Campotosto mortadella

Campotosto mortadella is an oval cured sausage made from lean, selected cuts of pork, such as shoulder and ham, finely ground with a little pancetta. A strip of lard about ten centimetres long is placed in the centre of the mixture.

It is sold tied in pairs with hand-knotted string: because of its shape and the pairing, in the village it is known as «coglioni di mulo» (mule’s balls). It is a Slow Food Presidium, created to distinguish it from industrial imitations made with pre-cooked casings, frozen lard and preservatives.

It is made in Campotosto, a village on the shores of the lake of the same name, in the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park. It is aged in natural rooms at about 1,300 metres, aired by the north wind (tramontana).

1. In winter pork shoulder and ham are finely ground with a little pancetta, and the mixture is seasoned.
2. The mortadella is shaped around a strip of lard about ten centimetres long.
3. The mortadelle are tied in pairs with string; a little stick slipped into the binding tightens it as the sausage dries.
4. They are smoked for about 15 days over oak or beech wood.
5. They age in naturally aired rooms: at least 2 months according to the rules, but they are ready after about 3 months.

Campotosto mortadella is enjoyed on its own, in not-too-thin slices, to taste the contrast between meat and lard.

• Sliced with country bread and a glass of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
• On a board with pecorino and Gran Sasso canestrato
• With Easter cheese bread and hard-boiled eggs at the Easter breakfast
• With fresh broad beans in spring

• Slice it by hand, a few millimetres thick, removing the string and casing.
• Once cut, cover the open end with food paper and keep it in the fridge.
• Whole, it keeps hanging in a cool, dry place.
• When cut, the meat should be compact and deep red, the lard white, sweet and crunchy.

Photo 1: a Campotosto mortadella cut open, with the strip of lard in the centre. Credits: Infinitispazi (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons, resized; the menu icon is also made from it.

In the past, families in Campotosto made their mortadelle together, as community work, after the pig was slaughtered; they started eating them at Easter.

The method has stayed the same. Today only a few producers in the village still make it by hand, and the Slow Food Presidium helps them defend it against imitations.