Loukaniko

the Greek country sausage: coarse pork cured with fennel seed and dried orange peel, hung to dry and then grilled over charcoal

Origin: Athens, Crete & Greece

From the journey of Fennel.

Loukaniko is defined by two things that go into it and one that does not. The two are fennel seed, in quantity, and dried orange peel; the one that does not is any great subtlety of technique. Coarse pork with a decent proportion of fat, red wine, garlic, and those two aromatics, hung in a cool draught for a few days and then grilled over charcoal, is the whole of it, and every Greek region makes a version. The orange is what surprises people. Bitter or Seville orange peel, dried and ground, is a standard Greek charcuterie seasoning and it does something specific against pork fat: the peel oil is sharp and slightly resinous and cuts through in a way lemon does not, and it sits with fennel's sweetness so naturally that the two are treated as a pair. In parts of the Peloponnese the sausage is cured in orange juice as well. The name is old and the family is enormous. Greek loukaniko comes from Latin lucanica, the sausage of Lucania in southern Italy, which Roman writers describe as a soldier's food and which Cicero mentions; the same root produced Italian luganega, Portuguese linguiça, and Spanish longaniza, so a single Roman regional sausage has descendants across half of Europe and most of Latin America. It is eaten as meze more than as a main course, sliced into rounds and fried with a squeeze of lemon, or grilled whole and cut at the table with ouzo or tsipouro alongside. The fennel and the anise in the drink are the same aromatic, which is not an accident.

Ingredients

Sausage

  • 1.5 kg pork shoulder, coarsely minced or hand-chopped
  • 400 g pork back fat, coarsely diced

Seasoning

  • 3 tbsp fennel seed, lightly toasted and coarsely crushed
  • 2 tbsp dried bitter orange peel, finely ground, or zest of 2 oranges
  • 8 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
  • 150 ml dry red wine, cold
  • 30 g fine sea salt
  • 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 0.5 tsp ground allspice

To fill

  • 3 m natural hog casings, soaked and rinsed

To serve

  • 2 lemons, in wedges, to serve

Method

  1. Keep everything cold throughout. Chill the meat and fat until they are almost firm before mincing, since warm fat smears rather than cutting and gives a pasty sausage.
  2. Mince or hand-chop the pork and fat coarsely. Loukaniko is meant to have visible texture, not to be a smooth emulsion.
  3. Toast the fennel seed in a dry pan for a minute until it smells sweet, then crush it coarsely. Crushing rather than grinding leaves pieces you meet as you eat.
  4. Mix the meat with all the seasonings and the cold red wine, working it with your hands for two or three minutes until it turns slightly tacky and holds together.
  5. Fry a small patty and taste it. This is the only chance to adjust, and cured sausage needs to taste assertively salted and aromatic when hot.
  6. Rest the mixture covered in the refrigerator overnight so the salt and the fennel work through it.
  7. Rinse the casings inside and out, thread them onto the stuffer, and fill without packing too tightly, since an overfilled casing bursts when twisted.
  8. Twist into links of about 15cm, or coil it into the traditional single long spiral, and prick any air pockets with a needle.
  9. Hang the sausages in a cool, airy place at around 12°C for two to three days, until the casings have dried to a matt finish and the surface is firm.
  10. If you have nowhere suitable, dry them uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator for three days instead, which is slower but safe.
  11. Grill over charcoal, or fry in a dry heavy pan, over a moderate heat for twelve to fifteen minutes, turning often. Too fierce a heat splits the casing and the fat is lost.
  12. Rest for five minutes, cut into rounds, and serve with lemon and ouzo.

Notes

The fennel and the dried bitter orange peel are the two things that make this Greek rather than generically Mediterranean, so do not economise on either; dried Seville peel is sold by Greek and Middle Eastern grocers and fresh zest is a fair substitute. Keep the meat and fat cold at every stage. The three-day dry is what develops the flavour and firms the texture, and a fresh loukaniko cooked the same day is a perfectly good sausage but not this one. Grill over moderate rather than fierce heat. The mixture also works shaped into patties if you would rather not deal with casings.

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