Chireta is an

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to s ...

ese type of savoury pudding. It is a flavorful rustic dish typical to the counties of Ribagorza,

Sobrarbe Sobrarbe is one of the comarcas of Aragon, Spain. It is located in the northern part of the province of Huesca, part of the autonomous community of Aragon in Spain. Many of its people speak the Aragonese language locally known as ''fabla''. T ...

and

Somontano de Barbastro Somontano de Barbastro ( Aragonese: ''Semontano de Balbastro)'' is a comarca in Province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. Somontano borders the counties of Sobrarbe and Alto Gállego to the north, Ribagorza and La Litera to the east, Cinca Medio t ...

, high up in the Spanish

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

. In the Catalan counties of

Alta Ribagorça Alta Ribagorça () is one of the comarques of Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Pont de Suert. The highest peak is the Comaloformo (3030 metres above sea level) in the massif of Bessiberri. Northeast of the region is the western part of the Ai ...

and

Pallars Pallars is a historical and natural region of Catalonia. Located in the Pre-Pyrenees and Pyrenees area, most of its territory is mountainous. The Noguera Pallaresa river is named after this region. Geography The physiography of the Pallars nat ...

, formerly territories united to the historic

County of Ribagorza The County of Ribagorza or Ribagorça ( an, Condato de Ribagorza, ca, Comtat de Ribagorça, la, Comitatus Ripacurtiae) was a medieval county on the southern side of the Pyrenees, including the northeast of modern Aragón and part of the northwe ...

in medieval

, chireta is known as ''gireta'', or ''girella'', respectively. Being a mountain recipe, nothing goes to waste: once the choice cuts of a slaughtered sheep have been reserved, the intestines, tripe, neck meat, minced liver including heart and lungs, are all used. This is enhanced with rice, chopped

pancetta Pancetta () is a salt-cured pork belly meat product in a category known as salume. In Italy, it is often used to add depth to soups and pastas. (in Italian). Uses For cooking, it is often cut into cubes (''cubetti di pancetta''). In Italy, ...

or bacon, cured ham, parsley, garlic, a pinch of cinnamon, salt and white pepper. ''Chireta'' literally means "inside out"—i.e., the sheep's intestines which make up the casings are cleaned and turned inside out for a smoother, more appetizing appearance. The casing is cleaned in white vinegar then rinsed very well before filling. The filling contains rice mixed with garlic, parsley and seasoned chopped meats. Casings are filled about a half to two-thirds of the way with the rice mixture, taking care not to overfill them, as the rice will expand once the chiretas are boiled in the broth—otherwise they are likely to burst. Once trussed, and just before cooking, they are also examined to make sure any air pockets are pushed out. Chiretas are usually served hot, as a main dish. They can be also served up as

tapas A tapa () is an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine. Tapas can be combined to make a full meal, and can be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as ''chopitos'', which are battered, fried baby squid, or patatas bravas). In so ...

, sliced, dipped in an egg-flour batter, and fried to a golden color. Chiretas can be found on the menu in restaurants of the Ribagorza, and Sobrarbe regions, and can also be sampled as tapas in the wine valley cuisine of the Somontano area. In 2002, a Somontano meat packer initiated a chireta festival, which has been running every year since then, around the third weekend of October. In 2002, they achieved a record entry in the ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' for the longest and heaviest chireta in the world: long, weighing a total of .

External links

World's longest and heaviest chireta
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