Cotechino Modena or Cotechino di Modena (spelled cotecchino or coteghino in some major dialects, but not in Italian) is a fresh

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

made from

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

fatback Fatback (also known as streak of lean or streak of fat) is a cut of meat from a domestic pig. It consists of the layer of adipose tissue (subcutaneous fat) under the skin of the back, with or without the skin (pork rind). Fatback is "hard fa ...

, and

pork rind Pork rind is the culinary term for the skin of a pig. It can be used in many different ways. It can be rendered, fried in fat, baked, or roasted to produce a kind of pork cracklings (US) or scratchings (UK); these are served in small piece ...

, and comes from Modena,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where it has '' PGI'' status. Zampone Modena is closely related and also has ''PGI'' status. Cotechino dates back to around 1511 to

Gavello Gavello is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto, located about southwest of Venice and about southeast of Rovigo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,616 and an area of .All demographics ...

Mirandola Mirandola ( Mirandolese: ) is a city and ''comune'' of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, in the Province of Modena, northeast of the provincial capital by railway. History Mirandola originated as a Renaissance city-fortress. For four centuries it was ...

, where, whilst besieged, the people had to find a way to preserve meat and use the less tender cuts, so they made cotechino.

developed its own specialty enveloped in a hollowed out

pig's trotter A pig's trotter, also known as a pettitoe, or sometimes known as a pig's foot, is the culinary term for the foot of a pig. The cuts are used in various dishes around the world, and experienced a resurgence in the late 2000s. Description Pigs' ...

, named the Zampone. By the 18th century it had become more popular than the yellowish sausage that had been around at the time, and in the 19th century entered mass production in and around the area. Cotechino is often served with

lentils The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest produ ...

alongside mashed potatoes or polenta, especially around

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

. Image:Cotechino-Servito-Polenta-Lenticchie.jpg, Cotechino Modena (at top) Served with polenta and lentils Image:Cotechino-Intero.jpg, Cooked Cotechino Modena

References

External links

{{commons
Cibo360 - Cotechino & Zampone
(Italian) Italian products with protected designation of origin Italian sausages Pig's trotters

See also

References

External links