Fuet

Fuet is a typical sausage from the region of Catalonia in Spain. Easily recognisable by its narrow, long, sausage-like shape, fuet is not lacking in any home when it comes to a tapas and beer session in good company.

With its smooth texture, this characteristic white layer and unique flavour is the perfect accompaniment to a sausage table.

Difference between Fuet and Salchichón

These two cured meats are often confused. Although they have many similarities, their differences are what make them unique and we will explain them in detail.

The main similarity is that they are made using minced and marinated meat, generally pork although there are other varieties. Another similarity is that both are sausages, that is to say that for their preparation the raw material has to be sausaged in a pork casing or similar, which will then be left to cure and dry.

As for the differences, they are given mainly by appearance, ingredients and areas of origin.

Size

A difference that is obvious, while the salchichón is usually much larger, both in length and diameter, the fuet is much thinner and is also usually shorter.

Curing

Curing is also determined by the size and is that the larger a sausage is, the longer it will take to cure properly. Unlike salchichón, fuet is ready in a short time, about two weeks approximately.

Ingredients

Although the preparation for both sausages is quite similar, the salchichón usually has much more peppercorns and the result is leaner. Fuet, on the other hand, contains less fat and has a milder flavour.

How to eat fuet

To eat fuet you simply have to be guided by your tastes.  However, there are two things to keep in mind, the thickness of the slices and the texture of the sausage. So, in terms of thickness, it’s usually recommended to cut thicker slices if it’s softer; if it’s drier, it’s better to cut thinner slices.

Another question that always raises doubts is whether the fuet should be peeled or not. Remember that fuet is a sausage, but in addition to being covered by a casing (whether natural or not), there is another element that covers it, a type of mold, an anthropomorphic fungus called toad. This element is partly responsible for its special and unique taste.

But should we eat it or not? Some experts recommend eating it as long as the casing in which it is stuffed is made of natural pork, because on the contrary we would be reducing the flavour characteristics of our precious product.