Lucanicae

Lucanicae were thin smoked Roman sausages that originated in a region in the south of Italy that was known as Lucania (today, Basilicata.)Ground pork was seasoned with cumin, laurel berries, parsley, pepper, rue, savoury and liquamen. The mixture was then ground again to blend it all well, then chopped fat, pine kernels and peppercorns were mixed up. The mixture was then packed into a sausage skin, and hung to be smoked. “Lucanicae were traditionally smoked above the fireplace and not otherwise cooked. ” ^[1]Bateman, Michael. The Real Caesar Salad. London: The Independent. 28 July 1996.

The sausage travelled throughout Italy and indeed throughout most of the Roman world.

In Rome and in the north of Italy, it became known as Luganega. The sausage passed to the Byzantines as “loukanikon.”

Today, it is known in Bulgaria as “lukanka”, in Greece as “loukanka”, in Portugal as “Linguiça”, and in Spain as “longaniza.” Variations occured to the recipe along with the name changes.

Cooking Tips

The smoking method appears to have been “cold smoking”; thus the sausage would require further cooking afterward.

Literature & Lore

“Lucanicas similiter ut supra scriptum est: Lucanicarum confectio teritur piper, cuminum, satureia, ruta, petroselinum, condimentum, bacae lauri, liquamen, et admiscetur pulpa bene tunsa ita ut denuo bene cum ipso subtrito fricetur. Cum liquamine admixto, pipere integro et abundanti pinguedine et nucleis inicies in intestinum perquam tenuatim perductum, et sic ad fumum suspenditur. ” — Apicius. De re conquinaria. Book II. IV.

“Filia Picenae venio Lucanica porcae: pultibus hinc niveis grata corona datur.” — Martial. Book 13. Epigram 35. (“Daughter of a Picenian pig, I come from Lucania; by me a grateful garnish is given to snow-white pottage.”)

“This is the most influential of all Roman recipes. The idea was brought back to Rome by soldiers who had served in Lucanica, in the “heel” of Italy, probably around Cato’s time. Peppery, spicy, smoked sausages are still made in many parts of the world, from Palestine to Brazil, under names that can be traced back to Lucanica. In Brazil, for example, they are called linguica. Recipes change with time, and modern versions (even the Italian ones) contain few of the original ingredients.” ^[2]Bateman, Michael. The Real Caesar Salad.

Sources

Adamsom, Melitta Weiss. Regional Cuisines of Medieval Europe. London: Routledge. 2002. Page 6.

Dalby, Andrew. Empire of Pleasure. London: Routledge, Inc. 2000.