We return to our beloved “wikipedia” for the definition: Sobrasada (from the Catalan sobrebrada) is a raw cured sausage, made from selected pork meats, seasoned with salt, paprika and black pepper. It is embedded in gut and presents a slow maturation.
This product is traditional of the Balearic Islands, and is protected with the mark of geographical indication. In traditional Mallorcan cuisine, the sobrasada is consumed in different ways: toast in winter, or breaded and raw in summer. Also it is used in diverse recipes of Mallorcan cuisine, like “arròs brut” or cooked and mixed with honey. Although they can last several years in a dry place, it is usual to consume the sausage during the first winter, the sobrasada in summer, and the largest when the next year’s slaughter is made.
In Mallorca this sausage is consumed throughout the island and especially in the villages. In the last years, the great Mallorcan chefs have included it in the elaboration of many dishes.
Many confuse it with a chorizo pate. It is a sausage that still has much travel in Spain, Europe and the United States. It is a good source that takes many years with the exterior promotion of sobrasada, but still this sausage is a great stranger off the island.
It has an initial strong flavor that you should get accustomed to, although also in winter it is included in the ensaimada called “carnaval” and is mixed with honey to serve on Mallorcan bread toasts. There are two kinds: the white pig or the black pig that is an autochthonous breed of Mallorca.
The sobrasada is a product of a very Majorcan tradition in the towns, as they are the “slaughters”. Once a year, the families sacrifice a pig to make it sausage to be able to have food during the winter. It is a tradition that is almost lost, but there are still families in Mallorca that during the cold months of winter, mainly December and January continue to carry out this family rite of food storage.
I recommend that if you have the opportunity to attend a massacre, do not waste it as it is a very interesting collective experience. They are usually made on farms or in towns of Mallorca.
I recommend you to at least try it once. It is worth that strong flavor that you have never tasted.