(Barrosso-Montalegre Blood Sausage)
Barroso-Montalegre blood sausage is a regional traditional specialty made with bread, smoked meat, lard, and blood from the Bísaro breed of pigs or their crossbreeds. The history of this blood sausage is rooted in the tradition of pig farming in the municipality of Vila Real.
The pig slaughter is a big family event with great socio-economic importance to the region. During the slaughter, family members gather and make sausages, hams, and other pork products together. This festival clearly displays the importance of pig farming and its culinary influences on the region.
To make this sausage, fatty cuts of pork such as bacon are ground and mixed with seasonings. The ground meat is added to pig blood along with salt and garlic, and the mixture is stirred to prevent coagulation. Chili powder, chopped parsley, onion, and Transmontano olive oil are then added to the mixture before it is stuffed into sausage casings.
These sausages are gradually smoked over a low fire of regional oak wood. The finished sausage is black and smooth and has an intense, distinctive smoky flavor. This sausage can be served either raw or boiled, and it's usually accompanied by hard cheeses, homemade bread, and local wine.
