Saucisson sec

Saucisson sec (saucisson, French dry sausage) is a French dry sausage made from raw pork. The mince is salted, seasoned, stuffed into natural casing, left to ferment and then dried: from 18 to 45 days depending on size, according to the Saucisson de Lacaune PGI specification. The Auvergne specification adds another trait: this saucisson is neither smoked nor rolled in herbs.

Picture 11 villages in the Monts de Lacaune in the Tarn, at about 800 m. There saucissons dry in rooms that take in outside air every day, as the Lacaune specification requires. The French have three such PGIs: Saucisson de l'Ardèche (2011), Saucisse sèche de Lacaune (EU Regulation 2015/2178) and Saucisson sec d'Auvergne (2016/1676).

The raw material is pig, and only the good parts: ham, loin, shoulder, belly and hard back fat. Lacaune requires at least 80 % lean, a coarse grind of 8 mm or more, and just three seasonings: salt, pepper and nutmeg. In Auvergne at least 70 % of the mix comes from heavy carcasses, sows above 120 kg or pigs above 93 kg.

The Ardèche route is the most detailed. First the meat is salted for at least 24 hours below 4 °C with 28 g of salt per kilo, which is Curing of meat in its plainest form. Then mince of 6 mm or more goes into pig casing and spends at least 36 hours in the warm, above 22 °C at 80–85 % humidity, so fermentation can start. Next comes the drying room, where a white «fleur» appears on the casing. In Auvergne the whole cycle takes 21 days for a 200–400 g stick and 42 days for one above 800 g.

What does it taste like? Ardèche is lightly salty and spiced, with a hint of acidity in thick casings. Auvergne smells of garlic, with a red to dark red slice. Lacaune leads with pepper and has no acidity.

Compared with the salami or chorizo sold in the UK and US, saucisson sec is a plain pork sausage: in Lacaune only salt, pepper and nutmeg, and the Auvergne version is not smoked. Chorizo differs because of paprika: in Spain it defines the product, while the French specifications do not mention it. Saucisse sèche is the slimmer sibling in thin small intestine, 2.5–5 cm across. Both belong to the large family of Dry-cured sausages.

At the deli counter or on the supermarket shelf, look for the PGI name, the EU logo and the words «pur porc» (pure pork). The white coat is Noble mould on dry sausages; makers may leave it or brush it off, and Auvergne saucisson can also come «cendré», in ash.

How should you keep it? For Ardèche, INAO suggests wrapping it in a clean cloth or saucisson bag and keeping it somewhere dry, not in the fridge. USDA FSIS gives a whole hard dry sausage 6 weeks in the pantry and 3 weeks once opened.

Why this matters to you: according to Ciqual, 100 g of saucisson sec has 418 kcal and 4.75 g of salt. It shines in thin slices on a board rather than as a whole stick. For its relatives see Cured meats & charcuterie.