With Carnival in Barcelona rapidly approaching, it is important to understand the tradition and importance of botifarra d'ou in regard to this festive period. The history of this dish ages back thousands of years, yet it is still made in Barcelona today in many traditional Catalan meals. Follow this guide to learn about the history of botifarra d’ou, as well as its significance in Catalonia and where you can try some for yourself! We discover this dish in a local charcutery, learn how it's cooked and why it's important for the festivity. You have to try this egg pork sausage on Dijous Gras (that's Fat Thursday). Enjoy it!
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Botifarra d'ou, Catalonia's most famous dish at Carnival
Botifarra d’ou is an egg pork sausage unlike anything else since it is a special Catalan dish. Typically, it's made of head, shoulder and bacon meat, combined with eggs, salt and black pepper. The flavour can be modified in many ways and sold at different xarcuteries, or charcuteries, in preparation for the festive days of Carnival as well as other important celebrations in Catalonia. The sausage can be eaten raw as a snack, frequently paired with cheese, but during Carnival, botifarra d’ou is commonly served in a truita, or omelette, to form the traditional dish of botifarra d’ou i truita to enjoy during the week of indulgence before the traditional Christian austerity of Lent. There are other popular versions of botifarra such as botifarra blanca (white sausage) and botifarra catalana, but the botifarra d’ou (egg sausage) is the most traditional.
Botifarra d’ou is a very tender sausage but does not taste fatty. This makes the meat very fresh and enjoyable because it is a lighter dish. A little like Catalonia, United States diners enjoy many different types of sausage in their meals, but on the other side of the Atlantic the sausage tends to be based on ground pork or beef and has a greasier taste and texture. The closest you will get to egg sausage in the US is when your breakfast sausage links touch the scrambled eggs on your breakfast plate. Aside from breakfast sausage, the most common sausage you will see is cooked in the form of hotdogs. Hotdogs are usually pork, or pork and beef combinations, stuffed into a casing and then grilled or boiled in water. They are commonly served on buns with ketchup and mustard and are frequently enjoyed at baseball games or as street food.
What is Dijous Gras (or Fat Thursday)?
Dating back to the Roman Empire, the recipe for botifarra has been around for generations but has been modified over time to incorporate different regional specialties. The botifarra d’ou is a common feature in Catalan cuisine and can be purchased at markets throughout Barcelona. But it's during the week of Carnival that the botifarra d’ou has the most significance. Dijous Gras, or Fat Thursday marks the start of Carnival, a time of indulging that lasts until Ash Wednesday. During this time, botifarra d’ou is so popular because families will gather together to eat lots of fatty foods, with a focus mostly on pork and eggs, so botifarra d’ou or truita de botifarra are the perfect dishes for Dijous Gras. The reason why it is so popular to consume pork on Fat Thursday goes all the way back in history to the Spanish pig slaughters on St. Martin’s Day. The pigs would be killed in November, so by the time Dijous Gras rolled around, there would only be small cuts of pork left, and these were used to make botifarra to enjoy before the days of fasting. This tradition carries on today, making botifarra d’ou one of the most loved dishes during Carnival.
Five generations in a family charcuterie at a Barcelona market
For some authentic botifarra d’ou in Barcelona, take a visit to the Mercat Abaceria (Pg. de Sant Joan, 168). Inside, Fàbregas Xarcuters has a stand where they sell many different varieties of botifarra and cheese. Valentí Fàbregas and his sister own the charcuterie and it has been in the family for five generations. They learned from their parents how to make botifarra, but have adapted the recipe over the years, always looking for improvements. He believes their traditional botifarra d’ou is one of their most important products because of its significance during Carnival. But they also offer other unique types of botifarra that include Iberian ham or garlic. Fàbregas Xarcuters has actually won several awards for their botifarra. For the 2023 8th Artisan Traditional Egg Botifarra (botifarra d’ou) Contest, Valentí Fàbregas de Fàbregas Xarcuters won second place. He also received an honourable mention for his botifarra d’ou with Iberian ham and dried figs. Last but not least, Valentí Fàbregas won overall for his Carnival stuffing! This goes to show that Fàbregas Xarcuters is the perfect stop for some of the best botifarra d’ou in Barcelona!
Egg Sausage Omelet: a delicious recipe
What to do for Thursday Llarder? Egg Sausage Omelet… Right! It is tradition to taste egg sausage in many ways and, in particular, for breakfast on Maundy Thursday you can opt for a delicious egg sausage omelette. How to prepare it? Here's the step by step:
Ingredients
- 4 or 5 eggs
- 1/2 egg sausage
- 150 g of bacon
- 4 tender garlics
- Parsley
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Let's prepare the ingredients.
Step-by-step recipe:
Egg white sausage can be eaten raw or pan-fried...and it is an excellent product of our land that we often forget exists.
- Chop the bacon into small cubes.
- Mix all the eggs well in a bowl. Not only should they be mixed, but they should be emulsified a bit...until you see bubbles coming out the sides. This way you will have the fluffiest omelette.
- Finely chop the garlic with the parsley.
- Now, in a non-stick pan with a splash of oil... we're going to sauté the sausage.
- Until it takes a little color, then add the bacon and stir everything together.
- Add the garlic and parsley and cooked beans if you want.
- Let's continue with the eggs. Take the opportunity to salt the egg a little.
- When everything has a nice color, add the beaten egg.
- Like any other omelette... we'll let it cook slowly...
- The time has come... we will turn the omelette...
- With the help of a plate or a tortilla cover like this one.
- And you can use it now.
- What a look...huh? I like that there is a raw pellet from the inside.
- I recommend accompanying it with some tomato bread.
- It is an omelette that is much better than it may seem.
- A glass of wine, a cold beer... whatever you want to drink.