A smoked sausage of wheat flour, pork fat, paprika and wine, with no meat in it at all. It is traced to Portugal’s forcibly converted Jews, who hung meatless flour sausages in the rafters so that Inquisition neighbours would believe the household ate pork.
It is a soft, undried smoked product held at ambient temperature during smoking, and its keeping depends on the smokehouse and on refrigeration afterwards rather than on any cure.
What goes into it
- wheat flour
- pork fat
- paprika
- white wine
- garlic and salt
- natural casings
How it is made
Flour is worked with rendered pork fat, wine, paprika and garlic into a soft paste and piped into casings, then hung and cold-smoked for several days. It stays soft — it is not dried hard — and is always cooked before eating, either squeezed out of its skin into a pan or simmered whole in a stew.
How long it takes: several days of smoking; kept refrigerated thereafter
How it is eaten
Squeezed from its skin and fried with eggs, or simmered whole in cozido à portuguesa.
History
Traced to Portugal’s forcibly converted Jews, who hung meatless flour sausages so Inquisition neighbours would believe they ate pork.
Frequently asked questions
What is Farinheira?
Farinheira is a charcuterie & cured from Portugal: smoked sausage of wheat flour, pork fat, paprika and wine. Traced to Portugal’s forcibly converted Jews, who hung meatless flour sausages so Inquisition neighbours would believe they ate pork.
How is Farinheira made?
Flour is worked with rendered pork fat, wine, paprika and garlic into a soft paste and piped into casings, then hung and cold-smoked for several days. It stays soft — it is not dried hard — and is always cooked before eating, either squeezed out of its skin into a pan or simmered whole in a stew. It takes several days of smoking; kept refrigerated thereafter.
Can I make Farinheira at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is a soft, undried smoked product held at ambient temperature during smoking, and its keeping depends on the smokehouse and on refrigeration afterwards rather than on any cure.
What goes into Farinheira?
Wheat flour, pork fat, paprika, white wine, garlic and salt, natural casings.
How is Farinheira eaten?
Squeezed from its skin and fried with eggs, or simmered whole in cozido à portuguesa.
