Portuguese Linguiça Sausage Recipe
A delicious recipe for the best homemade Portuguese Linguiça Sausage also known as Portuguese Chourico. Learn how to make this traditional Azorean Portuguese Linguiça Sausage recipe with our easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions.
If you’ve never tried a Portuguese linguiça sausage, then the time is now. This homemade Portuguese chouriço recipe not only is the best but also the holy grail of all sausages. This Portuguese sausage recipe has such an incredible flavor to them that you will never buy Portuguese sausages again at the butcher or grocery store.
There are many varieties of Portuguese and Azorean chouriço (sausages) or as the Spanish called it chorizo, depending on the region they are made. One of my favorite Portuguese sausages is the smoked Azorean linguica, small chunks of pork meat are infused with a combination of spices such as garlic and paprika along with Portuguese Pimenta Moida, and in some villages, they marinade these sausages with white and red wine then slow-smoked to perfection.
I honestly can’t express how delicious this Portuguese-smoked Azorian chourico is and not to take away any attention from the other Linguica sausages from Portugal, smoked or not smoked (cured), they are deliciously amazing.
There are many ways to enjoy Portuguese chouriço, first just eating them as is, fried, grilled, or oven-baked alongside some sunny side eggs and potatoes is my favorite. But there’s more…The Portuguese actually use Linguica sausages to add flavor to their cuisines. In essence, it is used as an ingredient not just as a sausage.
Some iconic Portuguese foods that are made with chouriço are:
- Calde Verde– This classic Portuguese green soup made is with potato and collards, it would not be complete without the linguica sausage which gives it all its flavor.
- Feijoda- Chouriço gives flavor to this quintessential Azorean bean stew that is made with potato, carrots, and tripe along with a mix of spices.
- Cozido Portuguesa- Portuguese cozido is one of the most popular Portuguese dishes, made with a mix of steamed and boiled meat, and vegetables, linguica is added to make this traditional meal complete.
Ready To Make This Portuguese Linguiça Sausage Recipe? Let’s do It!!
Ingredients For Portuguese Linguiça Sausage
- 3 Ibs boneless pork butt or pork shoulder
- 1 pound pork fat
- 1/2 cup water
- 5 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon insta cure (optional)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups red wine or white wine
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 7 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 1/2 cup paprika (sweet or hot)
- 2 tablespoon pimenta moida (pimento paste), sweet or hot (homemade or store-bought)
- 3/4 Ib hog casings
How To Make Portuguese Linguiça Sausage?
- Place the pork meat and fat in the freezer for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is almost frozen.
- Chill the meat and fat until they’re almost frozen by putting it in the freezer for an hour or so.
- Cut the meat and pork fat into small pieces and place them into a large bowl. Add the garlic, salt, insta cure (optional), black pepper, white pepper, paprika, pimenta moida (pimento paste), wine, and water and mix together using your hands. Cover and allow to marinate for at least one hour in the refrigerator or overnight.
- Prepare the casing: Fill a bowl with cold water and place the hog castings inside and allow to soak for 30 minutes. Rince the sausage castings thoroughly and open one end and run water through the inside. Place into a bowl and refrigerate.
- Fill a large bowl with ice. Remove the meat from the refrigerator and place it in the bowl with ice to keep the meat cold.
- Tie the bottom of the casing with the butcher’s string and leave about 9-10 inch string at the end.
- Traditional Portuguese Linguiça Method: You can skip this step, but I prefer and recommend cooking the meat using a little bit of oil in a frying pan before stuffing the casings.
- Grinding Method: Use a coarse die attachment for the meat grinder about 7-8mm, grind the cooked or uncooked meat into a large bowl and fill the castings. If your meat grinder has a filling attachment then wrap the casing onto the nozzle and fill.
- Use the butcher’s string to tie the ends of each casing. Leave a 3-inch string gap making a tight loop. This needed to hang the Portuguese sausages. If you don’t have any butcher’s string then coil the ends of the casings by twisting them, when filling the next sausage twist the other link in the opposite direction.
- Repeat with the remaining meat until all the casings are filled.
- Drying The Portuguese Sausages: Hang the Portuguese linguiça sausages in a cool spot for 12 hours, then refrigerate or freeze. Refrigerated sausages are good for 5 days uncooked and 7 days cooked. Alternatively, you can freeze them for up to 6 months and use them as needed.
- Smoking The Portuguese Chouriço Using Electric Smoker: Preheat the smoker to 45°C (115°F)
- Place the sausages into the smoker and smoke for about an hour or until the sausage casing are dry. Keep the smoker door ajar a little and damper open during this stage.
- Increase the smoker temperature to 60°C (140°F) and close the door.
- After the sausages have browned and the internal temperature is above 40°C (104°F), set the damper to halfway and increase the smoker heat to 70°C (160°F).
- Fill a pan with dampened hickory, mesquite, or oak sawdust, and place inside the smoker. Alternatively, you can just fill the pan with water if you don’t want the smoky flavor. When you notice the smoke decreasing, replace it with another pan. You will need to do this 3-4 times throughout the smoking process, roughly every 45 minutes. The total smoking time will be about 3 hours.
- When you notice the sausages becoming dark, remove the pan and continue to smoke until the sausages reach an internal temperature of 72°C (160°F)
- Once the Portuguese sausages are smoked, remove them from the smoker and hang them for about 30 minutes, the sausages will darken in color as they bloom and dry.
- Smoker and Smoker Grill Method: Preheat the smoker to 105°C (220°F)
- Place the sausages, then place your choice of wood chips on the direct heat side.
- Smoke the sausages for about 1 1/2-2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 72°C (160°F) turning them halfway through the smoking process.
- Hang to dry for 30 minutes, then refrigerate.
- Enjoy!!
Portuguese Linguiça Sausage (Chourico Recipe)
A delicious recipe for the best homemade Portuguese Linguiça Sausage also known as Portuguese Chourico. Learn how to smoke and this traditional Portuguese Linguiça Sausage recipe to perfection with our easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions.
Ingredients
- 3 Ibs boneless pork butt or pork shoulder
- 1 pound pork fat
- 1/2 cup water
- 5 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon insta cure optional
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups red wine or white wine
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 7 garlic cloves crushed
- 1/2 cup paprika sweet or hot
- 2 tablespoon pimenta moida pimento paste, sweet or hot (homemade or store-bought)
- 3/4 Ib hog casings
Instructions
- Place the pork meat and fat in the freezer for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is almost frozen.
- Chill the meat and fat until they’re almost frozen by putting it in the freezer for an hour or so.
- Cut the meat and pork fat into small pieces and place them into a large bowl. Add the garlic, salt, insta cure (optional), black pepper, white pepper, paprika, pimenta moida (pimento paste), wine, and water and mix together using your hands. Cover and allow to marinate for at least one hour in the refrigerator or overnight.
- Prepare the casing: Fill a bowl with cold water and place the hog castings inside and allow to soak for 30 minutes. Rince the sausage castings thoroughly and open one end and run water through the inside. Place into a bowl and refrigerate.
- Fill a large bowl with ice. Remove the meat from the refrigerator and place it in the bowl with ice to keep the meat cold.
- Tie the bottom of the casing with the butcher’s string and leave about 9-10 inch string at the end.
- Traditional Portuguese Linguiça Method: You can skip this step, but I prefer and recommend cooking the meat using a little bit of oil in a frying pan before stuffing the casings.
- Grinding Method: Use a coarse die attachment for the meat grinder about 7-8mm, grind the cooked or uncooked meat into a large bowl and fill the castings. If your meat grinder has a filling attachment then wrap the casing onto the nozzle and fill.
- Use the butcher’s string to tie the ends of each casing. Leave a 3-inch string gap making a tight loop. This needed to hang the Portuguese sausages. If you don’t have any butcher’s string then coil the ends of the casings by twisting them, when filling the next sausage twist the other link in the opposite direction.
- Repeat with the remaining meat until all the casings are filled.
- Drying The Portuguese Sausages: Hang the Portuguese linguiça sausages in a cool spot for 12 hours, then refrigerate or freeze. Refrigerated sausages are good for 5 days uncooked and 7 days cooked. Alternatively, you can freeze them for up to 6 months and use them as needed.
- Smoking The Portuguese Chouriço Using Electric Smoker: Preheat the smoker to 45°C (115°F)
- Place the sausages into the smoker and smoke for about an hour or until the sausage casing are dry. Keep the smoker door ajar a little and damper open during this stage.
- Increase the smoker temperature to 60°C (140°F) and close the door.
- After the sausages have browned and the internal temperature is above 40°C (104°F), set the damper to halfway and increase the smoker heat to 70°C (160°F).
- Fill a pan with dampened hickory, mesquite, or oak sawdust, and place inside the smoker. Alternatively, you can just fill the pan with water if you don’t want the smoky flavor. When you notice the smoke decreasing, replace it with another pan. You will need to do this 3-4 times throughout the smoking process, roughly every 45 minutes. The total smoking time will be about 3 hours.
- When you notice the sausages becoming dark, remove the pan and continue to smoke until the sausages reach an internal temperature of 72°C (160°F)
- Once the Portuguese sausages are smoked, remove them from the smoker and hang them for about 30 minutes, the sausages will darken in color as they bloom and dry.
- Smoker and Smoker Grill Method: Preheat the smoker to 105°C (220°F)
- Place the sausages, then place your choice of wood chips on the direct heat side.
- Smoke the sausages for about 1 1/2-2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 72°C (160°F) turning them halfway through the smoking process.
- Hang to dry for 30 minutes, then refrigerate.
- Enjoy!!