AI-generated A thick cured sausage from the Plana de Vic, a high plain north of Barcelona, protected since 2001 as an EU geographical indication. The recipe is close to bare: ham, shoulder and prime lean pork, cubes of back fat, sugars, salt and pepper, with no other seasoning. The flavour comes from the mould that grows on the casing during weeks of drying. That bloom starts out whitish and turns a violet brown, and a cut shows dark red meat dotted with white fat and whole peppercorns. Catalan speakers call it llonganissa; salchichón is the Spanish name.
History
The official specification cites written references to the sausage from 1456. Farmhouses on the plain made it to keep the best cuts through the year after the winter slaughter, in a climate that happened to suit drying. By the 19th century its fame had spread: the newspaper El Porvenir wrote of the "already famous" sausages of Vic on 29 May 1867, and in 1870 the Círculo Literario de Vic gave a prize to an essay on the subject. Alfonso XIII made a habit of visiting a sausage factory on his trips to Vic, and the municipal archive holds an invoice for 18.40 pesetas for a batch prepared for him, at a time when a kilo cost two pesetas. Catalonia recognised the name in 1988 as a quality designation, and the EU registered it in 2001.
Ingredients
Preparation
Trimmers clean the fresh meat, which then gets chopped and mixed with the cubed fat and seasonings, sometimes with a house starter culture. The mass macerates in airless blocks until it shows the first signs of fermentation, then goes into natural casing with no air pockets left behind. The sausages dry for at least 30 days if under 300 g and at least 45 days from 300 g up. On the plain, at about 500 metres, an average of 225 foggy days a year and cool mountain air keep the drying slow. The specification credits that climate for the mould and bacteria that give the sausage its taste. It is eaten raw, in slices.
Taste
Cured pork and black pepper, with nothing else to hide behind. The fermentation and mould add the savoury, slightly cellar-like depth that sets it apart from a younger fuet. No paprika, no garlic.
Texture
Firm and compact, with a clean smooth cut and a clear border between lean and fat. The casing peels away easily. Whole peppercorns give an occasional crunch.
Rituals & Traditions
Look for the numbered label
Plenty of cured sausage gets called llonganissa de Vic in everyday speech. The protected one carries a numbered label with the PGI logo, and only a handful of companies on the plain may use it.
Esmorzar de forquilla
The Catalan fork breakfast, eaten between 9 and 11 in a bar on working days: a hot dish, cured sausage, bread and a drink.
