Cotechino

Cotechino is a preserved meat which nevertheless should be cooked soon after purchase. It contains lean meat from the head and neck of the pig, well spiced, but the most important constituent is chopped, salted pork rind. With slow cooking this fat becomes jellied and oozes out when the sausage is cut. For this reason it is always served with lentils, boiled potatoes or beans to soak up the fat.

To cook, prick it in several places with a fork, wrap in a cloth and boil for 2–3 hours. Cotechino cotto is precooked and sold as boil-in-the-bag. This keeps very well for long periods, then only takes 20 minutes to cook.