Open your mouth and close your eyes: we are going to eat guts!
Do you have a sensitive stomach and you are one of those persons who would rather not know what you’re eating? If so, stop reading this article because we will talk about dishes made with guts and brains. Definitely, this is Portuguese bizarre food for many who visit us, we know!
According to tradition, one of the great events in the Portuguese villages from north to south of the country was going to pig slaughter (until ASAE authorities appeared and banned the ritual on behalf of health and safety). Everything was good to eat, even the animal bowels, to make the famous sausages (chorizo, black pudding or sausage).
In addition to the sausages there are several highly prized dishes in Portuguese gastronomy involving parties less ‘noble’ of the animal, but it do not cease to be less tasty. Take a chance to taste some of them:
Sarrabulho
One of the typical dishes of Portuguese cuisine. It is a stew made with ‘miúdos’ (name given to organs such as liver, kidney and heart) from pig or goat and it uses the animal’s blood, usually seasoned with cumin. If it involves bread or corn flour it’s called Papas de Sarrabulho.
Iscas com elas
It was a common dish in Lisbon nineteenth and early twentieth century and it’s nothing more than seasoned and fried liver strips. The garnish – Elas – is sliced baked potatoes and a good onion. This dish has a special ingredient: vinegar.
Half nail (Cow hand with grain)
This is a dish which serves half of the cow hand, hence the name “Half-nail ‘. It is a very popular dish in the old Lisbon taverns and it’s served with baked beans and white rice.
Pork cracklings
This made with a pigskin base with fat cut into small pieces and fry until it’s crispy. But what once was a snack only appreciated in taverns, today is a trendy food which is popular with sportsmen as a new source of protein. In England there are already packages for sale in gyms for consumption as post-workout snacks, in a lighter version.
Courato sandwich
At the beginning, we said that Portuguese uses every part of the pig and here’s one more proof: the rind is thick skin of grilled pork on the grill. It is a snack that can still be found in more traditional markets. It’s served with mustard and a pretty cool beer.
Widdlers
A snack highly appreciated in more traditional taverns and made with gizzards, liver, heart, neck and chicken legs, all cut to pieces.
Gizzards
A typical Portuguese delicacy and that has at its base a stew of onions and tomatoes, to which are added the chicken gizzards and duck.
Folded
Face it: this is a dish which you either love it or hate it! This is a dish made with parts of the stomach of cattle and is popular in the north (Tripas à Moda do Porto). Serve with white beans.
Keep feeding your curiosity on Portuguese food culture:
Foods you didn’t know were Portuguese
The national dish of Portugal (it’s not codfish…)
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