Between November and January, the cold winter weather marks the killing of the pig season, a time that combines productive work and family celebrations. Pork, an essential ingredient in Barroso cuisine, provides a large part of the year's provisions and transforms the tradition into an occasion for family and neighbours to get together, perpetuating flavours and habits that span generations.
The killing of the pig occupies a central place in the annual agricultural cycle.
As a central element in the family diet, pigs require special care from breeding to fattening, especially in the months leading up to the killing. Women devote themselves to feeding them, mainly with local products such as rye, potatoes, cabbage and turnips. Such is their concern for the animals' welfare that they sometimes make promises to Saint Anthony, patron saint of animals, asking for protection against disease and "“males ruins” (evil forces).
The day of the killing is arranged in advance, bringing together close family members, neighbours and friends, who later return the invitation during the killings at their homes. This gesture of mutual assistance reflects the community spirit that is so characteristic of the region.
It is a particularly busy day for the women of the house, who rely on the help of family members and neighbours to cope with the hustle and bustle. Between tasks and conversations, they prepare the ‘parva’ or ‘mata-bicho’, a small snack to fill the stomachs of the guests before work begins. The kitchen table is filled with bread, cheese, meat, codfish cakes, soup and other snacks, not to mention wine and brandy, which are essential for ‘warming the body’ and accompanying the food.
After the morning meal, the guests head to the courtyard, where the pigs await. The tools are prepared — the wooden bench and knives — and sleeves are rolled up to begin the killing. While one man guards the door to prevent any animals from escaping, the others enter the courtyard, grab a pig and lead it to the ‘sacrificial altar’, the bench where it will be killed.
When the pens have enclosed yards, the animals are let loose, and you can see the men running after them trying to catch them: one grabs a leg, another the tail, another the ears and snout, until they finally manage to subdue the pig and kill it.
Among the guests, the person who bleeds the animal takes on the role of ‘master of ceremonies,’ responsible for the ritual, while a woman accompanies the process and collects the blood in a bowl.
Inside the house, the other women prepare lunch for the party, dividing up the tasks: ‘one takes out the testo, another adds the spoon, another adds the salt’. The woman who collected the blood returns quickly, stirring it so that it does not coagulate, and prepares the sarrabulho — a dish much appreciated in the region, made with cooked blood seasoned with salt and served in pieces, with sliced onions or chopped garlic and drizzled with olive oil.
After being killed, the pigs are singed to remove the hair — in the past, straw, gorse or broom was used, but today a gas torch is used — and the skin is scraped with a knife or blade. They are then carefully washed with soap and water, rubbing thoroughly to remove all impurities. The pigs are then cut open and the entrails removed. Later, the women clean the intestines, removing the fat that surrounds them, which is later used to prepare rojões (pork crackling).
All this work takes place amid lively conversation and laughter among the guests, but it requires great effort, and it is time to recharge their batteries. One of the women brings the sarrabulho, bread and wine, places a cloth over the pig still on the bench and turns it into an improvised table, where the dish with the sarrabulho is served so that everyone can eat.
At lunch, tradition dictates that pork from the kill should be eaten above all else.
Once they have regained their strength and their stomachs are full, they take the pigs and carry them to the lower part of the house, where they are hung for a day or two. A festive table, a plentiful table: tradition dictates that the meat from the slaughtered pig should be eaten above all else. In addition to sarrabulho, fried liver, fried heart and rib rojões are served. A little meat from the previous year's pig is also added, a sign of ‘good housekeeping’. In some houses, a stew is also prepared with veal, chorizo and chicken, accompanied by rice and potatoes. To finish, there is no shortage of varied desserts: aletria, sponge cake, rabanadas and other typical delicacies.
After lunch, the men entertain themselves by playing cards and later go to tend to the cattle. The women, meanwhile, divide themselves among various tasks: some wash the dishes and tidy up the kitchen, while others go to the rivers, streams or village wash houses to wash the tripe. Once thoroughly cleaned, the tripe is wrapped in salt and preserved until the day of smoking.
Learn more about the traditional smokehouse here.
