In his book El origen de la cocina dominicana (2007), Juan B. Nina states: "Longaniza is a sausage made using the pig’s small intestine, stuffed with a mince of its own meat. It is exquisite and has many uses in Dominican cuisine, served as an appetizer, stewed, fried, or in the famous Creole sancochos."

It is a simple dish to prepare, although recipes can vary, as happens in other countries where it is also eaten. Today, it is almost no longer made at home, since production has become industrialized and it is stuffed into artificial casings, available in shopping centers.

According to research by Fradique Lizardo, by the year 1540 enslaved Africans were already making longanizas and morcillas on the island of Santo Domingo. Likewise, Carlos Esteban Deive, Celsa Albert, and Ciriaco Landolfi note that since the 16th century, this dish was part of African-influenced gastronomy on the island, which Hugo Tolentino Dipp confirms in his work Itinerario historico de la gastronomia dominicana (2014).

Originally, it was a dish made and eaten mainly by the enslaved African population. They used pork casing, which they cleaned carefully to stuff with chopped, seasoned pork. Then they let it dry in the sun and, later, fried it for dinner, served with boiled green plantains or tostones. Over time, longaniza was incorporated into sancochos, stewed beans, locrios, and other typical dishes.

Today, it remains one of the country’s most versatile and artisanal sausages. It can be enjoyed fried with tostones, grilled, with macaroni, in a longaniza "chimi," in stewed beans, locrios, or in the popular Dominican sancocho. Some consider it the "Creole sausage," an essential part of Dominican gastronomic history and identity. Although it has moved a bit away from the original recipe, it continues to be a key component of Creole cooking.

In the past, it was common to see marchantas walking through the capital’s working-class neighborhoods with their colorful poncheras (plastic containers) balanced on their heads, filled with longanizas, morcillas, and salted meats they made at home in the rural areas of San Cristobal, Villa Mella, and Monte Plata. They arrived on Saturday mornings to sell their products, which were in such demand that they had to be ordered weeks in advance to enjoy them as a family.