Cudighi
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A popular sausage among the Italian-American population of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and originally invented by Mr. Felix Barbiere[citation needed], Italian immigrant to Ishpeming, Michigan. The word "cudighi" refers to a spicy Italian sausage patty (or link as in the original design) specific to the region.
Mr. Barbiere invented the word to refer to a special sandwich (and not to the meat used in the sandwich as it is referred to now) which contained a spicy sausage, made from ground pork, garlic salt, black and red pepper, and a few secret spices, served on a chewy Italian roll or bun. The first cudighis in Ishpeming were sold by Mr. Barbiere in 1951 out of a take-out door installed in his home on Division street. They were made with a split sausage link, pan fried, and served with yellow mustard, raw onion, and melted mozzarella cheese on a home-made Italian roll. These cudighis were sold from that home for decades.
The Barbiere family integrated the cudighi sandwich into many of their family restaurants where they continue to be served to thousands of cudighi enthusiasts every year. Many other local restaurants have also included the cudighi on their menus, many changing the list of toppings to suit their customers' wishes. It is common to find "cudighi" in the meat section of many area grocery stores, and thousands of people buy the meat to make their own cudighi sandwiches at home.
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 salami made with bacon rind, so the recipe for what is known as "Cudighi" is likely highly specific to the Upper Peninsula.
