O Buraco

Porto, Portugal

A narrow, no-frills tasca in Porto's Cedofeita neighborhood, open since the 1970s. The name means 'the hole', which describes the size of the place. They serve petiscos and daily specials on paper placemats. The alheira comes grilled rather than fried, charred on the outside, the bread filling warm and loose inside. Pair it with a jug of house red and some boiled potatoes. Cash only.

Click to activate map

Sausages served here

Alheira

Trás-os-Montes, Portugal

Alheira is a smoked Portuguese sausage from Trás-os-Montes with a horseshoe shape, a pale golden skin, and a soft bread-and-meat filling. Portuguese Jews invented it during the Inquisition as camouflage: since they could not eat pork, they stuffed casings with poultry, bread, garlic, and olive oil so that Inquisition inspectors would see sausages hanging in their smokehouses and move on. The classic serving is deep-fried whole until the skin blisters, then plated with a fried egg and french fries. Alheira de Mirandela holds PGI (IGP) protection since 2008.

smokedpoultrybread