According to tradition, the Cotechino is usually produced in winter using the prize meat of the anterior shin of a large pig and the lard of its leg. The meat is coarsely minced, flavoured, wrapped and dried for ten days. In order to avoid the Cotechino meat becoming too dark during cooking, a small amount of nitrates is added. Cotechino is a type of pork meat cured in a similar way to Zampone, but the difference is the external wrapping: the Cotechino “sack” is made from a better quality of leg rind. Cotechino, the recipe for which has been around for longer than that of Zampone, was created to make use of poor cured meat. It was usually served with vegetable soup or minestrone and lentils. The first recorded mention of Cotechino dates back to 1745: its cost and recipe appears in a “price control” in 1746. The Cotechino became synonymous with its current noble position in 1910, when the famous Pellegrino Artusi nominated “Cotechino Fasciato" as recipe number 322 in his famous book "La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene" (“Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well”). To fully taste its flavour, the Cotechino must be boiled in unsalted water for 3 hours, the water must be cold at the beginning and become simmering to properly cook the meat. Before proceeding with cooking it is recommended to punch the Cotechino rind with a stick and wrap it in a dishcloth or in tin-foil.
