Txistorra: Navarran and Basque fresh sausage

Navarra and Basque Country, Spain

The fast-cured fresh sausage of Navarra and the Basque Country — thin, long, and coiled, seasoned with garlic and pimentón, and cured very briefly (2-3 days) so that it retains a fresh, almost raw character despite being technically cured. Txistorra is fried, grilled, or cooked in cider and is the traditional breakfast and pintxo sausage of the region — it appears at every festival, every morning market, and every cider house in Navarra and Gipuzkoa. The word txistorra comes from Basque and refers to the thin, soft texture of the sausage — it is not the same as a thin chorizo, despite the visual similarity. The fat content is high (around 70% fat to 30% lean) which is why it cooks so quickly and why it bursts so easily under high heat.

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