For decades, immersed in studying, working, learning, and teaching in the craft of meat curing, now sharing his passion with you through eat cured meat online resource.
A cured sausage can have many types and variations; most people I come across don’t even know what a cured sausage is!
Defining a cured sausage specifically needs to be done to categorize it. I’ve found wide interpretations both online and offline.
I’ve been curing and making sausage (I wrote about why they are so good here), even uncured sausages, for more than a few decades. I’ve encountered variations from Europe, Asia, and America’s new-age creations!
I will give a quick definition of each type of cured sausage.
Then, try to highlight some tables with these different types, briefly describing each. Many of these regionally based styles have lasted the test of time.
Some have been protected by law due to their cultural significance. I like classics, though I do like to create my own styles and see what new-age cured sausages and salami are being made.
Different Types of Cured Sausage and Salami
Contents
These are examples of the four main categories of cured sausages; there are thousands of variations and recipes for the cured types.
There are also many thousands more variations of fresh sausage recipes! Fresh sausage is seasoned raw meat that you cook on a grill, bake, or by other means.
All the below-cured sausages/salami are ready to eat.
Here is a breakdown of the four types of cured sausage/salami.
![](https://eatcuredmeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Different-Cured-Sausages-large.jpg)
Type | Example | Time to Make |
---|---|---|
Cured, Fermented, Dried | Dry Cured Salami | 4 to 26 weeks |
Cured, Cold Smoked, Dried | Hungarian Kolbász Salami | 4 to 26 weeks |
Cured, Fermented, Raw | Spreadable Cold Smoked Mettwurst | 1 to 2 days |
Cured, Cooked/Hot Smoked | Kabanosy, Cabanossi, or Kabana | 1 day |
Now, let’s get into examples, descriptions, and more detail about cured sausage types.
Cured, Fermented, Dried
Origin | Name | Meat | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Italy | Genoa Salami | Pork | Pork, A classic, coarse-ground salami |
Italy | Milano Salami | Pork | Finely ground, mildly seasoned salami |
Italy | Soppressata | Pork | Spicy, coarsely ground salami |
Italy, Parma | Felino Salami | Pork | Medium-grind, seasoned salami |
Italy, Tuscany | Finocchiona | Pork | Flavored with fennel seeds |
Spain | Dry Cured Chorizo | Pork | Smoked paprika/pimenton, tangy |
France | Saucisson Sec | Pork | Air-dried, flavored with garlic |
France | Saucisse Sèche | Pork | Air-dried, flavored with garlic |
French, Lyon | Rosette de Lyon | Pork | Coarsely ground, garlicky salami |
French, Lyon | Jésus de Lyon | Pork | Small, dried, and seasoned salami |
North America | Pepperoni | Pork or Beef | Spicy, peppercorn, cured sausage |
North America | Hard Salami | Pork or Beef | Generic Name, Firm salami |
Spain | Longaniza | Pork | Garlic, Peppercorns, Cumin |
Croatia | Kulen | Pork | Garlic, Pepper |
Serbia | Sudžuk | Beef or Lamb | Dry, spicy sausage |
Chinese | Lap Cheong | Pork | Sweet, dried salami for cooking |
Switzerland or Germany | Landjäger | Pork | Air-dried, seasoned snack sausage |
Cured, Cold Smoked, Dried Sausage
There is probably some natural fermentation happening with some of these traditional cured recipes.
Origin | Name | Description |
---|---|---|
Hungary | Kolbász | Paprika, Garlic, Pepper Classic Salami |
Spain | Salchichón | Mild, large-diameter sausage |
German | Thuringia | Eichsfelder Feldgieker garlic, coriander, slightly acidic |
Greek | Pafos | Loukaniko, Red Greek Wine, Lentisk Seeds, Cumin, Coriander |
South Africa | Droëwors | Dried (not smoked), Coriander Seed |
Serbia | Sremska kobasica | Beef/pork, light smoke |
Cured, Fermented, Raw
Some of these are cooked or poached, while you can also get spreadable salami like Njuda from Southern Italy. Many of the below—which are Germany of Origin—are not dried and are just eaten raw.
Spreadable Sausages | Description | Main Ingredients |
---|---|---|
Teewurst | Smoked and spreadable sausage with a smooth texture | Pork, beef, bacon |
Mettwurst | Raw and spreadable sausage with a minced pork and beef base | Pork, beef |
Leberwurst | Liver sausage with a creamy texture and rich flavor | Pork liver, pork meat, fat |
Blutwurst | Blood sausage with a spreadable texture and robust taste | Pork blood, pork fat, fillers (e.g., barley, breadcrumbs, rice) |
Schwartenmagen | Head cheese with a gelatinous texture and tangy flavor | Pig’s head, skin, meat |
Zungenwurst | Tongue sausage with a spreadable consistency and savory taste | Pork tongue, bacon, other pork cuts |
Hackepeter | Seasoned raw minced pork, often enjoyed spread on bread | Minced pork, onions, salt pepper |
Njuda | Dry Cured, Hot Spicy Calabrian speciality | Pork Pepperocinio |
Cured, Cooked/Hot Smoked
These styles of cooked/hot smoked sausage, last slightly longer than fresh meat. With the addition of a reasonable amount of salt. However, it is like a few days maybe up to 5 days.
More salt than you would get when seasoning the food you were cooking. but not as much as you would use for preserved curd/fermented meat like the above first type.
Origin | Name | Description |
---|---|---|
Poland | Krakowska | Allspice, Coriander, Garlic |
Portugal | Linguiça | Rich spice blend |
Poland | Kabanosy | Nutmeg, Caraway spices |
Switzerland | Cervelat | Known as Thuringer or USA Summer Sausage |
Poland | Wiejska | Hearty Polish Smokey |
Poland | Kielbasa | Classic Polish, Garlic, Pepper |
Ukraine | Tourist sausage | Caraway, Garlic |
Ukraine | Podhalanska | Pepper, All Spice, Garlic |
Germany | Jagdwurst | Mustard, Mace, Coriander, Ginger |
Brazil, Linguiça Calabresa, Smoked, Paprika, Fennel, Chili
Similar sausages are found in other countries as well, notably the Czech Republic (spelled “klobása”, or regionally “klobás”), Slovakia (spelled “klobása”), and Slovenia (spelled “klobása”). In Croatia, as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia, this sausage is called “kobasica” or “kobasa”, while in Bulgaria and North Macedonia it is called “kolbas”.) In Austria it is called “Klobassa” (similar to the neighbouring Slavic-speaking countries). In South Africa, this type of sausage is known as the “Russian” sausage, and is often deep-fried and served with chips as fast food.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kielbasa#Explanatory_notes
The basis of this list is research I did online, as well as the book Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages by Miranski and Mirianski. Experts in Home and Commercial Cured Sausages and Salami
I could also go into many subvariations of these main variations of cured sausage!