Minho fumeiro: what it is, how it is made and which smoked sausages to try

By Luís Serra, co-founder of Ra-Ro · View profile

About a 6 minute read

Minho fumeiro is the range of pork meats and sausages cured over wood smoke, the way households in northern Portugal have long done it. The meat is seasoned, stuffed into casings or left whole, and hung over a low fire until it dries and takes on flavour. The word means both the place where the smoking happens and what is made there: chouriços, salpicões, ham, bacon and other pieces that, once smoked, keep for months.

Minho fumeiro in short

• What it is: seasoned pork meats and sausages cured over wood smoke.
• How it is made: season, stuff, hang in the smoke and let it dry slowly.
• What there is: meat chouriço, salpicão, blood sausage, onion chouriço, ham, bacon and smoked pork belly.
• How it is served: thinly sliced with bread, or cooked in cozido and other winter dishes.
• At Ra-Ro: the Ponte de Lima Smokehouse Pack (€54.18), from Quinta dos Fumeiros.

What fumeiro is

Before refrigerators, smoke was one of the ways to make pork last through the year. In Minho homes, as in Trás-os-Montes and the Beiras, sausages and salted cuts hung above the kitchen hearth or in a dedicated room, the fumeiro. Smoke dries the meat, protects it and gives it the flavour and colour we look for today.

So when people talk about the fumeiro of a house or a region, they mean everything cured there: the sausages, the whole cuts and the way they are made, which changes from village to village.

How fumeiro is made

1. Choose the meat: traditionally, fumeiro was made in the cold months, after the family pig was slaughtered.
2. Season: the meat is cut and seasoned with salt, garlic, wine and sweet paprika, then left to take on flavour for a few days.
3. Stuff: the seasoned meat goes into natural casings and is tied; cuts such as ham or belly stay whole and salted.
4. Smoke: everything hangs above a low wood fire that should give smoke and little heat. Depending on the piece, it stays there for days or weeks.
5. Cure: after smoking, the pieces finish drying in a cool, airy place.

The secret is patience: too much fire cooks the meat, too little smoke does not preserve it.

Which sausages and smoked meats exist

• Meat chouriço: the best known, made of chopped, seasoned pork.
• Salpicão: made with pork loin in larger pieces, leaner and firmer.
• Blood chouriço: made with the pig's blood and eaten cooked.
• Onion chouriço: has onion in the filling and is harder to find today.
• Ham (presunto): the pig's leg, salted, smoked and cured for months.
• Smoked bacon, belly and neck: whole cuts that are sliced or go into the pot.

What onion chouriço is

It is a sausage in which onion goes into the filling alongside the pork, giving it a sweeter taste, different from meat chouriço. It used to be common in northern homes and is rarely sold today. The Onion Chorizo (€6.40) from Quinta dos Fumeiros in Ponte de Lima is, in the maker's words, a smoked novelty that is hard to find. It is good grilled, in cozido or on a board with cornbread.

The fumeiro of Quinta dos Fumeiros, in Ponte de Lima

At Quinta dos Fumeiros, Deolinda learned the recipes and the craft from her mother, Aurora, and has added new pieces to classic fumeiro. The Cured Turkey Ham (€12.80), smoked over wood, is a reinvention of traditional fumeiro, and we tell its story in Turkey ham: the fumeiro of Ponte de Lima. The Smoked Pork Neck in Senra Cheese (€12.90, 250 g) brings two delicacies together and melts on warm bread; see Pork neck with Senra cheese. The Smoked Pork Belly (€9.50) brings traditional flavours to today's kitchen, and the Ponte de Lima Folar (€15.20, 600 g) is a light brioche dough refined by Minho smoke.

How to store fumeiro

• Whole: hung or kept in a cool, dry, airy place, out of the sun.
• Once cut: wrap the cut end in paper or a clean cloth and keep it in the fridge.
• Vacuum packed: follow the label and, once opened, treat it like cut fumeiro.
• The old way: some households keep chouriços in olive oil or lard so they last longer.

How to serve fumeiro

Cured smoked meats such as ham, salpicão or pork neck are eaten raw, thinly sliced, at room temperature. Take them out of the fridge a little before serving. Blood and onion chouriços and pork belly are better cooked: in cozido, in bean stews, grilled or roasted. With cornbread, broa or folar and a glass of vinho verde, you have a complete Minho board.

Where to buy Minho fumeiro

At fairs and markets in the region, at smokehouses and, at Ra-Ro, with the pieces from Quinta dos Fumeiros. The Ponte de Lima Smokehouse Pack (€54.18) brings together the pork neck in Senra cheese, the turkey ham, the onion chorizo and the folar: open, slice and call everyone to the table. For the terms, see the fumeiro glossary; to visit the region, our guide Minho, cradle of Portugal: what to see and which crafts to bring home.

Read also: Portuguese smoked pork belly (barriga fumada): what it is, how to cook it and where to buy it.

Frequently asked questions

What is fumeiro?

It is the range of pork meats and sausages cured over wood smoke. The word also means the part of the house where these pieces hang to smoke.

How is traditional fumeiro made?

The meat is seasoned with salt, garlic, wine and paprika, stuffed into casings or left whole, and hung over a low wood fire for days or weeks until it dries.

Which sausages are part of Minho fumeiro?

Meat chouriço, salpicão, blood chouriço, onion chouriço, ham, bacon and other smoked cuts such as belly and neck.

What is onion chouriço?

It is a sausage with onion in the filling and a sweeter taste than meat chouriço. It is mostly eaten cooked, grilled or in cozido.

How do you store fumeiro once it is cut?

Wrap the cut end in paper or a clean cloth and keep it in the fridge. Whole pieces keep in a cool, dry, airy place.

Where can I buy Minho fumeiro?

At fairs and smokehouses in the region, or at Ra-Ro, with pieces from Quinta dos Fumeiros in Ponte de Lima, including the Ponte de Lima Smokehouse Pack.