Ragù di Salsiccia
Sausage ragù gets its character from the sausage, so the label matters. Italian regional versions use local fresh sausage; boerewors produces a South African sauce with a different spice profile.
Coarse, clingy and moist, with browned sausage pieces.
Pork-rich, gently aromatic and tomato-balanced.
What the record supports.
Fresh-sausage pasta sauces occur across Italy with regional differences in seasoning, tomato and wine.
Malloreddus alla Campidanese provides a particularly strong Sardinian sausage-sauce connection.
Every ingredient has a job.
Fresh sausage
Coarsely crumbled meat provides fat, seasoning and texture.
Wine
It lifts the browned sausage fond.
Tomato
A moderate base binds the crumbles without drowning them.
Build it in order.
Use a plain fresh pork sausage when possible. Boerewors is delicious but coriander and vinegar make the result a clearly local variation.
- 01
Remove casings and brown sausage in loose nuggets.
- 02
Soften onion in the rendered fat and deglaze with wine.
- 03
Add tomato and simmer until the sausage is tender and the sauce reduced.
- 04
Finish ridged pasta in the sauce and add the regionally suitable cheese.
Pasta that helps.
- Malloreddus
- Rigatoni
- Orecchiette
Substitutions
Boerewors creates a South African-inspired ragù.
Beef sausage works but is leaner.
Common mistakes
Steaming crowded sausage
Using pre-cooked sausage
Adding extra fennel before tasting the sausage
Storage and freezing
Refrigerate for 3 days.
Freeze for 3 months.
Warm gently until piping hot.
White sausage ragù omits tomato.
Saffron and sheep's cheese point toward Sardinian preparations.
Put the technique to work.
Sources and method
Scholarly consensusSardinian pasta contextSausage and malloreddus association