The expert jury formed by Paladar has chosen the best sausage available on the shelves, widely used to cover pizzas
Created in Brazil by Italian immigrants from the Calabria region of southern Italy, Calabrian sausage is made with pork and fat, plus seasonings such as Calabrian pepper, which adds heat and is the sausage’s trademark.
Very present in everyday cooking, Calabrian sausage exudes versatility as an ingredient. It can be used as a complement to beans, or cooked in a pan it can be used as a snack. Sausage also goes well in the preparation of sauces, as a filling for bread, pasta and pies. Not to mention that sausage is often used to cover pizzas. However, it is worth pointing out that there are marked differences between Calabrian sausage and Calabrian sausage, which dominates the shelves.
Peppers vs. Peppers
According to MAPA (Ministry of Agriculture) standards, peppers are made from pork and peppers and must go through a cooking process. Although most brands available on the market are smoked, this production step is not required by law.
Like the traditional version, pepperoni sausage must also be made with pork, but it can contain other proteins in the formulation such as CMS (mechanically separated meat), which is obtained by grinding and separating the bones and meat. Meat packers can also add up to 2.5% of vegetable proteins, such as soy, to this category of products. “In addition to having a much lower cost than pork, soy proteins have a great capacity for absorbing water, which helps emulsify the recipe,” explains master butcher Edson Navarro, of the Curato artisanal cured meat school.
Which pepperoni for pizza?
When it comes to Calabrian sausage, chefs agree that the artisanal version is the best choice for pizza toppings. Chef Diego Sacilotto, of the Mozzafiato group, which includes places like La Crosta Forneria, uses Calabrian sausage cured with a touch of fennel in toppings like fenocchio (R$ 69), with tomato sauce, sweet herb pickles and Mozzarella.
Excess salt and fat are some of the characteristics that can be found in most brands of Calabrian cured meats available on the shelves. When choosing peppers for pizza, it is worth looking for versions with excess fat. “A good pepper cannot form a fat reserve, which is not at all pleasant on pizza,” explains chef Fellipe Zanuto, of the restaurant Hospedaria and pizzerias A Pizza da Mooca, Da Mooca Pizza Shop and Onesttà. One way to get around this problem is to pre-roast the peppers before adding them to the pizza. “It makes all the difference,” says chef Eduardo Almeida Simone, of the bakery Qui o Qua.
In the mix between pastry and bread, Simone uses artisanal sausage. Among the suggestions for pizza al taglio – a typical Roman recipe with thick dough and square slices -, a favorite is the Calabrese (R$ 17 per piece), which has tomato sauce, pre-roasted artisanal sausage, leeks and fior di latte mozzarella. di latte. Another characteristic is excessive smoke. To balance it all, the advice is to combine the peppers with ingredients such as the classic sliced onion: here is the topping for the San Paolo pepper pizza (no cheese, please!).
In the case of the pepperoni pizza (R$79) at Onesttà, one of the pizzerias run by Zanuto, the sliced sausage goes on top of the onion. “This way the onion absorbs the liquid from the peppers and cooks at the same time,” explains the chef.
What is the best Calabrese sausage on the market?
Paladar assembled a team of experts including chefs Diego Sacilotto, from La Crosta Forneria, Fellipe Zanuto, from A Pizza da Mooca, Eduardo Almeida Simone, from Qui o Qua, and master butcher Edson Navarro, from the Curato cured meats school, to evaluate nine options available on the shelves. The jury tasted the cured meats both fresh and briefly baked at Forneria La Crosta – where the blind test was carried out.
The sausages were purchased* on the morning of the test, in supermarkets in the capital São Paulo. And they were evaluated by experts based on criteria such as appearance, aroma, texture and flavor. And the winner was the Calabrian sausage from Sadia. Discover the favorite brands of our jury and more details about the brands evaluated**.
*The values of the products mentioned below are updated as of June 20, 2024.
**The following reviews are a collection of the chefs’ comments during the tasting
The best pepper sausages
- Sadia
- Priest
- Loss
Aurora
Made with pork, mechanically separated chicken and soy protein, the brand’s pepperoni sausage is cooked and smoked. The difference is the presence of garlic, which was not detected in the blind tasting. With an intense smoky aroma, the lighter colored sausage has little visible fat. In the mouth it has a pinch more salt than necessary. (R$ 29.09, 500 g, at Mambo)
American Foods
According to the packaging, the brand’s pepperoni sausage is naturally smoked. Made from pork and mechanically separated from poultry, in addition to bacon and soy protein, the sausage contains peppers such as bell peppers, garlic and onion in the list of ingredients. However, the flavor is quite mild and, unlike most of the samples evaluated, it has a low salt content. With a chemical flavor, the formulation is also fat-free. (R$ 12.89, 350 g, at Carrefour)
Noble foods
Made from pork meat and fat, in addition to mechanically separated chicken meat, the brand’s pepper sausage also contains soy protein in its composition. With more visible pieces of meat, it has a balanced amount of fat, which does not release completely after cooking. However, the peppers could have been slightly saltier. (R$ 23.90, 1 kg, at Carrefour)
Loss
The brand’s pepperoni sausage won third place in the blind tasting. Cooked and smoked, it is made of pork, chicken and mechanically separated pork, as well as soy protein. In the mouth it has a slight acidity, an extra touch of salt, in addition to the spiciness provided by black pepper. Although it does not contain many fat globules, after cooking it releases a lot of fat. (R$ 13.25, 400 g, at Sadia Market)
Priest
The brand, which won a silver medal in the blind test, is cooked, smoked and contains mechanically separated poultry meat in its formulation. In addition to garlic, onion and peppers, the label also lists chili pepper and ginger among the seasonings. With a subtle (even too much, according to the jury) smoky aroma, the slightly sweet tasting sausage could have been a little more oily. After coming out of the oven, the pepper slices were a little firmer than they should have been (R$ 21.49, 500 g, at Carrefour).
Quality
Produced by the Cardeal slaughterhouse in São Caetano do Sul, in the ABC region of São Paulo, Grupo Pão de Açúcar’s own brand of pepperoni is cooked and, unlike the other samples in the test, is not smoked – no jury member found any smoke in the blind test. Made from pork shoulder and belly, it contains mechanically separated chicken meat and a percentage of soy protein. As a result, the brand’s sausage is more like a sausage. With little salt and a little sweetness in the mouth, when it goes in the oven, the slice shrinks and becomes firmer than expected. (R$ 18.90, 500 g, in Extra)
Sadia
Winner of the blind test, the brand’s pepperoni sausage is cooked and smoked: the label features a natural smoke aroma. According to the manufacturer, it can also be prepared in the airfryer. Made from pork and mechanically separated chicken and pork, it also contains soy protein in the formulation. Firm in texture, it has a good percentage of fat and is a little saltier than necessary. After cooking, the greasiness becomes even more present (R$ 14.28, 400 g, at Mercato Sadia)
harvest
Made with pork, mechanically separated chicken, soy protein and a natural smoke flavor, the brand’s peppers have excess fat and a very intense smoked flavor. When they come out of the oven, the slice dries and shrinks, which can indicate either that the emulsion was not made correctly or that there is excess water in the formulation. (R$ 13.90, 400 g, at Hirota Food Supermercados)
Fast
The brand’s sausage is made from pork, soy protein and mechanically separated chicken meat. Although the label does not specify that the sausage is smoked, it has a natural smoke flavor, which the judges said was excessive. At first glance it has a good ratio of meat to fat, but in the oven the fat is released, leaving it fattier than necessary. In the mouth it has a touch of acidity and a little more salt. (R$ 11.50, 400 g, from Swift)
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
