Meats and Sausages
Girella
Girella and Chireta are similar, the sausage is called Girella in Catalonia and Chireta in Aragón. The main ingredients are lamb offal meat (heart, lungs, tripe, liver, head meat) and rice. Girella is very similar to Butifarra Blanca.
| Materials | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| Lamb hearts, lungs, head meat | 400 g | 0.88 lb |
| Pork ham (leg) | 100 g | 0.22 lb |
| Pork belly, pork trimmings | 100 g | 0.22 lb |
| Rice | 350 g | 0.77 lb |
| Bread crumbs or dry white bread | 50 g | 0.11 lb |
Ingredients per 1000g (1 kg) of materials
| Salt | 12 g | 2 tsp |
| Pepper, white | 2.0 g | 1 tsp |
| Garlic, smashed | 7.0 g | 2 cloves |
| Parsley, chopped | 1 bunch | 2 Tbsp |
| Nutmeg | 1.0 g | 1/2 tsp |
| Eggs | 3 eggs | 3 eggs |
| Saffron, flakes | 5 flakes | 5 flakes |
Instructions
- Cook rice, but don't overcook.
- Cook offal meats for 15 minutes. Cut into smaller pieces. Save 120 ml ( 1/2 cup) of meat stock.
- Soak bread crumbs in 90 ml (3 oz fl) of meat stock.
- Immerse saffron in 30 ml (2 Tbsp) of meat stock.
- Grind all other meat through 5 mm (1/4") plate.
- Beat the eggs.
- Mix meats with all ingredients and rice.
- Prepare sheep stomach. The stomach is cleaned with white vinegar then rinsed very well before filling The stomach is cut with scissors into smaller sheets. Each sheet is filled with sausage mix, folded over and sewn with twine. Fill casing bags loosely as the rice will expand a little.
- Cook in water at 80° C (176° F) for 30-40 minutes depending on the diameter of the bag.*
- Refrigerate.
Notes
Chiretas are usually served hot, as a main dish. They are also sliced, dipped in an egg-flour batter, and fried to a golden color.
