Chouriço mouro de Portalegre

This smoked chorizo sausage is made from the meat of the Alentejo pig, which is raised throughout the district of Portalegre in Portugal. All of the meat used in this type of sausage must be taken from Alentejo pigs in order to be sold as chouriço mouro de Portalegre.

The meat, fat, and blood are mixed with sweet paprika or red bell peppers, salt, garlic, and local wine, with the optional addition of caraway seeds. The mixture is then stuffed into sausage casings and smoked over a fire of locally-grown oak wood.

The final product is a red-to-dark-brown sausage with a semi-hard texture and a unique, meaty, smoky flavor. The sausage can be preserved in oil, and it's often used as a key ingredient in many traditional Portuguese dishes.