Alheiras De Mirandela

Title:
Alheiras De Mirandela

Yield:
15 Units

Categories:
Meats




Ingredients:





     3 lb Lean beef*


 1 1/2 lb Calf meat


   1/2 lb Chicken


   1/2 lb Turkey


   1/2 lb Rabbit


 1 1/2 lb Day old wheat bread


   1/4 lb Ham (optional)


     4    Garlic cloves


     4 ts Olive oil


     2 oz Pork drippings**


          Paprika, salt and


          -piripiri to taste


    10    Feet tripe casing






 *    Or lean pork, or a mixture of both, for cost


 reasons. **   Probably a modern addition, or


 replacement for suet. You may change the proportions


 of chicken/turkey/rabbit - it may be all chicken,


 etc., provided the total amount remains the same. You


 can use partridge, quail, duck, and so on... Boil the


 meats together long enough to make the bones separate


 from the meat by themselves. Reserve the resulting


 broth and set meats aside.


 In a large bowl place the thinly sliced bread and add


 the reserved broth. Cover with a towel and, as soon as


 the bread is soft enough, mash it with an wooden


 spoon. Add the mashed garlic and ground piripiri,


 paprika and a little salt. Add the meats cut in very


 little pieces. Mix thoroughly. When everything is


 completely mixed add the olive oil and the pork


 drippings, hot. Fill the casing using a suitable


 funnel. Tie each 'alheira' so that it's about 8" long,


 with the filling concentrated in the middle section,


 leaving the ends almost empty. Smoke for 2 or 3 hours


 a day, for a week. Tie both ends together before


 selling or using - the 'alheira' should be U shaped.


 A typical way of serving 'alheiras' is frying them in


 hot oil, and presenting them with fried eggs and


 potato chips. Some add broccoli as a side dish.


 


 From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini