Salpicão de Vinhais

Salpicão de Vinhais is a smoked pork sausage made from the loin and tenderloin of Bisara-breed swine or crossbreeds of at least 50% Bisara, produced within a defined area of northeastern Portugal. The meat is seasoned, stuffed into large-intestine casings, and subjected to smoking and curing over dry oak and/or chestnut wood for a minimum of 40 days.

About this designation

Registered as a PGI on 9 September 1997 under file number PGI-PT-0036 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013437), Salpicão de Vinhais is classified as a smoked meat product in Class 1.2. The specification requires that raw material come from pigs of the Bisara breed or crossbreeds carrying at least 50% Bisara genetics, reared according to traditional systems and fed on potatoes, pumpkins, mast, beet, cereal grits, and other plant-origin products, with chestnuts consumed in substantial quantities during the finishing phase. Production is confined to authorised facilities within the designated geographical area. The loin and tenderloin are cut into cubes approximately 5 cm in size, seasoned in two phases with salt, water, wine, bay leaf, garlic, and paprika, then compacted into pig large-intestine casings tied with two knots, turned, and knotted again; the finished diameter is 5 to 8 cm. Smoking proceeds through the gradual effect of mild heat from a low fire burning dry oak and/or chestnut wood, followed by curing in cool, dark rooms; smoking and curing combined must last at least 40 days. When cut, the sausage presents a coherent mass that is bright red on the inside. The inspection body is the Associação Interprofissional para os Produtos Agro-Alimentares de Trás-os-Montes, based in Mirandela. Each unit must bear a duly numbered certification mark as defined in the Rules on Controls and Certification, with the compulsory label indication Salpicão de Vinhais – Indicação Geográfica.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PGI on 9 September 1997 under file number PGI-PT-0036, eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013437.
• Raw material must derive from Bisara-breed pigs or crossbreeds of at least 50% Bisara genetics reared on traditional regional feeds including chestnuts at finishing.
• Smoking and curing combined must last at least 40 days, using dry oak and/or chestnut wood burned on a low fire.
• Each product must carry a duly numbered certification mark; the compulsory label indication is Salpicão de Vinhais – Indicação Geográfica.

Tasting notes

Trás-os-Montes/Minho lomo embuchado-style cured sausage — pork loin marinated in wine, paprika, garlic, stuffed in pork-large-intestine casing, smoked and dried. Deep red color, firm chewy texture, intense savory flavor.

HoReCa use

Premium charcutaria board; sliced thin.

Packaging

• whole-piece-vacuum-300-500g
• deli-sliced-vacuum-100g