Alheira

Description

Alheira - Authentic recipe from Portugal. Ready in 60 min. Try it now!

1. 1

   Soak 200 g stale bread in water and squeeze out thoroughly. Cook the chicken breast fillet and 300 g pork, then shred or chop very finely. Sauté 1 onion and 2 garlic cloves in olive oil, add paprika.

   ⏱️ approx. 25 min

   💡 Tip: Alheira is a traditional Portuguese sausage developed by Sephardic Jews — it looked like pork sausages but contained poultry (to avoid persecution). The bread gives it its characteristic soft texture.

2. 2

   Thoroughly mix the bread, meat, sautéed onions, 1 bunch of parsley, 2 eggs, salt and pepper until a homogeneous mixture forms. Fill the mixture into sausage casings and tie off into sausages.

   ⏱️ approx. 20 min

   💡 Tip: The mixture must be very well combined — no visible water or bread. Do not fill the casings too tightly (they will burst during cooking). Pieces of chorizo can be added for extra flavour.

3. 3

   Poach the filled sausages in water at 80–85 °C (do not boil) for about 30 minutes. Before serving, pan-fry or oven-roast until golden brown so that the casing becomes slightly crispy.

   ⏱️ approx. 35 min

   💡 Tip: Poaching at low temperature prevents the sausage casing from bursting. Only then fry in oil until golden for the typical crispy outer casing. Alheira is served soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.