Sobrasada: the crown jewel of Spanish charcuterie (with recipe!)
Spicy. Funky. Super tasty. And there are 279 ways to eat it. That’s sobrasada, the crown jewel of Spanish charcuterie. Sure, that overhyped ‘nduja is nice, but let yourself be seduced by a spicy sausage that the Spanish cherish as the most delicious piece of cultural heritage. Caramba!
Mallorca
Transport yourself in your mind to the narrow streets of a small village in Mallorca, where you are enchanted by the tantalizing aroma of paprika, garlic and grilled pork. Through the open windows, you see families gathering around the table to share a meal. You pause at the house where homemade sobrasada is being served, naturally following abuela* Maria Carmen’s recipe, and your mouth starts watering.
Anyway, so much for the commercial; now for reality.
Perfect balance between meat and fat
There isn’t really a hysterical culture of nostalgia surrounding sobrasada, but a good example of this spicy sausage is prepared with love and great care. It starts with choosing the right pig, expertly breaking down the animal and then selecting the pieces with the perfect balance between meat and fat.
Then the making and mixing begins; scandalously large quantities of sweet and hot paprika form, together with the meat and fat, a thick, creamy, promising smurriederriebagger. That stuff goes into a large pig intestine to hang and dry in a dark place for weeks, sometimes even months. And to develop its deliciously rough-around-the-edges character.
The choice is endless
If you think there’s only one kind of sobrasada, you’re very much mistaken. Arrissada is the most traditional; this tasty sausage weighs about a kilo, is aged for six to eight months and can be eaten raw or cooked. The largest is the bisbe, a huge sausage weighing between four and ten kilos that matures in a pig’s stomach for six months to a year. Then there’s the long, thin llonganisa, the ball-shaped bufeta, the round poltrú and the thick, elongated culana (take three guesses where that one matures…).
Open your mouth, close your eyes
The most common of the 279 ways to eat sobrasada is as a red carpet on a piece of sturdy bread. Easy, but also absolutely delicious. It gets a little more exciting when you cover that red carpet with a generous piece of brie de meau and put the whole lot under the grill. Add another lick of honey and you’ll cry out with happiness. Also guaranteed to make you drool: sobrasada croquettes.
But… an absolute hallelujah experience is mussels with sobrasada. Super simple and insanely delicious. Here’s the recipe; make yourself happy:
Mussels with sobrasada
The recipe serves 4 people:
- 1 kg mussels
- 6 cloves of garlic
- a few sprigs of parsley
- 100 g sobrasada (arrissada)
Clean the mussels thoroughly and remove the beards. Cut the garlic into thin slices. Cut the sobrasada into small pieces. Put the garlic and sobrasada in a pan and sauté over low heat until the sobrasada has broken up and is slightly fried. Then add the mussels and parsley, put the lid on the pan and give it a shake. Wait until the mussels have opened, shake again and serve with bread.
*for those of us who don’t speak Spanish, abuela means grandmother*
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