Sobrassada

SobrassadainCatalan, orsobrasadainSpanish, is a raw,curedsausagefrom theBalearic Islands(Spain) made with groundpork,paprika, salt and otherspices.Sobrassada, along withbotifarró, are traditional Balearic meat products prepared in the laborious but festive rites that still mark the autumn and winterpig slaughterknown as amatançainMinorca,MajorcaandIbiza. The chemical principle that makessobrassadais thedehydrationof meat under certain weather conditions (high humidity and mild cold) which are typical of the late Balearic autumn.
After centuries ofMuslim rule of the Iberian Peninsula, pork consumption returned to the region in theMiddle Ages.Paprikawas added after the spice was brought back from theAmericasin the 15th century.Sobrassadais thought to have originated and expanded, as a culinary concept, in theCrown of Aragon-controlledWestern Mediterranean(Sicily,Balearic Islands,Sardinia) after the 14th century, as similar sausages are still made in this region.
In a traditionalMediterranean diet, containing little meat, as Mallorca had until the 1950s,sobrassadaand related pork sausages were the main and sometimes only sources of pork for Mallorcans. Larger meat cuts such as pork or lamb roasts,pork steaksor beef cuts were largely festive dishes, or restricted to the well-off. Even today dishes such asporcella rostida, a whole roasted suckling pig, are only served on special occasions.
Sobrassadais made with a choice of pork loin, pork bacon (locally calledxuia), minced and mixed with paprika, salt and black pepper at the ends (to deter insects). Some makers also add cayenne pepper to the mixture and market it ascoent, hot. Then the mixture is put into a pork intestine, and hung from a pole for some weeks until it is cured. The string which is tied around the intestine can be used to differentiate between the hot and thedolça(lit.'sweet', though in this case meaning 'not spicy') varieties, the red or red and white string being the hot one.
Small, thinsobrassadesare calledllonganissa, and are made from the small intestine. Bigger and thicker ones are calledcularorpultrums, and the largest type are hugepork bladderscalledbufetesorbisbe('bishop'). Thicker varieties take longer to cure, staggering its consumption through the year (thinner during winter, thicker during summer-autumn).
Other areas in the Mediterranean, apart from the Balearic Islands, have close links tosobrassada.
InCatalonia, due to the shared history and culture with the Balearic Islands,sobrassadaand other native pork products can be found. The eastern Pyrenees are known for a mountain version ofsobrassada.
The village ofTàrbena, in theprovince of Alicante, was re-populated after theexpulsion of the Moriscoswith colonists fromMajorca, who brought along several traditions from the island, including their own variant of theCatalan languageand foods such assobrassada, still made there.
In colonialAlgeria,sobrassada, namedsoubressade, was part of thePied-Noircuisine and extremely popular until the independence and re-Islamisation of the country; pork is forbidden by Islam. Todaysoubressadecan only be found in continental France, in butcher shops run by Pieds-Noirs. Algerians however, enjoy ahalalversion of thesoubressademade with beef instead of pork.
On the island ofSicilyand inCalabria, a similar sausage has been made under the namesoppressatasince the 15th century or longer.