Extremadura, Spain

Spain

The vast dehesa oak forests of Extremadura feed acorn-fattened Ibérico pigs and produce Spain's finest pimentón de la Vera, the smoked paprika that defines chorizo. Hieronymite monks in the La Vera valley first cultivated peppers from the Americas here in the 16th century.

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Sausages from Extremadura, Spain

Chorizo

Chorizo

Extremadura, Spain

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Spain's most iconic cured sausage, made from coarsely chopped pork seasoned with pimentón (smoked paprika) and garlic, then stuffed into natural casings and dry-cured for weeks. The red comes from pimentón de la Vera, a smoked paprika produced in Extremadura. Chorizo exists in hundreds of regional variants across Spain, from soft and spreadable to hard and sliceable.

curedporksmoked-paprika