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Turkey Presunto: the Ponte de Lima smokehouse that reinvents tradition
At Quinta dos Fumeiros, in Ponte de Lima, Deolinda applies Minho curing and smoking to legs of turkey, creating a lighter presunto with a distinctive character.
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By Sérgio Carvalho, co-founder of Ra-Ro · View profile
About 3 min read
In Portugal, love is shown through food. In a platter that arrives at the table unannounced, in a dish made again and again because someone once said they liked it. Anyone who grew up here knows this without needing it explained.
Turkey Presunto is a cured ham made by Deolinda, of Quinta dos Fumeiros, in Ponte de Lima, in the Minho, using the traditional curing and smoking of the Portuguese fumeiro (smokehouse) on selected legs of turkey instead of pork: charcuterie with a lighter texture and a distinctive flavour.
Deolinda learned from her mother, Aurora. First, the idea that food is a form of affection. Then the recipes for the delicacies. Then the recipe for the business. She also inherited her strength and perseverance, and made Quinta dos Fumeiros her home.
Fumeiro is the art of seasoning, curing and smoking meats over wood, leaving them to mature until they gain character. In the Minho, almost always with pork. Deolinda took her mother's seasonings, the curing process and the traditional smoking, and swapped the cut. Turkey.
It was at Quinta dos Fumeiros that we found this presunto. We were curious. A turkey in the smokehouse sounds like a provocation. At Quinta dos Fumeiros it sounds like something else: an answer for anyone looking for an alternative to the pork that dominates Portuguese charcuterie, without giving up the best of what the fumeiro has to offer.
Carrying on a tradition also means tinkering with it. Deolinda chose to stay in the smokehouse and chose to change it. Freedom and responsibility, both on the same board.
How far can you change a recipe before it stops being your mother's? That's the question we might ask ourselves. I suspect the answer lies less in the meat than in the gesture.
Thinly sliced, on a charcuterie board, with bread, aged cheese and nuts. Or on a plate of cold cuts in the late afternoon. That's my advice: put it on the table and let someone ask what it is.
Frequently asked questions
What is turkey prosciutto?
A cured charcuterie made from turkey legs, a reinvention of the Minho smokehouse tradition with turkey instead of pork. It has a lighter texture and a distinctive flavour.
Who makes this prosciutto and where?
Deolinda, of Quinta dos Fumeiros, in Ponte de Lima, in the Minho. She learned the craft from her mother, Aurora.
How is it made?
It follows the traditional smokehouse methods: the meat is seasoned and cured, then smoked over wood and left to mature.
What makes it rare?
It reinvents the Minho smokehouse tradition using turkey instead of pork, something unusual, while keeping the age-old curing and smoking processes.
How should it be served?
Thinly sliced on a charcuterie board, with bread, cured cheese and nuts.
Why turkey instead of pork?
Because it offers a lighter alternative to pork charcuterie, with a less dense texture and a distinctive flavour profile.
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