MATANCES MALLORQUINES

"Fer matances" as they call it in Mallorca, is one of the few traditions which still remain to day . There are still many families, especially in the villages, which annually kill a pig or two and make it the flagship product, the well-known sausage called “sobrassada”.

The killings in Mallorca were and are a family celebration, a day of gathering of friends, neighbours and acquaintances who work all together.

Traditionally, the pig was fattened for a year when the days were cold and were killed to ensure the conservation of spicy sausage. At dawn, the pork was taken to the place and put on a table called “banqueta”, where it was slaughed .

The next step was to sear the skin and soften it with rough rubbing stone and tile pieces with hot water until it is thoroughly cleaned. Then it was cut up, the bacon was taken away and it was minced with other meat, mixed with red pepper to obtain “sobrassades”and with black pepper to obtein other products like "botifarrons", "camaiots".

Once the meat paste is ready and well homogenized, it is stuffed into casings and the ends are stitched .

There are different types of spicy sausage: “llangonissa”, “culana”, “bufeta”, “bisbe”, “poltrú”.

All these “sobrassades” have different maturing times and, therefore, they are eaten at specific times of the year, thus ensuring a constant supply.