Chouriço de Barrancos

Description: Filled with about 30 to 35 cm in length and 3 cm in diameter. It is prepared with meat and some fat from the meat itself, in which some slightly bloody pieces are also mixed, with condiments (salt, pepper from the garden, garlic and pepper) and water. The meat comes from the Alentejo breed pig, obligatorily castrated while still in piglet, slaughtered between 12 and 16 months of age and with a car-cass weight of about 120 kg. The food is based on acorns (montan-heira feeding).

Region: Alentejo.

Particularity: It has a cylindrical shape and is manually tied at both ends. It is a sausage whose curing process does not include smoking.

History: The sausage shop in Barrancos dates back to the foundation of the village, around 1750. Initially it was done in the village of Noudar (Arabic name), where there was a military fortress (whose ruins are still visited today). With its decline, Barrancos grew due to a better geographical situation, which allowed for greater commercial exchange with Spain.

Use: As a snack, eaten roasted, fried or boiled. As an element of preparation of traditional dishes of the region.

Know-how: It is made with meat that is also mixed with some slightly bloody pieces and fat from the meat itself, chopped with knives that allow the traditional cut. The meats are then seasoned with the following products: salt, garlic, pepper from the garden and pepper. Add water and everything ferments for 24 hours in vats. The tripe is pork and fresh and was previously washed, turned and seasoned with orange slices. After filling, they are hung and displayed in rooms prepared for this purpose, and are subjected to a natural curing process where there is no smoke. The microclimate of this region has always allowed this type of healing. The production season is that of montanheira feeding.

Source: Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses, Lisboa, DGDR, 2001