of weeks ago the oldest 2 made a Duck Leg Ragu over Sage Pappardelle. Magical!...JJ

Man that sounds delicious! Hope my kids reward me with that kind of delicacy when they’re adults.

I used a recipe from the nytimes cooking section. It calls for cooking everything slowly over low heat. The white wine in this sausage recipe blended really well with the ragu ingredients. The only change I made was adding a bit more meat than the recipe called for, more like 1.5lbs vs the 1lb it stated. I also omitted the thyme as my wife doesn’t like it.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017729-sausage-ragu

 

[chef jimmyj]

I noticed the Sausage ingredient were similar to those in the Ragu. While browning and simmering intact sausage in the casing, adds dimension. Stripping the casing to combine similar flavors is pointless. With that recipe save yourself some work and just add ground pork to the recipe, with a bit of extra herbs, spice and cheese.
Try your delicious sounding sausage in links in another sauce recipe. Maybe this family favorite...JJ

Sunday Gravy (Meat Lovers Pasta Sauce)

1-2Lbs Pork Country Style Ribs or Butt, cut in 2x2 pieces ( More won't hurt, Bones Too! )

1-2Lbs Beef Chuck cut 2x2 cubes. Or more.

1-2Lbs Sausage Links

1 per Person Large Chicken Thighs

2T Olive Oil

2C fine Chopped Onion

1C fine Chopped Carrot

2-3ea lrg Cloves Garlic, minced (1Tbs)

2ea 28oz. Cans Diced Tomatoes

12oz Tomato Paste

12oz Red Wine

1tsp Oregano

1tsp Salt

1tsp Black Pepper

1 14oz can or homemade Broth.

1C Fresh Basil Leaves, torn (Big handful.)

1T Sugar if needed.

Lots of Parm Reggiano Cheese for pasta

Heat oil in a large Heavy Bottom 12Qt Stock Pot.

Brown meat on all sides, 6-7 pieces at a time. Set aside.

Saute Veg until Onion is translucent and golden.

Add Tomato Paste and saute until it darkens slightly.

Add wine and reduce by half about 5 minutes to concentrate flavor.

Add Beef and Pork with remaining sauce ingredients, except Basil and Sugar. Reserve Chicken and Sausage.

Bring to a Boil, reduce Heat and simmer, uncovered, until meat begins to get tender. About 2 hours. Add Chicken and simmer 30 minutes. Add Sausage and simmer until all is very tender and sausage is cooked through. About 30-40 minutes more.

Stir every 15 Minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot to keep from burning.

When meat is Fork Tender, Add Basil and adjust seasoning. If too acidic add sugar to taste.

Serve Sauce over your Fav pasta and meat on the side. Top with Cheese.