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1
Place the pork pieces in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer and cook until every piece is fully tender and the meat pulls from the bone or separates easily with a spoon — this is confirmed by touch: the flesh offers no resistance when pressed.
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2
Lift the meat from the broth. Remove all bone and any coarse connective tissue. Chop the meat very fine — the texture of the finished loaf depends on this uniformity. Reserve the cooking broth in the pot.
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3
Return the pot of broth to medium heat. Whisk in the cornmeal and buckwheat flour in a steady stream, stirring constantly as you would polenta. Return the chopped meat to the pot. Cook, stirring without pause, until the mixture is very thick and pulls away from the sides of the pot — a spoon drawn through the centre should leave a channel that closes slowly. This is where the dish lives or dies: under-thickened, the loaf will not set; over-thickened, it will be dense and dry. The surface should heave with slow, heavy bubbles and the smell should shift from raw grain to toasted corn.
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4
Remove from heat. Stir in the sage, thyme, marjoram, black pepper, and salt. Taste and correct: sage and pepper must register prominently.
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5
Pour the mixture into one or two lightly greased loaf pans, smoothing the surface. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight — a minimum of eight hours. The loaf is ready when it is firm and cold throughout and holds a clean edge when pressed with a finger.
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6
Unmould the cold loaf and slice into rounds no thinner than 1 cm — thinner slices break during frying. Dredge each slice in plain flour, shaking off the excess.
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7
Melt butter or lard in a heavy pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Lay in the slices without crowding and fry undisturbed until each side is deeply golden and audibly crunchy when tapped with a spatula. A pale or soft crust is a failure. The interior remains soft and grain-textured; the exterior should crackle on the plate.