Identikit and main features
The Bra sausage is a sausage of lean cattle meat mixed with belly pork (20-30%), water and a mix of spices such as: salt, pepper, aromatic herbs. The forcemeat is finely milled and put in a natural gut. It can be eaten raw for the most and it does not need to be seasoned.
Area of production
The denomination “Salsiccia di Bra” is reserved to those products which are realised in the geographical area of the municipality of Bra. All these products have to be made up of fresh meats of Piedmontese farms.
History
The Salsiccia di Bra is a traditional product of braidese charcuterie. In the past it was prepare using cattle meat only, because in the neighbouring district of Cherasco there was an important Jewish community, who buying supplies at the Bra market, asked to have sausages with no pork meat. This tradition seems to be officialised by a Royal Decree issued by the Albertine Statute. It allowed the butchers of Bra to use cattle meat to prepare fresh sausages; this is a unique case in Italy, because at the time it was forbidden to use this meat for the production of the sausages. Moreover the Bra sausage has been included in the “Atlante dei prodotti tipici tradizionali del Piemonte”.
