Linguiça Toscana — Our New Brazilian Pork & Fennel Sausage
There's a new sausage in the cabinet. Its name is a mouthful, and so is the sausage. Meet the Linguiça Toscana: a pork sausage made with fennel and fragrant herbs. The flavour is gentle and savoury, and it tends to win over everyone at the table.
Italian inspiration, Brazilian love
The name tells you the story. Toscana is Tuscany, where pork and fennel have gone together for centuries. Linguiça (say ling-GWEE-sah) is what Brazilians call a sausage, and Brazil took this Italian idea and made it its own. Today it's one of the best-loved Brazilian sausages. Go to a churrasco in São Paulo and there's a good chance a coil of linguiça toscana is on the grill before the beef.
So it's Italian by birth and Brazilian at heart. We think it belongs at a Kiwi BBQ too.
What makes it different
Most of our sausages are bold. The Uruguayan chorizo and the Big Smokey make themselves known. Linguiça Toscana is the calm one in the family:
- Mild and juicy. The fennel is aromatic rather than sharp, and the herbs round it out without any heat.
- Family-friendly. Mild enough for the little ones, so the whole crew can eat from the same grill.
- No gluten, no dairy. It's made without either, so more people at the table can tuck in.
- Made the old fashioned way. Small batches, made in house with New Zealand pork from PigCare-certified farms, like the rest of our range.
How do you cook Linguiça Toscana?
Low and slow over charcoal. That's our favourite way, and it's hard to beat.
- Let the coals settle. Wait until the flames have died down and the charcoal is glowing under a layer of white ash. Too much heat splits the skin before the middle is cooked.
- Don't prick it. The juices stay inside the sausage, which is where you want them.
- Turn it often. Give it a quarter turn every few minutes so it browns evenly all the way round.
- Take your time. It's ready when it's golden outside and cooked right through, with no pink in the middle. Give it a couple of minutes off the heat before you slice.
To finish, add a generous spoonful of our house chimichurri on the side. The parsley, garlic and vinegar cut through the richness of the pork, which is why this pairing is a classic. Simple, rustic and seriously delicious.
No charcoal? A barbecue on medium heat or a heavy pan works fine. Keep the heat gentle and stay patient.
Make it an asado
Linguiça Toscana is great on its own and even better as part of a spread. Put it on the grill next to a picanha and a few chorizo, add bread, a salad and that chimichurri, and you've got an asado for the whole family.
You'll find it at the butchery counter at 3/60 Aviation Ave, Mount Maunganui, Tuesday to Saturday, alongside the rest of our sausages. Come say hola.