# Cudighi - yooper sausage?



## hookied_up

I just heard of this a coupla days ago. I have never had one, but they sound great. I hear they are a big item at the Yooper (slang for a person from Michigans upper peninsula) pizza and sub shops, but I am in the lower penninsula, so it would be a long drive for a sandwich. They sound great though. The U.P. has some great cuisine.Served with pizza sauce, cheese, sometimes onions on a sub/hoagie roll.

The Wikipedia definition is here, and the Hormel Glossary definition is here. It is also defined here - and has a recipe for an Italian version. 

So anyone ever tried 'em?

What do ya think of the recipie? I found variations calling for cinnamon, all spice and even clove in different amounts. So is it just weird doctored up sausage, or a real U.P tradition?

BTW- first post


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## Michael in FtW

If I had to guess ... I would say that cudighi probably existed in Italy before Michigan was ever settled, or named. 

I get something very similar to the Italian cudighi at a local grocery store (Central Market) - that has butchers and they make sausages on site every day. They don't call it that - but appears to have all the ingredients from what my taste buds tell me.

Looking at the recipe for the Yopper version of the sausage here, on the same website where you got the Italian version recipe ... it's definately not "doctored up" .... it's definately played down. Sounds almost like "Johnsonville Mild Italian" sausage.

My step-daughter makes something like this at her restaurant, and I made it at home when she was a kid - when I made a big pot of Italian Gravy I would toss in 2-3 pounds of sausages to simmer for 4-6 hours in the sauce ... we would toast a sub roll, slap on a little gravy, stick in a sausage, sometimes a little red onion, then a couple slices of Mozzeralla or Provalone - then into the oven or under the broiler to melt the cheese. The Italian restaurant across the street used to make them, too (I've lived here 12 years, they've had 4 owners, 3 made sausage sandwiches - 1 only wanted to do pizze and he only lasted 2 years) ... ain't no big thing - it's just a sausage sandwich!

Now, if they used bulk sausage, made a round patty, fried it on a grill/griddle, put it on a round roll, that would be a little different.


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## mudbug

Where's Goodweed, our resident youper?  He should know something about this.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

Alas, I'm from the Eastern side of the U.P. and we don't have that particular sandwich around here.  We're more famous for our fresh-water fish and the beer batter its cooked in.  We also make some darned good smoked fish and pasties as well, unless that is, you eat at my house.  Then you never know what you might get.   But Cudighi Sausage is new to me.  I agree with Micahel.  It sounds like something carried over from Itally.  I would imagine that if you were to travel to Frankemuth, you would find predominantly Doiche sausages.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Robo410

ok not a yuper but i been there, oh ya, you bet you!  this sausage is very Italian, (west yuper ville by the copper mines n all don't you know, and not unlike a sweet Italian sausage BUT not made with fennel but with the spices the swedes brung wif em for their meatballs.  oh so good a sandwich you can make, you bet you!


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## puravida94

*mmm Cudighi, the memories*

I enjoyed this sandwich from Pasquali's (Negaunee, MI)

I found this from Wiki

A Cudighi is a spicy sausage patty sandwich, served in a long hoagie roll, with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. It is also served simply with raw onions and mustard on a roll. This sandwich is rarely encountered in the United States except in the Marquette, Ishpeming, Gwinn, and Negaunee area of Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where it can be found at almost all the local pizza and pasty shops. The word "Cudighi" is now unknown in Italy, although it seems to be derived from an old Lombard word for a salame made with bacon rind, so the recipe for what is known as "Cudighi" is likely highly specific to the Upper Peninsula. Hormel's glossary has an entry for Cudighi. The taste of Cudighi depends much on the amount of clove and cinnamon present in the mix.

there are good recipes on the web now days.

John


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## yooperhunter

*Similar but different*

I have read a number of threads all trying to explain what cudighi is and/or isn't.  It is not Italian sausage though it is uniquely Italian due to the high number of Italian immigrants in the UP (I am born and bred though now live in Chicago).  I love Italian sausage but cudighi is most definitely different.

Recipes differ from family to family (most of which are extended from the same family so there are very subtle differences) who are the actual owners of most of the bars/restaurants in the UP.  When my parents were growing up, older Italian women would sell cudighis out of their homes.  

Cudighi is a very dense sausage without the casing.  My favorite is from Ralph's Italian Deli on US41 in Ishpeming.  The Gervaci's have been serving authentic Italian specialties for several generations, so you can bet they are doing things right!  They will serve it any way you might like it, though my favorite is hot (they mix red pepper flakes into the meat) with sauce and mozzarella.  I have to stop or I am going to need a cold shower or visit a support group to get through this withdrawal!

Ralph's also servers pizza and all the other Italian specialties, as well as some pretty good pasties.  I don't know if they still serve them, but when I was growing up, they used to sell calzones on Thursdays.  I have never found a calzone that does justice to what they did/do!  Give them a call and have them ship you a pound or two.

If you are looking for pizza, go to the Congress in downtown Ishpeming.  Cracker thin with a nicely spiced sauce on top of the cheese.  The KISS principle is definitely in affect here.  They server pizza and cudighi and that's it!  Paul will ship to you anywhere in the world!


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## Olivia 57

You can find a seasoning packet for cudighi at aldospices.com or something like that, just Google it.  His site has many different recipes for using game meat such as venison.  The Italian side of my family made cudighi with venison and it was great!  After it has been cooked it is great cut up and served cold on crackers with cheese.  The Congress Bar pizza with cudighi is wonderful!  Voleworth's (not sure of spelling) Meat Co. sells it packaged in the Marquette county supermarkets, as does Angeli's (same spelling issue) Foods.  Cudighi has cinnamon in it and also Chianti (Italian dry red wine).  I also live away now and by the time I hit the bridge I'm salivating and have to have a Congress pizza as soon as I reach Marquette!  I always take home packages of cudighi in a cooler to freeze and cook up when I get really home sick!


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## Constance

Robo410 said:


> ok not a yuper but i been there, oh ya, you bet you!  this sausage is very Italian, (west yuper ville by the copper mines n all don't you know, and not unlike a sweet Italian sausage BUT not made with fennel but with the spices the swedes brung wif em for their meatballs.  oh so good a sandwich you can make, you bet you!



I would love an Italian sausage made without fennel!


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## Thowing.Fire.Twice

Born and raised (for a little while, anyways) in Gwynn Michigan, so Cudighi is pretty much a way of life up here.  Was lookin for a good cooking forum, and joined this one just because it had at least a cudighi topic 

The sausage itself doesn't taste anything like Johnsonvilles or whatever, at least to my refined UP cooking tastebuds   There are few places to get good cudighi, however.  I like buying the meat and making it myself, but there are a few small town meat packers that make it well.

If you haven't had one, and you'll be in the region (its really pretty, and lots to do, including a phenomenal micro brewery), I can throw out some suggestions.  

A small town called republic, its about 20 miles south of Ishpeming, which is in turn 35 miles south of Marquette, has the best cudighi sandwich, and the best meat to buy hands down in the UP.  Iron Mountain is a close second, but my uncle (no bias though, i have another whose cudighi I wouldn't touch) packages meat for the Maki's Mart in town.  And less than a block away is the Crow Bar and Grill.  Hands down, best meal for 6 dollars, ever.  A pint, a huge freaking cudighi sandwich, and homemade onion rings.  

The sandwich is pretty traditional, Hoagy style roll, flat cudighi patty, with a little sauce (kinda like pizza sauce, but its not), some peppers and onion, and mozzarella cheese.  

But the meat itself?  Best used in meatloaf, sausages, lasagna, chili, almost anything.  But maybe thats because I am a Yooper


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## Madyooper

*Cudighi*

I have to agree with the guy who said that Ralphs has the best sandwich. I like Lawry's too, but not quite as good. I also like that you can by Ralphs stuff raw and cook it when you want to at home.

My favorite pizza of all time has to be the Congress - I think they even use cudighi for their sausage!

I don't get back to Ishpeming as much as i would like, so i need to find a way to make this pizza at home. (i already have a couple cudighi recipes i can get buy with but would give my left nut for the congress pizza recipe). 

Can anyone help a fellow yooper (former) out???


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## Thowing.Fire.Twice

Lawry's is not the best at anything in my opinion, but they are a very good 2nd place in every way.  Even sells UP goods, like the awesome jam (name eludes me at the moment, I've been out for a few months :'()

The Congress... Haven't been there in a long time I don't think.  But I would gladly second the giving of a nut for that recipe.  Good luck on that one, my mother has been trying for years with no luck at getting very close.  Not saying it isn't good pizza, but you would know if you have been there.


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## Chad77

Well I see this is kinda old but it erks me when people try to mimic up lingo and cant get it wright doncha know holy wah eh any who I think cudighi is really good and nothing like thad der Itailan suauge youes are talkin about. If cha yas are in da up mainly in da Ishpeming area yas need ta go to da wayside and get yer self da cudighi and a beer fer $6.00 it be da best hands down!


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## GB

I have absolutely no idea what you are saying here Chad. This is one of the most bizarre first posts I have ever seen. Can you explain what it means?


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

I now know cudaghi.  There are two stores in the Sault Ste. Marie area that sell it fresh and uncooked.  One has an original recipe from the Ishpeming area, while the other has a recipe from who knows where, but that tastes phenomenal.  Best use of cudaghi for me is to mix it with good ground beef to make meatballs or meat loaf.  Add just a bit more basil and oregano, some chopped onion, and a great tomato based sause (gravy) and y00u have something to sing about.  The stuff is some of the best tasting sausage I know of.  In fact, a local chapter of the Knights of Columbus has asked me to make my cudaghi/ground beef recipe for their fall dinner.  I've replaced the guy that made them standing rib roast every year.  They like the cabbage rolls stuffed with my mixture it seems.  I'll be doing that tomorrow night.

Get yourself some cudaghi sausage and make a great sandwich, or mix it with other meat to create your own masterpiece.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## joesfolk

GB, Since you were wondering , Chad 77 was speaking yooper. It's a little known sect of the Michigander tribe found primarily in the northern realms.


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## GB

Thanks Joe! That makes sense now


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## LAJ

My speciality is pasties. I experimented with a Paul Prudhomme recipe years ago. His Welsh miner pastie recipe. I have never had any better, even in the up. I make them for my son who is in the service and he shares them with his boatmates. They are something new to them, since they are from all areas of the country. But, they are in high demand. It is a three day job. Spices one day. Dough the next. Cook the meat and veggies. And, put together. A labor of love for sure. My son likes to dip them in brown gravy.


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## LAJ

Chad77- I love your post. And, I understand your words completely. Has anyone seen the Jeff Daniels movie. I think it is called By the Moonlight or something like that about guys up in the UP in a cabin. You have to know the language to understand the movie.


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## Zhizara

LAJ said:


> My speciality is pasties. I experimented with a Paul Prudhomme recipe years ago. His Welsh miner pastie recipe. I have never had any better, even in the up. I make them for my son who is in the service and he shares them with his boatmates. They are something new to them, since they are from all areas of the country. But, they are in high demand. It is a three day job. Spices one day. Dough the next. Cook the meat and veggies. And, put together. A labor of love for sure. My son likes to dip them in brown gravy.



I for one would dearly love your recipe/instructions.  Because I'm retired I have the time, and I love the idea of a meat pie.  There is already a thread here:  http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f21/tourtiere-67904.html?highlight=meat+pies where you could post it.

Pretty please?


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

That movie is called "Escanaba in the moonlight" and is a very funny, if incredibly wacky movie.  Everybody should have a chance to see that movie, at least once in their life.  You probably don't want to see it a 2nd time.  But you need to see it once.  

And I'd like that pastie recipe as well.  I make a pretty good pastie, but am ever ready to try something new.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## LAJ

Thanks for the title. I may watch it again. Jeff Daniels has done alot as far as buying local and supporting the arts and small businesses in Michigan. Not just restaurants.


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## rockinup

*cudighi*

I'm from Marquette.
I AM a native yooper! A north Marquette Swamper. (If you don't know what that means, you aren't from Marquette.)
But, to get the ONLY best Cudighi out there, you have to go to Ralphs Italian Deli in Ishpeming, MI.
And, if you are a hunter. You need to have them smoke a hind quarter of your venison..heaven!


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## babetoo

Olivia 57 said:


> You can find a seasoning packet for cudighi at aldospices.com or something like that, just Google it. His site has many different recipes for using game meat such as venison. The Italian side of my family made cudighi with venison and it was great! After it has been cooked it is great cut up and served cold on crackers with cheese. The Congress Bar pizza with cudighi is wonderful! Voleworth's (not sure of spelling) Meat Co. sells it packaged in the Marquette county supermarkets, as does Angeli's (same spelling issue) Foods. Cudighi has cinnamon in it and also Chianti (Italian dry red wine). I also live away now and by the time I hit the bridge I'm salivating and have to have a Congress pizza as soon as I reach Marquette! I always take home packages of cudighi in a cooler to freeze and cook up when I get really home sick!


 
welcome to d.c. i just ordered two pkgs of seasoning for dudighi at aldospices. what kind of sausage would i use?


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