''Botifarra'' (; ) is a type of

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

and one of the most important dishes of the

Catalan cuisine Catalan cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices from Catalonia. It may also refer to the shared cuisine of Northern Catalonia and Andorra, the second of which has a similar cuisine to that of the neighbouring Alt Urgell and Cerdanya ''c ...

. ''Botifarra'' is based on ancient recipes, either the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

sausage ''botulu'' or the '' lucanica'', made of raw pork and spices, with variants today in Italy and in the Portuguese and Brazilian '' linguiça''. In

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, '' butifarras soledeñas'' are a popular tradition in Soledad, Atlántico.

Varieties

Some of the most representative types are: * Raw ''botifarra'', ''botifarra vermella'', ''botifarra crua'', or ''roget''. It is also known as ''llonganissa'' in many places of the Eastern Spain. This ''botifarra'' is usually grilled or barbecued. * Black ''botifarra'', ''botifarra negra'' or ''negret'', containing boiled

pork blood Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

in the mixture * ''Botifarra catalana'', large ''botifarra'' similar to cooked ham. It may contain

truffles A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, one of the species of the genus ''Tuber''. More than one hundred other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including '' Geopora'', '' Peziza'', '' Choiromyces'', and ' ...

. * ''Botifarra d'ou'' (), containing egg in the mixture, typically eaten on

Fat Thursday Fat Thursday is a Christian tradition in some countries marking the last Thursday before Lent and is associated with the celebration of Carnival. Because Lent is a time of fasting, the days leading up to Ash Wednesday provide the last opportuni ...

(dijous gras) * White ''botifarra'', ''botifarra blanca'' or ''blanquet''. Its main ingredient is lean meat (''carn magra''). It does not contain any blood in its mixture. * ''Botifarra d'arròs'' (), containing boiled

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

together with meat and spices * ''Bisbe'' (meaning 'bishop') and ''bull'', as well as ''bisbot negre'' and ''bull negre'', are thick blood ''botifarra'' varieties made with different sections of

tripe Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle and sheep. Types Beef Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's stomach chambers: th ...

. Both ''bisbe'' and black ''botifarra'' are versions of

black pudding Black pudding is a distinct national type of blood sausage originating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is made from pork or occasionally beef Blood as food, blood, with Lard, pork fat or Suet, beef suet, and a cereal, usually oatmeal, oat ...

Dishes with ''botifarra''

Usually white ''botifarra'' and black ''botifarra'' do not need to be cooked, but they are sometimes boiled as an ingredient of '' escudella i carn d'olla'', a traditional dish made by boiling vegetables and meat; as well as in the Catalan way of cooking

fava beans ''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Vari ...

. Grilled ''botifarra'' served with white beans ( or ''botifarra amb mongetes'') is a typical Catalan dish.

In Latin America

In South America cooked ''botifarra'' of many types are known as ''butifarra''. In the coast of

, ''butifarra'' is a dried, shorter, almost round version of the sausage eaten with ''

bollo A bollo is a bun, popular in Latin America, made from corn, yuca, or potato. Variations are found in the cuisines of Colombia, Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by ...

'' of

yuca ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although a perennia ...

and lime juice. In

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, ''butifarra'' is a very fatty, tender and whitish sausage much more like a cased pate, rioplatense ''butifarra'' is made with finely minced pork fat and meat that is cased in a soft sausage casing and boiled. In

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, ''butifarra'' is a finely minced fatty

chorizo ''Chorizo'' ( , ; ; see #Names, below) is a type of pork sausage originating from the Iberian Peninsula. It is made in many national and regional varieties in several countries on different continents. Some of these varieties are quite differe ...

that is commonly prepared in

asado ' () is the technique and the social event of having or attending a barbecue in various South American countries: especially Argentina, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay where it is also a traditional eve ...

. ''Butifarra'' is popular in El Salvador, also known to be found in

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. In Tabasco, Mexico, ''la butifarra'' is a short sausage that is very popular with street vendors, made of seasoned mixed ground beef and pork, deep-fried and usually served with a stack of halved tortillas on each side.

Other uses of the term

Peruvian cuisine Peruvian cuisine reflects local practices and ingredients including influences mainly from the indigenous population, including the Andean and Amazonian cuisine, and cuisines brought by immigrants from Europe (Spanish cuisine and Italian cuisine) ...

, the word ''butifarra'' is used for a particular kind of ham sandwich. The Peruvian

butifarra ''Botifarra'' (; ) is a type of sausage and one of the most important dishes of the Catalan cuisine. ''Botifarra'' is based on ancient recipes, either the Ancient Rome, Roman sausage ''botulu'' or the ''lucanica'', made of raw pork and spic ...

sandwich is prepared with ''jamon del país'', which is a regional type of

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...

, and not a ''botifarra'' at all.

References

{{Sausage Catalan cuisine Catalan symbols Colombian cuisine Spanish sausages Paraguayan cuisine Argentine cuisine Uruguayan cuisine Cuisine of Ibiza Sausage dishes

Varieties

Dishes with ''botifarra''

In Latin America

Other uses of the term

See also

References