How to cook cotechino

Cotechino is the salume that needs the most patience: a whole afternoon on the stove, over a low heat. But it's worth it.

Three or four hours, over a low heat

Cotechino is made with pork meat and rind, minced and stuffed into a casing. It's the rind that needs time: cooked slowly and for a long time it turns soft, and the cotechino melts in your mouth. A fresh cotechino from the shop needs three or four hours, even more if it's a big one (Scatti di Gusto).

1. Soak it: keep it in cold water for a couple of hours, so the skin becomes more elastic and doesn't split in the pot.
2. Prick it in several places with a toothpick or a needle: the fat that melts finds its way out and the skin doesn't burst.
3. Wrap it in a clean cloth or in baking paper, tied like a salame: if the skin gives way, the filling stays inside. In the old days the cloth was sewn, and they called it “camicia”, the shirt.
4. Cold water: put it in a tall pot, covered with cold water, and bring it slowly to a simmer. A rolling boil splits it: the water should barely quiver.
5. Three or four hours: leave it like that, and if the water goes down, top it up with hot water.
6. Until it's on the table: once the heat is off, it can wait in its water. Then lift it out gently, because it's slippery, and cut it into slices about a centimetre thick.

Nice and hot

Cotechino is eaten hot, just sliced: soft, almost sticky on your lips because of the rind. Once cold it loses everything, so slice it at the very last moment.

What with? With lentils, as the New Year's Eve dinner demands; with mashed potatoes or with polenta; with a little mostarda or cren, grated horseradish.

Every piece is different

Cooking times depend on how big the cotechino is and how it's made. If you're unsure, ask us when you book it: we'll tell you how long to leave it on the heat.

Our other salumi for cooking, salsiccia (fresh sausage) and wurstel, are ready in a few minutes: here's how, in the pan or on the griddle.