Alheira Portuguese Bread and Poultry Sausage
Alheira is a unique Portuguese sausage from the Trás-os-Montes region, originally developed by Jewish converts to imitate pork sausage and avoid persecution. It consists of poultry or game meat seasoned with garlic and paprika, bound with bread which gives it a soft, creamy texture. Today it is traditionally served fried or grilled.
Ingredients(for 1 kg)
Instructions
Preparation of the meat mixture
12 hours + 30 minMix the poultry meat with garlic, paprika, salt and olive oil and marinate for 12 hours. Soak the bread in broth and squeeze well, then knead together with the meat and a little broth into a homogeneous mixture.
Stuffing
20 minFill the mixture into pre-soaked pork casings (36-40 mm). Twist off sausages of about 15-20 cm in length and tie off the ends well. The surface should be even and without air bubbles.
Smoking and cooking
4-6 hoursPreheat the smoker to 80-100 °C with oak and olive wood chips. Hang the Alheira sausages or place on the grate and smoke for 4-6 hours until an internal temperature of 72-75 °C is reached and the casing is golden brown.
Pro Tip
The bread should be well squeezed to prevent the sausage from becoming too moist. Keep the temperature low during smoking as the Alheira is more sensitive to heat than classic meat sausages due to its bread content.
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