As it dissolves during cooking, the fat from pork skin gives this sausage a luxurious texture.
A cotechino ($5.99 per pound) — the spelling "coteghino" seems rare in New York — is a coarse sausage with Northern Italian roots that may contain as much fatty meat as lean. Traditionally it was cobbled together from odds and ends, but today minced pork skin is considered essential; as the sausage cooks (the cross-section above shows the result of several hours' poaching), the gelatin in the rind distributes itself throughout the interior. In slices, the rich, even unctuous result can be paired with lentils at a New Year's celebration; with a resilient rye bread, it also makes a sturdy finger sandwich to enjoy during the football playoffs.
Vincent's Meat Market
2374 Arthur Ave. (East 186th-187th Sts.), Bronx
718-295-9048
Comments