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1
Heat a wide iron or heavy oven-safe pan over medium heat. Add a small knob of the lard and, when melted, lay the luganega rounds in a single layer. Cook for two to three minutes per side until lightly coloured on the cut faces and beginning to render their fat. Remove from the heat and reserve the rendered fat in the pan. The rounds should show colour but remain uncooked through; the fat must run visibly into the pan.
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2
Preheat the oven to a moderate temperature — approximately 180 °C. In a bowl, combine the buckwheat flour, coarse cornmeal, and salt. Make a well, add the eggs and pour in the milk gradually, whisking to a batter that is markedly thicker than pancake batter yet loose enough to self-level when tilted in a bowl. The consistency is that of a loose bread dough. Do not thin it further.
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3
Grease the iron pan generously with the remaining lard, coating the base and sides completely. Pour the batter in; it should settle to a level surface within a few seconds. Distribute the pre-rendered luganega rounds evenly across the surface, pressing each piece lightly so it sits half-submerged in the batter. This step decides the dish: if the batter is correctly thick, the sausage pieces will hold position and render further fat down into the crumb during baking; if too thin, the smacafam will not set and will emerge wet at its centre — the dish lives or dies on this consistency.
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4
Bake at 180 °C until the surface is set and firm, the edges have pulled slightly from the pan sides, and the base — when the pan is tilted — shows a deep golden-brown through the lard. Press the centre lightly with a fingertip: it should feel dense and yielding, neither liquid nor dry and crumbly. A skewer inserted at the centre should come out clean of raw batter, with rendered fat on it.
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5
Remove from the oven and allow to rest in the pan for five minutes. The smacafam will firm further as it cools. Cut into wedges directly in the pan and serve warm as an antipasto or merenda.