Cotechino

{{Short description|Type of Italian sausage}}

{{Italics title}}

Cotechino ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|oʊ|t|ᵻ|ˈ|k|iː|n|oʊ|,_|-|t|eɪ|ˈ|-}}, {{IPA|it|koteˈkiːno|lang}}) is a large Italian pork sausage requiring slow cooking; usually it is simmered at low heat for several hours.{{cite web

|url=https://www.lacucinaitaliana.com/italian-food/italian-dishes/cotechino-and-zampone-christmas-sausages

|title=Cotechino and Zampone: Italian Holidays Sausages

|publisher=La Cucina Italiana

|access-date=18 June 2024}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/28/lentils-with-italian-sausage-recipe-new-year-rachel-roddy-a-kitchen-in-rome|title=Rachel Roddy's recipes for four new year treats inspired by Italy|author=Rachel Roddy|date=2017-12-28|work=The Guardian|accessdate=2017-12-30}} Its name comes from cotica ('rind'), but it may take different names depending on its various locations of production. Traditionally, it is served with lentils or mashed potatoes.{{Cite web |date=2019-12-31 |title=Cotechino and Zampone: Italian Christmas Sausages and the Difference Between Them |url=https://www.lacucinaitaliana.com/italian-food/italian-dishes/cotechino-and-zampone-christmas-sausages?refresh_ce= |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=La Cucina Italiana |language=en-US}} Lentils are the common choice on New Year's Eve,{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/28/lentils-with-italian-sausage-recipe-new-year-rachel-roddy-a-kitchen-in-rome|title=Rachel Roddy's recipes for four new year treats inspired by Italy|author=Rachel Roddy|date=2017-12-28|work=The Guardian|accessdate=2017-12-30}} because their shape is said to resemble coins and thus to be a sign of prosperity in the coming year.

It is prepared by filling the natural casing with rind, pork meat (usually secondary cuts), and fat mixed with salt and spices; in industrial production, nitrites and nitrates are added as preservatives. Some similar sausages exist in the Italian cooking tradition, for example musetto and zampone which are made with different cuts and parts of the pig, musetto being made with meat taken from the pig's muzzle, and zampone, which is encased in the lower part of a pig's trotter, partly boned and with the rind stitched together at the top.