Alheira, a yellowish sausage from Trás-os-Montes, traditionally served with fried potatoes and a fried egg, has an interesting story. In the late 15th century, King Manuel of Portugal ordered all resident Jews to convert to Christianity or leave the country.
The King did not really want to expel the Jews, who constituted the economic and professional élite of the kingdom, but was forced to do so by outside pressures. So, when the deadline arrived, he announced that no ships were available for those who refused conversion—the vast majority—and had men, women and children dragged to churches for a forced mass baptism. Others were even baptized near the ships themselves, which gave birth to a concept popular at the time: baptizados em pé, literally meaning: "baptized while standing". It is believed that some of the Jews maintained their religion secretly, but tried to show an image of being good Christians. Since avoiding pork was a tell-tale practice in the eyes of the Portuguese Inquisition, new Christians devised a type of sausage that would give the appearance of being made with pork, but only contained heavily spiced game and chicken. Over time, pork has been added to the alheiras.
Alheira-sausage varieties with PGI protection status, include Alheira de Vinhais and Alheira de Barroso-Montalegre.
