The Monte San Biagio sausage is produced exclusively in the province of Latina, in Fondi, Itri and Monte San Biagio and is among the products of Lazio included in the official register of Traditional Italian Regional Food Products. It can be eaten on its own or on home-made bread.
It is made with the finest cuts of the pig, preferably hand-chopped, Moscato di Terracina DOC wine, red pepper, hot chilli pepper and coriander seeds.
The Internet site dedicated to it (www.salsicciatipica.it) promotes this product and the festival in its name held at the beginning of March, as well as protecting and safeguarding its special characteristics.
Three types: fresh, dry and preserved in olive oil or lard.
The mixture is coarsely-ground, with a proportion of lean meat to fat whereby the latter should not exceed 25%. Once the mixture has been left for at least 12 hours in wooden troughs, it is stuffed into natural hog casings tied up with plant based string. The product is dried, hung from canes and smoked over myrtle and lentiscus wood.
The curing process, preferably in cellars or sheds, should continue for a minimum of 25 days. For artisan production the best season is from October to March, and only local pigs weighing over 200 kgs are used.
The history of the Monte San Biagio sausage is rather curious. It originated with the arrival in the 6th century of the Lombards, who settled in the village known then as Monticelli, now the town of Monte San Biagio. The use of coriander, however, dates back to the domination of the Saracens, who used the spice to disguise the smell of pork meat and thus sanction its consumption – forbidden by Islam.
Documentation found in the municipal library of Monte San Biagio reveals that pig rearing was extremely widespread in the San Vito cork forest, which covered some 3,000 hectares around the town and even today we find the odd curing hut made of stone and straw there.