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Meat from France

Saucisson de l'Ardèche IGPSaucisson de l'Ardèche

Saucisson de l'Ardèche is a dry pork sausage from the Ardèche. The meat is pre-salted for at least 24 hours before stuffing, chopped with hard fat, stuffed into natural casings taken from every part of the pig's gut, warmed above 22 °C until the paste turns red, and then dried for a minimum of 17 to 63 days according to the casing.

Fully documentedMeat20 days – 2.2 months

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specification sets the pre-salting salt, the casings and the minimum times. Seasoning doses are left to each producer.
Matured meat from heavy pigs or sows, and meat from standard-weight pigsup to 60 % eachFresh meat only[eu-ardeche-2015]
Hard pork fatHardened before chopping[cdc-ardeche-2016]
Salt (NaCl)at least 28 g per kg of meat for pre-salting[cdc-ardeche-2016]
Potassium nitrate (saltpetre, E252)The only additive allowed[cdc-ardeche-2016]
Sugars, maturing cultures, wine and spirits, spices, aromatics and pepperDoses and the ingredient list are left to each firm[cdc-ardeche-2016]
Startermaturing cultures (ferments de maturation) are an allowed ingredient

Total time across the recorded steps: 20 days – 2.2 months

Start
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What changes: Fresh pork and sow meat are trimmed and cut

Step 1 of 6
Select and cut fresh pork and sow meat
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds

Only prime cuts are used. Flawed pieces may not exceed 5 % of all pieces.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Saucisson de l'Ardèche is a dry pork sausage from the Ardèche. The meat is pre-salted for at least 24 hours before stuffing, chopped with hard fat, stuffed into natural casings taken from every part of the pig's gut, warmed above 22 °C until the paste turns red, and then dried for a minimum of 17 to 63 days according to the casing. Made in 6 steps over 20 days – 2.2 months. The longest step, age and dry (affinage), takes 17 days – 2.1 months (European Commission 2015). Salt is at least 2.8 % (Ministère de l'agriculture 2016).

Key numbers
Main step17 days – 2.1 monthsSet[eu-ardeche-2015][cdc-ardeche-2016]Age and dry (affinage)
Temperatureup to 4 °CSet[cdc-ardeche-2016][eu-ardeche-2015]Pre-salt the meat
Saltat least 2.8 %Set[cdc-ardeche-2016]Pre-salt the meat

What makes this one different

The Ardèche saucisson is pre-salted for at least a day before stuffing, and one recipe is stuffed into casings from every part of the pig's gut. The casing sets the minimum warm stage (36 or 60 hours) and the drying time (17 to 63 days).

Related ferments

Variants

  • Saucisse sècheSmall intestine casing of 30 mm or more; 17 or 21 days of drying at least.
  • Petit chaudin / chaudin / gros chaudinLarge intestine casings; 18 to 40 days of drying at least by size.
  • RosetteAnal canal casing, over 1 kg; at least 60 hours warm and 56 days of drying.
  • JésusCaecum casing, ovoid, 400 g or more; 32 or 63 days of drying; traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve.

Safety

The dry product must have a water activity of 0.91 or lower. Pre-salting takes place below 4 °C. These are figures for controlled production, not a home method. Washington State University Extension does not recommend making dry sausage at home, because S. aureus toxin can form if fermentation is not rigidly controlled.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The 2016 specification says the Ardèche's pig tradition goes back to the 16th century, when Olivier de Serres described the rites of the pig slaughter in his Le théâtre de l'Agriculture. Entered in the EU register as a PGI by Implementing Regulation (EU) No 719/2011 of 20 July 2011, and amended by Regulation (EU) 2016/655.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [wsu-sausage] Washington State University Extension, Homemade Meat, Poultry, and Game Sausages (EB1661)gov
  2. [eu-ardeche-2015] European Commission 2015, Publication of an amendment application, Saucisson de l'Ardèche PGI (FR-PGI-0105-01303), with single document, Official Journal C 437, 29.12.2015 (CELEX 52015XC1229(02)), read via the EU Publications Office cellarspec
  3. [cdc-ardeche-2016] Ministère de l'agriculture 2016, Cahier des charges de l'IGP Saucisson de l'Ardèche, associated with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/655, Bulletin officiel du Ministère de l'agriculture n° 20-2016spec
  4. [eu-reg-719-2011] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 719/2011 of 20 July 2011 entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Saucisson de l'Ardèche (PGI)), Official Journal L 193, 23.7.2011spec
  5. [eu-reg-2016-655] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/655 of 15 April 2016 approving non-minor amendments to the specification for a name entered in the register (Saucisson de l'Ardèche (PGI)), Official Journal L 114, 28.4.2016spec