2 hours or up to the night before you make the ragù, weigh the ground pork and measure out the weight of the spices based on the percentages listed in the ingredients section. For example, 2% salt for 100 grams of sausage is 2 grams. Combine the spices in a spice grinder and blend them to a powder or do the same in a mortar and pestle. Add the ground spices to the ground pork and mix thoroughly by hand. Let the sausage marinate in the fridge.

The day you make the ragù, brown the sausage in nice size clumps, in a 12 inch carbon steel skillet or similar pan, flipping after one side is browned. When the other side of the sausage is browned, turn the heat off and use a pastry cutter to break the meat down inside of the pan to roughly the same size as the malloreddus.

Crush the saffron in a small glass bowl into small flakes. In a mixing bowl add the semola di grano duro, a pinch of salt and the saffron flakes. Mix the dry ingredients together well with a whisk. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the warm water. Incorporate the water in the dry ingredients until a shaggy dough forms, at which point you will turn the dough out on a cleaned table. Bring the dough together with your hands and begin to knead it for around 5 minutes or until it is smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Next, add in the pureed San Marzano tomatoes and the sautéed Sardinian pork sausage. Stir to combine then simmer the ragù over medium-low heat stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. After simmering, remove the bay leaves, turn off the heat and add in the Parmigiano Reggiano, salt and pepper to taste as well as hot honey or sugar to taste. Stir to combine and set to the side.

Bring 5-6 quarts of lightly salted water up to a rolling boil in a 12-qt stock pot. Add all of the malloreddus to the boiling water. Cook the malloreddus until they begin to intermittently float then sink again. Do not cook the malloreddus all the way to tender. This should take approximately 3-4 minutes. Reserve a few cups of your pasta water when you pull them from the boiling water. They should still have a bit of a bite and appear slightly uncooked in the center when you bite one in half. They will become tender in the ragù. Set the malloreddus in a colander next to your saucier.

To a medium-high preheated 5-qt saucier add 4 cups of the ragù, all of the malloreddus and 1 cup of pasta water. Over a 3-4 minute period, stir vigorously and toss the malloreddus so they absorb the ragù. Add more ragù or pasta water to taste and to achieve your desired consistency. Once the malloreddus is tender and the sauce coats them, turn off the heat and season with salt, pepper, MSG and Parmigiano Reggiano to taste. Enjoy.