Manticore sausage

One of the most celebrated products of Ahrmur's culinary tradition is Manticore sausage, in two varieties: dry and ut badd.

Etymology and origin

by Unknown

The word sausage is a generic culinary term derived from Sawzig and denotes a product made from salted, spiced and then dried meat. In this case, the meat used is obtained from the secondary cuts from the carcasses of an anthropophagous predator found in the hills and forests of central-western Phaldorya: the manticore. Given the difficulty and dangers of catching this animal, it is rarely discarded. Even the spines of the tail are recovered and once the poison, which is used for medical purposes, has been extracted, they are used to make writing quills.

Casings

The casing of this sausage is made from the intestines of the manticore itself. Soaked for a day and a night, they are then rinsed in running water and salted to prevent putrefaction. This way they can be stored in jars for later use after de-salting.

by Ivabalk

Ingredients

The traditional recipe for Manticore Sausage calls for minced meat, usually obtained from trimmings and minor cuts, weighing no less than seventy percent. This is mixed with diced fat, approximately twenty percent of the total weight. The rest of the sausage is made up of a mixture of breadcrumbs, salt, and spices including fennel, ground white pepper, garlic, nutmeg and juniper.

Drying

After the mixture is placed in the casing, the integrity of which is carefully checked, the sausage is hung to dry for a minimum of three months. For the first forty-five days, the sausage is kept in an environment where braziers are used to keep the temperature stable at around forty degrees. After this period it is moved to a cool, dry environment to promote the formation of a mould patina that prevents the growth of dangerous bacteria. The last few days are spent in an even warmer environment than the first to ensure that all the residual water escapes. At the end of the process, the sausage must be perfectly dry, so that it can be stored for a long time without any special precautions.

Item type

Consumable, Food / Drink

Creation Date

The first written record about this product is from 1123CM by Leuwbert the sage, a Danu's priest although probably it was a long established tradition

Weight

Variable, usually between 700gr and 5kg

Dimensions

Between 30 and 40cm

Base Price

4gp per Kg

Sawzig ut badd variant

This product variety has a number of distinguishing features. First of all, a strong, dry red wine is used in the dough, which gives it a very special taste, and secondly, the manticore bladder is used as a casing, which gives it its traditional 'pear' shape. Sawzig ut badd is dried according to the standard procedure and then cooked before being eaten. First it is immersed in cold water, if it sinks immediately it is free of fermentation defects, if it sinks slowly or floats it indicates the presence of gas pockets so the product must be discarded. It should then be immersed in lukewarm water overnight and then rinsed under running water to remove the surrounding patina of mould. It is then cooked for four to eight hours, after which it is cut into slices and eaten with vegetables, bread, polenta or in a sauce.

by Cercamon