This smoked pork sausage is produced in the region surrounding the town of Portalegre in eastern Portugal. The pork used for these sausages must be taken from the Alentejo breed of pigs, and it is mixed with wheat flour, salt, crushed garlic cloves, pepper, and sweet paprika.
The mixture is stuffed into sausage casings and smoked over an oak fire. The sausage is yellowish-brown in color with a shiny skin, the interior is dark yellow to brown and coarse in texture, while the flavor is delicate and slightly piquant. Farinheira is a key ingredient in traditional dishes such as cozido and various bean stews.
Estremoz e Borba blood sausage is made exclusively with pork taken from the Alentejo breed of pigs. Pork meat and fat are finely cubed, mixed with spices, pig blood, and local wine before being stuffed into animal intestines and smoked slowly for a few days over an oak fire, resulting in a long-lasting sausage similar to chorizo.
As pigs in the region were traditionally slaughtered and butchered before Christmas, the smoking process for this sausage ensured that the meat was able to last throughout the year. The unique flavor and consistency of Estremoz and Borba sausages result from the sausage-making skills and traditions of the local people, which have been handed down through the generations for centuries.
According to EU regulations, this blood sausage can only be produced from the fat and blood of Alentejo pigs. It hails from the Portuguese district of Portalegre, which has a long history of pig farming and sausage production. To make this blood sausage, soft fatty tissue is diced, mixed with blood, and combined with salt, garlic, cumin, paprika, and (occasionally) local wine.
This mixture is then stuffed into sausage casings, tied, and scalded in hot water. The finished sausage is black and glossy, and it has a pleasant, mild, delicate, and savory flavor. It is traditionally served with bread and beer, and it also serves as an ingredient in various traditional stews.
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