Sanguinacci

I smell of blood. I only know this when I vacate the room in which everything smells of blood; in the lab, I smell fine.

Giovanni our butcher does not seem to notice the stench. He uses his arm as a paddle to mix the bucket of well preserved pig blood. It’s the key ingredients in Blood Sausage.

The macellaio proceeds to add the remaining ingredients: milk, pine nuts, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, and meat. If it wasn’t for the blood and meat, it could be a Christmas pudding.

“What kind of meat?” I ask.

“Bloody meat..” (but of course) “..brain, tongue, heart, kidneys.” (so much for my pudding)

The butcher’s two assistants sample the brew. They nod and smack in approval. I see Giovanni coming at me with the spoon; I feign my Sorrels need tying.

Our Sanguinacci Making Process begins:

Assistant 1 ties off one end of a pig intestine with string.

Macellaio ladles off the sanguinacci-sauce into a funnel that sits on top of the tied intestine; gently - not to puncture the casing - he massages the sauce down the tube. When the casing is full, Assistant 1 ties off the top end of the now full intestine and there it is – a very long blood sausage.

Assistant 2 is handed the long blood sausage and ties off sausage links. The completed sanguinacci is set aside to boil later.

Occasionally, as the sauce is pushed down, the casing breaks and you get.. indeed.. a bloody mess! Everyone laughs as they wipe themselves down from the red liquid; they use the opportunity to take a drink of the other red liquid and the process resumes.

When all the sauce has been distributed, the Sanguinacci links are taken outside to boil. Iris’ mother prepares tea, chocolate biscuits, and more wine for our break while Giovanni stands over the fire, carefully stirring the water and the day’s work that floats inside. He fishes out a sausage link, and like a proud father slices it for us to enjoy with our tea.