▶The Smacafam is a kind of savory pie typical of the area between the Adamello and the Dolomites. A simple and hearty preparation, as its name suggests, which in the Trentino dialect means “hunger crusher”.
▶Traditionally, it is cooked in copper pans and under ashes; its ingredients include: flour, milk, oil, Trentino luganega sausage, lard, butter, and salt.
▶Recipes vary from valley to valley, and among the ingredients often found are smoked bacon or Parmesan cheese, and there are also versions made with buckwheat flour. Like my version for a gluten-free alternative.
▶In its classic Trentino version, the luganega sausage is composed solely of pork and spices and is stuffed into a 6-inch veal casing divided in two and then, after drying, aged for a minimum of 3 weeks.
▶It originated as a homemade recipe, a triumph of meat before the start of Lent. Its origins are likely tied to the rise of Trentino luganega sausage in the Middle Ages.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 7 oz Trentino luganega sausage
- 3/4 oz lard
- 1 1/2 oz smoked bacon (diced)
- to taste salt and pepper
Steps
Sauté the lard with the bacon and brown the luganega sausage.
Mix the buckwheat flour with the milk, add the eggs.
In a baking dish, preferably copper, buttered or oiled, spread half of the flour mixture, then add the luganega with the bacon, and cover with the other half of the flour.
Bake in the oven at 400°F for 40 minutes.
FAQ
What is the difference between Trentino luganega and the Venetian and Lombard varieties?
In its Trentino version, the luganega is composed solely of pork and spices and is stuffed into a veal casing.
The amount for each kg of meat and ground lard at medium grain is usually composed as follows: 25 to 27 grams of salt; 3 to 2 grams of black pepper; about as much garlic powder.
In Lombardy, the length should be about 8 inches with a minimum of 7 inches.
The casing must be natural and the preparation is folded back on itself to form a cluster.
The diameter is 1.5–2 inches.
The ground mixture with medium-fine granulometry is added with salt and spices in addition to pure pork meat.
In the Bergamo variant, even wine passed in garlic. The tying is done by hand.
The Treviso luganega is a pinkish color more or less intense, with dimensions: length about 3-4 inches, diameter 1-1.5 inches, stuffed in pork casing and continuously strung in lines of 2/3 meters.
The mixture is made using bacon, cheek, shoulders, and trimmings resulting from deboning the meat.
