Sobrasada
Sobrasada is Mallorca's soft, spreadable cured sausage, glowing red with pimentón and rich enough to melt onto warm bread. Curing it at home takes patience and cool conditions, but the payoff is a paprika-scented paste unlike anything shop-bought.
Approximate, per spread portion (~30g). Values vary by recipe and portion.
Ingredients
- ·700 g fatty pork (shoulder and belly), chilled
- ·300 g pork back fat, chilled
- ·40 g sweet pimentón
- ·5 g hot pimentón
- ·25 g fine salt
- ·3 g curing salt (nitrite)
- ·1 g freshly ground black pepper
- ·Wide natural pork casings, soaked and rinsed
Method
- 1
Keep the meat and fat very cold, then grind them finely together through a small plate into a chilled bowl.
- 2
Add both pimentóns, the salts and the pepper, and mix and knead thoroughly until the paste is uniform and deep red.
- 3
Fry a tiny spoonful to check the seasoning, adjusting salt or paprika before you stuff.
- 4
Stuff the paste into the wide casings, keeping it soft and pricking out air bubbles, then tie into rounds or short lengths.
- 5
Hang in a cool, humid, airy place (around 12-15C) to cure slowly.
- 6
Cure for at least 4 weeks for a small sausage, longer for larger ones, until firm on the outside yet still soft and spreadable within.
- 7
Store cool and spread onto bread, or warm it gently to melt into stews, honey or toast.