Paprika-and-garlic pork sausage, smoked and often flamed at the table in a glazed dish of burning aguardente. Portuguese smoked sausages spread with the matança pig-killing tradition, and several regional types hold EU protection.
It is a raw-meat cure smoked and dried over weeks, where the marinade’s acidity, the salt and the drying conditions have to be right together; a smokehouse run for days is the equipment.
What goes into it
- pork shoulder and fat
- salt
- sweet paprika, in quantity
- garlic
- red wine
- natural casings
How it is made
Chopped pork is marinated for a day or two in wine, garlic and paprika, then stuffed into casings and hung in a smokehouse over slow oak or holm-oak smoke for several days to a fortnight. It then dries in a cool airy room for weeks. The wine marinade acidifies the meat before the smoke ever reaches it, which is part of why the method works.
How long it takes: three to eight weeks
How it is eaten
Flamed at the table in a chouriço assador, sliced into caldo verde and feijoada, or grilled.
History
Portuguese smoked sausages spread with the matança pig-killing tradition; several regional types, including chouriço de vinho de Portalegre, hold EU protection.
Frequently asked questions
What is Chouriço?
Chouriço is a charcuterie & cured from Portugal: paprika-and-garlic pork sausage, smoked, often flamed at the table. Portuguese smoked sausages spread with the matança pig-killing tradition; several regional types, including chouriço de vinho de Portalegre, hold EU protection.
How is Chouriço made?
Chopped pork is marinated for a day or two in wine, garlic and paprika, then stuffed into casings and hung in a smokehouse over slow oak or holm-oak smoke for several days to a fortnight. It then dries in a cool airy room for weeks. The wine marinade acidifies the meat before the smoke ever reaches it, which is part of why the method works. It takes three to eight weeks.
Can I make Chouriço at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is a raw-meat cure smoked and dried over weeks, where the marinade’s acidity, the salt and the drying conditions have to be right together; a smokehouse run for days is the equipment.
What goes into Chouriço?
Pork shoulder and fat, salt, sweet paprika, in quantity, garlic, red wine, natural casings.
How is Chouriço eaten?
Flamed at the table in a chouriço assador, sliced into caldo verde and feijoada, or grilled.
