00:04Saucisson sec is one of France's most iconic foods.
00:07The country produces more than a million tons of charcuterie each year,
00:12with the total market generating nearly 15 billion euros annually.
00:19Unlike prestigious hams or aged cheeses,
00:23Saucisson was born as a way to reuse scrap meat.
00:26Today, that reputation has made it one of the easiest products to industrialize.
00:32But a small number of producers are taking a very different approach.
00:37Today we're in Saint-Jean-Piedeport in the Basque country to visit Domaine Abortia,
00:42a Saucisson producer that treats Saucisson with the same care and importance as wine.
00:48You can see, in fact, the beautiful vineyards behind me.
00:51Why did you decide to raise the Saucisson at the level of jambon and wine?
00:57Because we like the good things.
00:59We're going to meet with Peyo. He's going to talk us through how Saucisson is made.
01:04And we're going to learn everything about how actually Saucisson can have a regional identity.
01:09We're in the Basque country. This is a region that's very rich, has a rich cultural heritage,
01:15and of course, gastronomic heritage.
01:18Lourd, gras, vieux,
01:20voilà, qui amène le caractère à la viande.
01:24And he's also going to talk us through how such a humble product,
01:27Lyssaucisson, made from leftover meat,
01:29can turn into a luxury and a product that you really seek out.
01:37Hello Claudia, you're in the middle of the Basque country,
01:40above Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, on the village d'Ispour,
01:43on the property of Domaine Abotia.
01:50Here we work on 8 hectares.
01:528 hectares of vine, all on the grass, on 75% of the grass.
01:56Domaine Abotia dates back to 1896.
01:58Though Peio says his family's farming roots here go back even further,
02:04at least six generations.
02:08Originally known for wine,
02:10the farm has always raised animals too,
02:13but the meat was processed elsewhere.
02:15In 2023, Peio opened his own on-site butchery,
02:19bringing the entire process in-house.
02:23Each week, Abotia processes around 85 to 90 pigs,
02:28yielding roughly 1.5 tonnes of meat,
02:31which produces ham, saucisson, chorizo and fresh cuts.
02:40Overseeing every stage is essential for Peio.
02:43This is the port Abotia, the port-carcasse.
02:46It's 151 kilos of carcasses.
02:48It's a fish of 190 kilos.
02:50It was killed yesterday,
02:52yesterday morning,
02:54and then it was transported this morning.
02:57And now, it's on the découpe of today.
03:02What temperature are we here?
03:03Here, in the découpe, we're at about 6 degrees.
03:05And then we're at 3-4 degrees.
03:08Historically, Saucisson was made from whatever remained,
03:11after the price cuts were set aside.
03:15At Abotia, though, it begins with a deliberate choice,
03:18the shoulder.
03:19A lean, well-structured cut,
03:21along with trimmings from Bayonne Ham,
03:24one of France's most prestigious hams.
03:27In fact, is it possible to be a producer of saumon de saucisson?
03:30To produce saumon de saucisson?
03:32We can be it,
03:33but we devalorize the meat.
03:37That's the part to make the saucisson.
03:40Oh, wow.
03:41So, it's…
03:42It comes from the calf's leg.
03:44It's almost weak, in fact.
03:45Yes, it's weak.
03:47Yes, it's weak.
03:47Yes, yes, yes.
03:48There are some who add fat
03:50to make the material balance
03:51and to gain the weight.
03:53But here, we can see
03:54that it's just a centimeter of fat.
03:56And when you touch the fat, it's hard.
03:59The meat is firm.
04:02The shoulder and the ham trimmings are ground,
04:05then mixed with salt and pepper.
04:08So, here, we have the pork that we have cut this morning.
04:11So, we have the famous 3D pork,
04:14which we have degenerated,
04:16and then we have the jambons that we have seen.
04:18The meat is very, very firm.
04:20Yes, it's very, very thick.
04:22Yes, it's very, very thick.
04:23Yes, because there's a bit of meat,
04:25but since the meat has a very, very good structure,
04:27we don't need to add a lot of fat.
04:28Unlike most industrial saucissons,
04:31which is typically stuffed into synthetic casings,
04:35Abotia uses natural pig intestines,
04:37another way of using every part of the animal.
04:40So, we're going to use this boyau,
04:42this famous boyau of our chickens,
04:45it's an echaudin of pork.
04:46Wow.
04:47We're going to do the first material of the pork Abotia.
04:50And what is the difference between the boyau synthetics?
04:55Does it bring something to the saucissons?
04:58It brings a lot more flavor.
04:59So, it comes from which part of the animal?
05:02It comes from the intestine.
05:04Wow.
05:28It's crucial that that loss of moisture is gradual.
05:33The meat ferment a little bit,
05:35and it coagulates,
05:36it transforms into lactate acid.
05:38And then, from there,
05:40we do it in several phases.
05:41And once the product is well secured,
05:43we can put it naturally,
05:47around 15-16 degrees.
05:49We won't heat too much,
05:50because otherwise,
05:50we don't want it to grow,
05:52and we want it to be naturally.
05:54Here, there are different rooms
05:56for each stage of the curing process.
05:59Abotia produces up to 600 kilograms of saucisson
06:02every week.
06:04Here, we are in a saucisson.
06:08What temperature is here?
06:10We are at 18 hours,
06:11and we are at 73,7 hours of humidity.
06:13Here, this is our saucisson.
06:16With this flower,
06:18they are almost dry.
06:20Here, we find the saucisson.
06:23And here,
06:24we find our petite saucisson sèche
06:26all the time.
06:27The flower that is under the saucisson,
06:29is it a particular name?
06:30No, it's a natural flower.
06:32We have a seed just once,
06:35and then,
06:35every time we put the saucisson,
06:37it comes naturally.
06:39Flavoured differences come down
06:40to time and thickness.
06:42Smaller sausages age for about four weeks,
06:45the standard saucisson for seven,
06:47and the largest even longer.
06:50And then,
06:50we have a big saucisson.
06:51You can see it there?
06:53Yes.
06:54Yes.
06:55if we go over there,
06:57we find the big saucisson,
06:59we call it the Jesus.
07:01Okay.
07:02And there,
07:03we have nine weeks.
07:04Why do you call it Jesus?
07:07I don't know.
07:08It's a joke?
07:11It's not blasphémic?
07:12No,
07:12it's lion.
07:14It's lion.
07:14Because we are on the Chaman
07:16of Santiago,
07:17of Saint-Jacques.
07:18So,
07:19it's a reference religious?
07:20Maybe,
07:20but I don't know.
07:21Okay.
07:22And in fact,
07:23the bayou here,
07:24it's different?
07:24It's a bayou of beef.
07:26Okay.
07:27Here,
07:28we are on the Lae Chaudin,
07:29and here,
07:29we are on the bayou of beef.
07:30And here,
07:31we are on the bayou,
07:32the bayou synthetic,
07:34because after,
07:34when we cut off,
07:35we remove the bayou.
07:36Do you know,
07:37in the industry production,
07:38normally,
07:38the saucisson,
07:40for how long?
07:41How long?
07:42It's very short, right?
07:43It's very similar,
07:44but we try to make the product
07:47quite hard,
07:48because the more we remove the water,
07:50the more we remove the water,
07:50the more we have the aroma
07:52in the saucisson.
07:54At scale,
07:55drying is often accelerated.
07:57Longer aging requires full control
08:00over the meat,
08:01as well as the time and resources
08:03to monitor every batch.
08:05Peyo also makes larger,
08:07two-kilogram sausages
08:08in synthetic casings,
08:10designed for slicing
08:11and sold directly to hotels.
08:14The other one is all cold.
08:16The other one is more dry.
08:18The other one is more dry.
08:18You see,
08:18we see a difference.
08:19On the second week,
08:21here,
08:21we are on the second week.
08:23Here,
08:23we are on the saucisson
08:24which is already well advanced.
08:26Ah, yes.
08:26Can we touch it?
08:29Can we touch it?
08:30Can we touch it?
08:30Can we touch it?
08:30Yes, yes, yes.
08:32Yes.
08:33Oh, wow.
08:34It's like this.
08:37Wow.
08:38It's going to be very good.
08:41It's fruit.
08:42How many of the saucissons are here?
08:441,500 or 1,500 of the saucissons.
08:47Okay, wow.
08:49That may sound like a lot,
08:51but it's actually a small,
08:52curated selection.
08:54Peyo doesn't export.
08:56When he launched the butchery
08:57in 2023,
08:59his goal was to supply
09:00the most premium kitchens
09:02in the country.
09:03We are going to look at
09:05the information
09:05at the chefs of the world
09:06to have culinary returns
09:08and we are focused
09:09on the demand of the customers.
09:11But knowing
09:12that it's us
09:13who have the last one.
09:15Oof.
09:16Peyo is determined
09:17to position
09:18his products
09:18at the highest quality level.
09:21Recently,
09:21Abbottia entered
09:22for the first time
09:23the Concours Général Agricole
09:25in Paris,
09:26a major national food competition
09:28in France.
09:30The farm received
09:31two silver medals,
09:32one for its Ossison Seck
09:34and one for its Bayonne Ham.
09:36This is the list of
09:37January 13, 2026.
09:40Everything is traced
09:40and we will find
09:41exactly the 3rd of the season.
09:44The same week
09:48the 13th of the season.
09:50The 13th of the season
09:50and the 13th of the season
09:51was made
09:51the same day.
09:55You said
09:56that the characteristics
09:56of this animal
09:58is very heavy, right?
10:00Yes,
10:00very heavy,
10:01very heavy,
10:02which brings
10:03the character
10:05to the meat.
10:06As you can see,
10:07these are
10:08a year of age
10:09and they are
10:10between 180 and 200 kg.
10:13140-160 kg carcasses.
10:16You can see
10:17that there is
10:17beautiful material,
10:18beautiful jambons.
10:20You can see
10:20that they are
10:22beautiful
10:24animals.
10:25In industrial production,
10:27pigs
10:27are typically slaughtered
10:28younger,
10:29leaner
10:29and faster,
10:30optimized for yield.
10:32Here,
10:33thyme is part
10:34of the flavor.
10:34It's the traditional
10:36of the Basque country.
10:37It's the heavy port
10:37and the port
10:38of the farm
10:39that we did
10:39during the time.
10:40As a standard
10:41we put a lot more
10:43time,
10:43so we put a lot more
10:44space,
10:452,5 m2
10:47per port.
10:49That's right.
10:50So,
10:50we need space
10:51so that the port
10:52feels good,
10:53so that the port
10:53can take advantage
10:54and go to the end
10:56so that they can
10:58have a good
10:59meat.
11:01Around 80%
11:02of the pig's diet
11:03is corn,
11:04supplemented
11:05with non-GMO soy
11:06and other grains.
11:08Because Abotia
11:09raises very heavy
11:10pigs,
11:11the farm works
11:11with crossbreeds
11:12that grow more
11:13slowly over time.
11:15We have a lot of
11:16duroc.
11:16Why?
11:17Because we will
11:18find this
11:20persillate
11:21in the port
11:22which will allow
11:24a good
11:24refinement
11:25and a good
11:26structure
11:26on the first
11:29for the
11:30sausage.
11:30It's Romeo
11:31and Julia
11:33overlooking
11:33the glorious
11:34balcony.
11:34I'm Romeo
11:35in this case
11:36because that's
11:36my surname
11:37and overlooking
11:39a beautiful
11:40balcony.
11:43So,
11:44the sausage
11:45of the port
11:45Abotia
11:46have seven
11:46weeks.
11:47There's always
11:49this natural flower
11:49that is present
11:50and we're always
11:51on the
11:52natural
11:53in the
11:54way.
11:59We'll find
12:01the
12:01red
12:01red
12:02red
12:02and
12:04well
12:04cut
12:04and
12:05well
12:06cut
12:07and
12:08cut
12:12cut
12:13a
12:14little
12:16over.
12:17It sounds
12:18very good.
12:19The sausage
12:20is cut
12:20like that
12:21like a
12:21cut?
12:21In general,
12:22yes.
12:24I eat
12:25a little bit.
12:26Yes, I do
12:27the pot.
12:28the pot
12:28the sausage
12:29is
12:30It's very cold.
12:38I like it because it's not too salty.
12:40Normally in the charcuterie we smell a lot of salt.
12:46We feel that it's there, but it's there for the finish.
12:51Maybe because we saw it in the laboratory,
12:55we saw the jambon, the fabrication of the jambon,
12:57but I found that in some parts of the sausage,
13:01I found the taste of the jambon.
13:06Is it possible?
13:08Yes, it's possible because we found this freshness.
13:12The freshness of the sausage.
13:13We cut the carcass and put it immediately in production.
13:16We take the jambon and put it immediately in the sel.
13:19There's no time to wait.
13:21And we only receive the carcass.
13:23We don't buy the sausage that was cut in 2-3 days.
13:26We only work on the freshness.
13:28And on the raw material.
13:30It's fantastic.
13:31But then it's a fresh character.
13:33Basque.
13:36Thank you so much for watching.
13:38Have you tried Saucisson?
13:40And where was it made?
13:41I loved that I could really tell that this one was made in the Basque country.
13:46There was really something distinctive about it.
13:48And yeah, that made it very special.
13:51So let us know if you have tried something similar,
13:53if you have something similar in your pantry.
13:57Bye bye.
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