Assholes (or Cojones) of the Mule

Prepare, Match and Impress

Coglioni del mulo is a sausage, with a very ancient tradition that has its roots in the peasant life of central Italy.
For a complete immersion in the typicality of the product, the best way to savor this typical Umbrian product is to do it the way the people who invented and passed it down for so long did it. So we do not provide a typical recipe.
The sausage is not an ingredient, but a staple of the peasant culture of the places that gave it birth. So the advice is to eat it, simply, perhaps accompanied by homemade bread also from the same area as the sausage, preferably sourdough, prepared with ancient sourdough starter and baked in a wood-fired oven.
To be really nitpicky, ideally the bread should be baked with the same wood that was used to season the mule's bollocks, so that the marriage between the bread and the sausage has notes that are already common before they meet in your palate. Sometimes simplicity pays off the most.

It is always difficult to take a traditional ingredient and try to innovate it with new pairings and combinations. If only because of the reverential awe that a product with such a deep-rooted origin conveys in those who approach it.
Moreover, the name already indicates that those who have always used mule balls certainly did not lack creativity.
It is conceivable, therefore, that a variety of combinations have already been tried out, carrying forward only those that were actually successful. But we, as usual, try anyway.
The idea is not to distort too much either the product or its natural use.
We are therefore going to use mule's balls in their classic form, simply sliced.
The ingredients needed are:

- of course the mule's balls sliced thinly, 5 or 6 slices;
- two slices of homemade bread, made with sourdough, fresh from the oven
- roveja flour
- black truffle
- salt, oil, pepper to taste
- arugula
- one clove of garlic

The most complex part is the preparation of the roveja polenta.
Bring half a liter of water to a boil, salt it and slowly pour in the roveja flour, stirring well with a whisk to prevent lumps from forming. Boil for at least 30 minutes, over very gentle heat, continuing to stir with a wooden spoon.
When it is almost cooked, heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a small pan, add the peeled garlic and let it wilt, scent it with a few chopped sage leaves.
Finish cooking so that the polenta is not overly solid, but results in a thick cream.
Add the garlic-scented oil.
In a preheated oven, set the bread and slices of the mule's assholes on high heat; this will make the bread crispy and the sausage more moist and flavorful.
Adjust by sight so that the bread does not burn and the sausage does not cook, but only warms up.
At this point, take out the bread.
Lay on a slice in order: the arugula, the mule balls, the polenta (hot).
At this point add the truffle, a few very thin slices.
Finish with a drizzle of raw oil and the other slice of bread.
Let us know if the combination works and enjoy!

Wine cannot be missing to best complete the tasting of a product like mule's assholes and ,you know, in Umbria you are spoiled for choice when it comes to wines.
Specifically, with a sausage like this, the advice is to opt for a red wine, which goes well with a full-bodied knowledge like that of coglioni del mulo.
A fresh red wine and maybe even a bit sparkling to degrease the palate and clear the mouth between bites, especially if you are not just having an aperitif, but are engaged in a full meal.
This will give you the opportunity to switch between courses without losing any flavor notes.
It is always difficult to make a precise choice, given the high availability and variety of wines found in the territory of the Umbrian Apennines that go perfectly well with this sausage, but if one has to unbalance oneself, the advice is to opt for a Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG "Collepiano."