Embutido Jargon

Spanish chorizo and sausages, often referred to collectively as embutidos, come in many varieties, thick and thin, plain or smoked, some containing lean meat to be served for tapas, or with more fat to flavor stews and grilled dishes. Embutido is one of the most traditional Spanish products. It has played an important role throughout the years in the Spanish diet.

 

• Botifarra.  is one of the most important dishes of the Catalan cuisine. Botifarra is based on ancient recipes, either the Roman sausage botulu or the lucanica, made of raw pork and spices. Some of the most representative types are:
  • Raw botifarra, botifarra vermella or botifarra crua, or roget. It is also known as llonganissa in many places of the Catalan cultural area. This botifarra is usually grilled or barbecued.
  • Black botifarra, botifarra negra or negret, containing boiled pork blood in the mixture.
  • Botifarra catalana, large botifarra similar to cooked ham; it may contain truffles.
  • Botifarra d’ou (literally “botifarra with egg”), containing egg in the mixture, typical to be eaten on Fat Tuesday, Dijous Gras.
  • White botifarra, botifarra blanca or blanquet. Its main ingredient is fat-less meat (carn magra). It does not contain any blood in its mixture.
  • Botifarra d’arròs (literally “botifarra with rice”), contains boiled rice together with meat and spices.
  • Bisbe (meaning “bishop”) and bull, as well as bisbot negre and bull negre, are thick blood botifarra varieties made with different sections of tripe. Both bisbe and black botifarra are versions of black pudding.

 

•  Txistorra, Chistorra. Long thin sausage sold in coils, of Basque/Navarrese origin.

 

• Chorizo. Many of the chorizos are deep red in color because they contain pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika). Not only does pimentón lend color and seasoning, but its oils make the chorizo last longer without refrigeration. Remember, until recently, refrigeration was not generally available.

 

• Fuet. It is a Catalan thin, cured, dry sausage of pork meat in a pork gut.

 

• Llonganissa. It is a Spanish sausage similar to a chorizo.

 

•  Lomo embuchado. The lomo is an air-dried loin of pork. All the fat is removed from the meat, and then it is marinated in a mixture of seasonings similar to the chorizo. The marinated loin is stuffed in a beef casing and slightly smoked, or else it is air-dried for three to four months so that it will retain its tenderness. Together with jamón it is the highest expression of Spanish curing art.

 

• Morcilla. Spanish morcilla has many variants. The most well-known and widespread is morcilla de Burgos which contains mainly pork blood and fat, rice, onions, and salt. In Albacete and La Mancha, the morcilla is filled with onions instead of rice, which completely changes the texture. In Extremadura the creamy morcilla patatera includes roughly mashed potatoes. In the northern regions and the Canary Islands there is a sweet variety known as morcilla dulce. Other varieties introduce breadcrumbs, pine nuts, and almonds, and vary the proportions of the other ingredients or flavourings, some of them considered delicacies.

 

• Salchichón. It is similar to the Italian salami. It differs from most chorizos in that it contains no paprika, but does have cracked black pepper. The salchichón from Catalonia contains wine for added flavor.

 

• Sobrassada. It is a raw, cured sausage from the Balearic Islands made with ground pork, paprika and salt and other spices.