Description
The Salpicão de Vinhais PGI is a traditional smoked sausage made from the meat of the Bísaro breed of pig.
Production Area
Salpicão de Vinhais PGI is made in the municipal areas of Alfândega da Fé, Bragança, Carrazede de Ansiães, Macedo de Cavaleiros, Mirandela, Torre de Moncorvo, Vila Flôr and Vinhais, in the Bragança district.
Production Method
The pig is slaughtered between 9 and 18 months old at a minimum weight of 100 kg. The loin is used for this sausage and is cut into approximately 5 cm cubes and then seasoned with the local red or white wine, salt, garlic, bay leaves, sweet or hot paprika and left to marinate for four days. The resulting mixture is stuffed into natural pork intestine skins. The sausages are smoked over oak and chestnut wood fires for at least 40 days.
Appearance and Flavour
Salpicão de Vinhais PGI is cylindrical in shape with a diameter of between 5 cm and 8 cm. It is 15-20 cm long, semi-rigid and dark chestnut in colour. The interior is bright red and white, with a compact and course texture. It has a smoky flavour with hints of wine.
History
Salpicão de Vinhais PGI belongs to the tradition of the smoked sausages of the mountains. In 1932, the academic, Vergilio Taborda, in his geographic study of Tras-os-Montes, described how widespread was the breeding of pigs and the production of pork throughout this area and how important it was for the local rural population. The Bísara breed of pig was the most common type of pig even then and grazed in the extensive oak woods to the north of the mountains. Chestnuts and acorns, which were the pigs' principal feed, gave the meat and its derivatives its unique and characteristic flavour.
Gastronomy
Salpicão de Vinhais PGI, after being smoked, must be kept in such a way that it does not degrade, principally by either being stored at a low temperature or by being vacuum packed. It can be enjoyed eaten either just as it is with good, crusty bread, local cheese and a glass of the local wine or it can be cooked.
Marketing
This sausage is sold as Salpicão de Vinhais PGI. It is sold whole, or prepacked at source, sliced or in pieces.
Distinctive Features
The attention given to the production of Salpicão de Vinhais PGI, starting with the type of feed given to the Bísaro breed of pigs, has become a real art over the years for the population of this region, where the Feira de Fumeiro has been a great success every year since 1981.
