Pig Slaughter Festivities in Menorca

Bep Al·lès/Ciutadella - In Menorca, going to the traditional pig slaughter is known as anar de porquetjades. As in many ancient societies, the sacrifice of the pig was not only a family celebration on the island, but also a gathering centered around an animal that would provide meat and food for several months, through its sausages, salted bones, and preserved pork in olive oil or lard.

With the passing of time, porquetjades have become a festive ritual in which today only the island’s traditional sausages are usually prepared, mainly for household supply. In the past, attending a porquetjada meant going to a party: a good meal was prepared, along with dances, games, and other activities. Nowadays, some of these customs are still preserved, such as secretly hanging the pig’s tail on someone’s shoulder, or the traditional dances of Menorcan fandango and boleros, as well as eating crespellets and greixeres de monyaco.

Menorcan Sausages

Besides sobrassada and black botifarrons, Menorca has other sausages that are not produced in Mallorca or the Pityusic Islands, such as carn-i-xulla; cuixot or camot (which has nothing to do with salted ham or the Mallorcan camaiot); white botifarró; and white sobrassada or Menorcan llonganissa. This last sausage is only made in the towns of Es Mercadal and Alaior, and could well be the pre-Columbian predecessor of modern sobrassada, since it does not include any products brought from the Americas, such as paprika (pebre bord).

As in all cultures where pig slaughter takes place, porquetjades are celebrated in Menorca from late autumn until Carnival, during the coldest winter months—January and February—so that the sausages can cure and dry properly. Although the strong tramuntana wind blows on the island, Menorca is also very humid, which often threatens the correct curing of sobrassades. In fact, hams cannot be cured on the island, for example.

Carn-i-xulla of Menorca

Carn-i-xulla, which in the Ciutadella area is called salsitxa, has been part of the Catalogue of Traditional Foods of the Balearic Islands since last year. It is possibly the oldest of Menorcan sausages, and perhaps of the Balearics. Its origin dates back to the Roman conquest of the island in 123 BC, coming from Roman charcuterie traditions, and it has endured over time.

This sausage is made with lean pork and fresh fat (xulla) minced together, with salt and black peppercorns. Pig intestines are used as casings. Both the meat and intestines come from the porc feixat, a Menorcan breed that gives it its distinctive flavor.

Carn-i-xulla is the only Menorcan sausage eaten raw, as it is neither fried nor grilled, and it is not found in legume dishes, stews, or casseroles. It is usually eaten with pa amb oli and grated tomato, or served as an appetizer in slices, accompanied by cheese and red wine.

Llonganissa

This is also one of the island’s oldest sausages and is almost unknown today, since only a couple of producers still make it in the center of the island.

Similar to sobrassada, it is made with lean pork, fat, quality vinegar, oregano, and salt, giving it a very distinctive and special taste. It can be eaten raw, fried, or grilled.

Botifarrons

In Menorca there are two types of botifarrons: black ones, made with the same ingredients as cuixot, which can be mild or spicy (you can tell by the color of the string used to tie them). Like in Mallorca, they are eaten grilled, fried, or included in legume dishes, arròs de la terra, and also in fava bean and noodle dishes. They also accompany fried eggs with potatoes, garlic cloves, and a bay leaf.

The white botifarró is unique to Menorca and is made with lean pork, fats and organs, as well as xulla and egg. It is stuffed into a thin membrane and cooked, like the black botifarró and cuixot. The spices include cinnamon, allspice, and cloves, among others. It is eaten both raw and fried.

Cuixot or Camot

This sausage, also typical of Menorcans, is called cuixot in Ciutadella and camot in the rest of the island. It resembles Mallorcan varia negra and is made with lean pork, fat, and blood, minced together with spices such as fennel, anise, cinnamon, paprika, and black pepper. It is stuffed and hand-sewn into the skin of the pig’s leg, hence its name.

It can be eaten raw, fried, or included in legume dishes such as lentil stew with cuixot, or served with fried eggs. It is also delicious in a cóc or roll with fried or baked cuixot and melted Menorcan cheese.

Menorcan Sobrassada

Menorcan sobrassada, also included in 2025 in the Catalogue of Traditional Foods of the Balearic Islands, differs from the Mallorcan, Ibizan, and Valencian versions because it contains more lean meat and is therefore less fatty.

Its origin is said to be found in the neighboring island of Sicily, part of the old Crown of Aragon, and an important commercial hub in maritime trade between the Balearics and Catalan Italy.

According to the Alcover-Moll dictionary, the word sobrassada comes from the Italian term sopressata, derived from sopressa, meaning “minced,” referring to meat prepared for stuffing. Thanks to intense maritime trade between the territories of the Crown of Catalonia and Aragon, the technique reached Valencia and later the Balearic Islands.

References to this sausage appear frequently in Balearic gastronomy from the 16th and 17th centuries, but it was not until the 18th century that sobrassada became as we know it today, with the incorporation of paprika, giving it its characteristic red color.

In central Menorca, a few producers still make white sobrassada, which may resemble the earliest form of this sausage, before paprika was added.

Types of Sobrassada

In Menorca, as in Mallorca, different types exist depending on the casing, curing stage (fresh or aged), and spiciness:

• Llonganissa: stuffed in thin intestines; cures quickly and is the first consumed. Also known as tender or coiled sobrassada.

• Semi-arrissada: stuffed in thinner parts of the large intestine; medium-sized.

• Arrissada: stuffed in thicker parts; larger.

• Cular: stuffed in the final section of the intestine, with a curved shape.

• Poltrú: stuffed in the first part of the large intestine (cecum).

• Bufeta: stuffed in the pig’s bladder.

• Bisbe: stuffed in the stomach; the largest variety, eaten at celebrations. Its outer layers are more cured while the center remains softer and fattier.

Sobrassada paste can also be found in butcher shops, used in pastries, stuffed breads, and Easter formatjades.

Gastronomy

Sobrassada is deeply present in Menorcan cuisine: in arròs de la terra (made with wheat, not rice), macarronada, boiled dishes, and legume stews. Traditional recipes include mushrooms with sobrassada, fried eggs with potatoes, fat, and sobrassada, stuffed eggplants, meatballs, or lamb roasted with added flavor.

However, the most common way to eat it is spread on a slice of country bread, or grilled or fried in a roll. In summer, one of Menorca’s greatest delicacies is slices of aged sobrassada fried and drizzled with Menorcan honey.