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Meat from Spain

Sobrassada de Mallorca PGISobrassada de Mallorca

Sobrassada de Mallorca is a soft raw-cured sausage from Mallorca. Pork lean and back fat are minced to under 6 mm, kneaded with 4–7 % paprika and 1.8–2.8 % salt, stuffed into natural casings and cured in drying rooms until it reaches a set pH or water activity. It carries about 58 g fat per 100 g (mean of 15 PGI samples).

Fully documentedMeat6 months

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceRanges set by the 1993 Regulation of the Sobrasada de Mallorca designation (published in the BOE in 1994), as shares of the mix. Each maker picks a recipe within them.
Pork lean30–60 %[boe-sobrasada-1994]
Pork back fat (tocino)40–70 %[boe-sobrasada-1994]
Paprika4–7 %Capsicum annuum and/or C. longum; it gives the red colour, since any added colouring is banned[boe-sobrasada-1994]
Salt1.8–2.8 %[boe-sobrasada-1994]
Spices or natural flavouringsPepper, rosemary, thyme and/or oregano[boe-sobrasada-1994]
Natural casingsFirm, without holes; the black-pig type must use natural casing[boe-sobrasada-1994]

Total time across the recorded steps: 6 months

Start
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What changes: Lean pork and back fat are minced fine

Step 1 of 4
Mince the pork
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Sobrassada de Mallorca is a soft raw-cured sausage from Mallorca. Pork lean and back fat are minced to under 6 mm, kneaded with 4–7 % paprika and 1.8–2.8 % salt, stuffed into natural casings and cured in drying rooms until it reaches a set pH or water activity. It carries about 58 g fat per 100 g (mean of 15 PGI samples). Made in 4 steps over 6 months. The longest step, cure in drying rooms, takes up to 6 months (ICEX Foods and Wines from Spain). Salt is 1.8–2.8 % (Orden de 9 de febrero de 1994 por la que se r…). Lactic acid bacteria does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepup to 6 monthsReported[icex-sobrasada][galmes2024]Cure in drying rooms
Salt1.8–2.8 %Set[boe-sobrasada-1994]Knead with paprika, salt and spices
AciditypH up to 4.5Set[boe-sobrasada-1994]Cure in drying rooms

What makes this one different

Sobrassada stays a soft paste. It is very fatty (40–70 % back fat) and finely minced (under 6 mm). Its regulation requires one of three end points, low pH or low water activity or both together.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Sobrassada de Mallorca de porc negreMade only from the island's native black pig, reared extensively or semi-extensively, in natural casing; protein at least 13 % of dry matter instead of 8 %.

Safety

The regulation sets the end of curing at pH below 4.5, or water activity below 0.91, or water activity 0.95 or less with pH 5.2 or less. Presence-or-absence monitoring in 2018–2021 found some E. coli and Listeria monocytogenes, as in other raw cured meats, and E. coli tended to show more in the white-pork type. The authors still rated its microbiological status good. The abstract gives no rates. These are figures for controlled production, not a home method. Washington State University Extension does not recommend making dry sausage at home, because S. aureus toxin can form if fermentation is not rigidly controlled.

Hazards the sources name: Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes found in some samples in 2018–2021 monitoring.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Galmés et al. (2024) say sobrassada took its present form around the 16th century, after paprika was introduced as one of its main ingredients. The Balearic Government approved the designation's regulation by Decree 136/1993 of 16 December 1993, which Spain's agriculture ministry ratified by an order of 9 February 1994. The name was registered as an EU PGI by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 of 12 June 1996.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [wsu-sausage] Washington State University Extension, Homemade Meat, Poultry, and Game Sausages (EB1661)gov
  2. [boe-sobrasada-1994] Orden de 9 de febrero de 1994 por la que se ratifica el Reglamento de la Denominación Específica "Sobrasada de Mallorca" y su Consejo Regulador (approved by Balearic Decree 136/1993), Boletín Oficial del Estado 41, 17 February 1994, pp. 5175-5181, articles 5, 9 and 11gov
  3. [eu-sobrasada-1996] Application for registration, Sobrasada de Mallorca PGI (summary sheet in the eAmbrosia register, file PGI-ES-0097)spec
  4. [galmes2024] Galmés S., Reynés B., Domínguez-Flores A., Terradas S., Torres A. et al. 2024, Biochemical composition and related potential nutritional and health properties of Sobrassada de Mallorca, Foods 13(5):761paper
  5. [rodriguez2022] Rodríguez A., Bars-Cortina D. 2022, Presence of certain foodborne pathogens in traditional Balearic Islands' meat, pastry, and cheese specialties supported by European Union quality schemes, from 2018 to 2021, Foodborne Pathogens and Disease 19:787-795 (abstract)paper
  6. [eu-reg-1107-1996] Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 of 12 June 1996 on the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin under the procedure laid down in Article 17 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, Official Journal L 148, 21.6.1996 (Annex, Sobrasada de Mallorca (PGI)), read via the EU Publications Office cellarspec
  7. [rossello1995] Rosselló C., Barbas J.I., Berna A., López N. 1995, Microbial and chemical changes in 'Sobrasada' during ripening, Meat Science 40:379-385 (abstract via Europe PMC)paper
  8. [icex-sobrasada] ICEX Foods and Wines from Spain, Sobrasada de Mallorca PGI, production and processing methodweb