Comments on: I want some sausage!

Question: I want some sausage!

onalark — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 21:37:28 -0800

Help me get some linguica sausage in New York City tomorrow afternoon. I want to make some Portuguese Bean Soup for a guest from Hawaii!

I live in the Upper West Side, I don't have a car, and I've already seen this thread: Source for Portuguese-style chourico in Astoria?. So I guess my best bet right now is to head to Newark and pick some up, please tell me there's a better option, or what sausage I can use to 'fake' it. (Mexican-style smoked chorizo?)

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 22:18:37 -0800

Try Gristedes, Citarella or any grocer for Spanish chorizo?

By: anjamu

anjamu — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 22:21:48 -0800

There are a number of Brazilian/Portuguese restaurants on 46th Street. You could try calling them to see who their supplier is. (I suspect they may tell you to go to Newark, but who knows.)

I found three or four just by searching menupages.com.

By: ikkyu2

ikkyu2 — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 23:46:36 -0800

I'd be very surprised if you trucked over to Citarella and Fairway at B'way and 73rd and neither of them had some. I always used to see it.

By: Brian James

Brian James — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 00:33:41 -0800

I had to track some down myself a while back, and I wound up ordering online. The closest place I could find was in Newark (which is where Alfama, the one Portuguese restaraunt in town, gets theirs from). Since then, I've seen it at Whole Foods, though I haven't tried it.

Check your local butcher shops, mine has something called "Portuguese Chorizo" that is pretty darn close.

By: lazywhinerkid

lazywhinerkid — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 02:40:09 -0800

FWIW, I'm a bit of an anal retentive linguica connoisseur -- in my experience, the closest you'll find to Hawaiian linguica is the variety in Southeastern Massachusetts. The best brand unfortunately looks like it wouldn't get there in time but for future reference try: http://www.gasparssausage.com/internetorder.html. Amaral's isn't bad either.

Also, "Portuguese Chourico" isn't really that close to linguica. Tastes quite different and is a very different texture -- more "crumbly" when cooked. It doesn't really work all that well in the soup that onalark wants to make.

Good luck.

By: mek

mek — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 02:47:38 -0800

Smoked sausage such as chorizo/chourico is not really what you're looking for, and you'd be better off faking it with something garlicky, spicy, but not smoked. I eat way too much of this stuff whenever I'm in Hawaii. It also comes in many varieties, of the mild->really freaking hot sort.

By: msittig

msittig — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 05:07:27 -0800

I always thought of the crumbly stuff as Mexican chorizo. In Spain, chorizo is hard and bright red, seasoned with lots of paprika. In fact, a purist might call them two different sausages. Is the Portuguese version really that different? (Ooh, Everything2 agrees with me.)

By: huskerdont

huskerdont — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 05:08:59 -0800

IIRC correctly, Fairway on 74th and Broadway carries Portugese linguica.

Alternately, for faking, why not use Italian linguiza sausage? It's a close first cousin and easily obtainable from any Southern Italian butcher in Brooklyn (I recommend G. Esposito on Court Street in Caroll Gardens).