Tasca do Chico

Lisbon, Portugal

A fado tavern in Lisbon's Bairro Alto where the tables are tight, the fado is live, and the petiscos menu includes a fried alheira that regulars order before the singing starts. The alheira comes with a fried egg, a few leaves of salad, and a basket of bread. The room holds maybe 30 people. Reservations are not taken; the line forms early.

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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