Mixed Meat, Sage and Pepper Skewers 

February 18, 2021

In Campo Santa Margherita, Sestiere Dorsoduro, there is slightly hidden from the main open space of the campo a lovely little and very friendly butcher’s Macelleria Fiore, which has become “my” butcher’s since our arrival in Venice. 

During the lengthy periods of lockdown I found myself buying quite a few ready prepared meals (just needing reheating or baking) and by doing so learning more how and what the Venetians eat. 

One of the specialities are Mixed Meat, Sage and Pepper Skewers using chicken leg, pork and a raw pork sausage for which the recipe you can find below. 

I like to leave the skewers for a couple of hours allowing the fresh sage leaves to infuse them with a bit more flavour prior to cooking. Of course you can use beef or veal as an alternative and be very creative. 

For 10 skewers:

  • 400 g of pork loin, cut into smaller chunks (trimmed of excess fat)
  • 2 chicken legs, skinned and de-boned, cut into bite size pieces
  • 4 sausages, cut into thick rounds
  • 2 peppers (red and yellow) cut into large squares
  • a large bunch of fresh sage leaves
  • salt
  • pepper
  • a glass of white wine, about 125ml
  • olive oil

Thread the meat and pepper pieces on to the skewers alternating them with sage leaves. Personally I like to use one sage leaf to separate each chunk of meat. 

Balance the individual skewers with the same amount of each kind of meat and about 4 pieces or so of peppers per skewer.

One way of preparing the skewers is to fry them but I always bake them in the oven.

Preheat the oven to about 170 C (160 C for a fan assisted oven).

Brush each skewer with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place the skewers in a large baking tray or bake them in batches in order not to overcrowd them.

Bake them for about 5-8 minutes on each side then pour the wine all over the skewers.

Carry on baking for about 25-35 minutes (depending on the size of the meat pieces) basting the meat occasionally with the released baking juices, until the meat is cooked through and tender and the sauce has reduced on the bottom of the baking pan.

I like to serve the skewers with a fresh and crunchy celeriac and apple salad, and some crunchy bread to mop up the juices.