Homemade Linguica

Updated On: Oct 03, 2024

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Homemade Linguica. If you’re looking for a recipe to make your own Portuguese Linguica at home, then look no further. You will need specialty equipment to stuff the casings, but you can pick up attachments for Kitchenaid mixers or buy stand alone sausage grinder/stuffers easily on Amazon or other marketplaces. The recipe only requires a few ingredients to make it like pork shoulder, spices, and liquid smoke. Then smoke it on your Traeger or other smokers and it’s ready to go. So simple and delicious. Make extra and freeze it so you never run out.

how to make Portuguese linguica from scratch

I am 1/4 Portuguese and grew up eating homemade linguica and the most amazing sweet bread ever.  No not calf brains, but the sweet, buttery bread that the Portuguese are so well known for that is similar to Hawaiian sweet bread.

Love Portuguese recipes? Try my Alcatra in a Slow Cooker or my great grandmother’s Filozes donuts.

Portuguese Traditions

Every year there is a celebration called the Festa or Holy Ghost Festa, read more about the Holy Ghost here.  It’s a Portuguese tradition where the story goes that the Queen of Portugal gave her crown to a peasant girl.  Every year Portuguese communities around the world have a Festa and not only is it a grand parade of queens and past queens but there’s also a feast.  Friday nights dinner usually consist of homemade Linguica and beans with salads and wine.  Sunday is all about church and a huge parade and ends with Alcatra (boiled spiced beef), Sopa (the broth from the beef with cabbage and large hunks of french bread floating), salads and sweet bread.  Lots and lots of sweet bread.

smoked homemade portuguese linguica links

So it’s only natural that I have a love of sausages (and bread).  I have never tried to make my own linguica, until now.  Being a part of the Charcutepalooza challenge has given me some guts in the kitchen when it comes to meats and having the Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking & Curing  cookbook has changed my view on making homemade sausages forever.  Also, for a small investment of around $84 for the attachments for my Kitchenaid mixer I have been able to make several batches of fresh sausage. I guess I always thought it was a lot tougher to do than it is.  Sit back and relax and take a pictorial ride on just how simple it is to make your own sausage at home.  Check out the recipe at the end for the most amazing Linguica ever.  

p.s. I called my 91 year old grandmother to let her know I made Linguica for the first time and she was probably the most proud of me that she’s ever been.  Ok, maybe not, but close.

Ingredients You’ll Need

  • Pork Shoulder – also known as pork butt
  • Spices – Hungarian paprika, white pepper, black pepper, chipotle powder, Kosher salt
  • Garlic cloves – 3 fresh fat garlic cloves
  • Liquid Smoke – just a little goes a long way
  • Red Wine – for flavor and color
  • Sugar – white granulated sugar
  • Fresh Oregano – you can use dried oregano, but fresh will really pack a flavor punch
  • Cubed Pork Belly – optional, but more traditional

*NOTE: Find the printable recipe card with exact measurements and instructions below.

How to Make Homemade Linguica

Linguica is a simple sausage to make. You only need a few ingredients, a meat grinder, and a sausage stuffer and it’s time to smoke the juiciest most flavor links.

Season cut up pork shoulder with spices and seasonings

Step 1: Season the Cubed Meat

Because I made 2 batches of sausage on this day, I only did 2 lbs of pork butt (shoulder) which made about 6 links of linguica.  In this bowl is fresh garlic, salt, white and black pepper, lots of paprika, liquid smoke, red wine, fresh oregano, sugar and chipotle chili powder.  Mix it all together with the cubed pork and it’s time to stuff.

soak hog casings before using to make homemade linguica for best results

Step 2: Rinse the Hog Casing

I use natural hog casing, but if you’re squeamish about touching hog intestines then you can use synthetic casings  with similar results.  This is 10 feet, enough for 5 lbs of sausage.  It needs to soak for a bit and then you’ll need to run water inside of the casing to rinse it out.  I usually add enough water to make a 4 inch long balloon and then run it the entire way down the casing.  It’s a delicate process as you don’t want to make knots.

use a Kitchenaid grinding attachment to make homemade linguica

Step 3: Grind the Meat

Attach the large grinding plate and fire up the mixer.

grind cubed seasoned meat to make homemade linguica from scratch

Lesson learned – don’t over-stuff the chamber with meat.  This results in a not-very-fun sausage making experience.  Let the machine work for you.

what grind plate should I use to make homemade linguica?

See how large the grind is?  This is a good thing to give you texture in your sausage.  Too small and it will look like hot dogs.

If using cubed pork belly, now would be the time to mix it into the ground meat mixture. Make cubes small (1/2″ cubes or less).

load the hog casing onto the filling tube and tie a knot

Step 4: Fill the Casings with Ground Meat

Cut off the desired amount of casing and slip it over the sausage tube insert.  Some say to grease the tube, but I’ve found it works better without.  Make sure to tie a knot in the end of the casing.

Fill the hog casings.

Start filling the casing with the sausage mixture.  You can twist your links as you go, but I’ve found it’s a little easier to wait until the end.  Just don’t stuff the casing too tightly or it will burst when you twist.  Think balloon…too full and POW!

Step 5: Smoke the Linguiça

This process is made much easier with the addition of more than 2 hands.  My darling daughter has become my sausage making sidekick and has perfected the right amount of meat mixture to add to the stuffer to prevent air pockets in the sausages.  She’s such a rock star.  Twist your links and go fire up the smoker.

smoke homemade linguica links on a traeger or barrel smoker

Smoke the sausages for about 1 1/2 hours.  Flipping them once halfway through.

That’s it.  Can you believe how easy it is?  While I was making Linguica I also made a batch of Italian sausage using the other half of the pork butt (shoulder).  The whole process for both sausages was about 40 minutes start to finish, not including the smoking of the linguica of course.  In the end, you get to determine how much fat goes into making these and you know that no other preservatives were added.  Just fresh tasty sausage.  I hope you give them a try.  You might be hooked just like me.

smoked homemade portuguese linguica links
how to make Portuguese linguica from scratch

Homemade Linguica

Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 12 Servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs pork shoulder cubed
  • 1 ½ tablespoons Hungarian paprika
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 ½ tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
  • cup red wine
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon white pepper
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons fresh oregano chopped
  • 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

Instructions

  • Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
  • Stuff into hog casings (or synthetic casing). Twist into links.
  • Prepare smoker according to manufacturer’s suggestions and smoke the sausage for 1 1/2 hours flipping the sausage once halfway through.
  • Cool sausage and store in an airtight container or freeze in a zip top bag.

Nutrition

Calories: 81kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 9gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 1495mgPotassium: 198mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.5gVitamin A: 489IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 18mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe? I’d love to see what you made!
Mention @farmgirlgourmet or tag #farmgirlgourmet !

Recipe By:

heather scholten founder of farmgirl gourmet and spiceology headshot
Co-Founder at  | More About Heather...

Heather is a recipe developer and content creator living in Vancouver, Washington. She started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006, almost 20 years ago, as a way to share recipes with friends and family. Heather is also the co-founder of Spiceology , a unique spice company, which she started in 2013. She shares family friendly recipes for easy everyday meals with a gourmet twist.

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  1. Just so you know sweet bread is just that.
    Sweet breads is the thalmus gland of a milk fed calf, not the brains.

  2. misscherryjones says:

    I lived in Hawai’i for I time, so I learned to love Portuguese sausage. I wish I could make it myself, as I cannot find it where I live now.I have no grinder.

  3. gardenstyledesigns says:

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  4. Following on Google RSS as well!

  5. The linguica looks fantastic!

    Of course, the rose colanders are adorable but I also like the flour/rice scoops, the confetti nesting bowls (can’t decide between the bright colors or the white), and the petals and bloom table art!

  6. And Zak on Twitter as well. They have great stuff!

  7. Following you on Twitter now as well.

  8. Just found you the other day on Facebook!

  9. Their melamine bowls are gorgeous!

  10. I like you on FB too:)

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  12. The Confetti mixing bowls are my fav! I love ZAK! Also, love your website:)

  13. Marnely Rodriguez says:

    I follow you on twitter, you follow me on twitter! 😉

  14. Marnely Rodriguez says:

    I like you (love you!) on FB

  15. Marnely Rodriguez says:

    I follow Zak on Twitter!

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    I like Zak on FB!

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    I am LOVING their hot chocolate collection!

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  22. this is my mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.Her food is soooooooooooooooooooooooo good.Those sausage dogs are really good

  23. Barbara | Creative Culinary says:

    Beautiful sausages..heck I’m proud of you! I’m not in it for the bowls…just want you to know you rocked the sausages girl. Farm girl.

  24. Anonymous says:

    Blue Confetti bowls.
    Kim Payseur

  25. Heather, I have linguica envy! I better learn this skill fast! I am so behind with Charcutepalooza challenges.

  26. Cookin' Canuck says:

    I can see why your grandmother was proud of you – you rocked this! I’m truly impressed.

  27. also, “like” you on facebook! 🙂

  28. I love the daisy bowl set!

  29. Anonymous says:

    Colorways Mixing Bowls, definitely!
    Jen

  30. Oh My! I just finished peeking into the ZAK site…& i LUV the 7-pc Bloom serving set in magenta…cute as a,,, daisy! lol!
    I had no idea what ZAK produced,,,and yet I drive by them every week….
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  31. OH YUM! you make this look rather easy to do,,,,
    I watched tonights episode of the Chef Gordon Ramsey cooking show where a gazillion people tryout to be a master chef,,,tonight’s challenge was to make sauage…and you are so spot on right about the texture,,,to much grinding leaves a ‘hot dog-gy effect for the sauage….as Ramsey pointed out.
    Your’s looked Perfect!
    :>)

  32. This looks sooo good. I NEED to get this attachment. I can only imagine how good fresh homemade linguica is. Yum!

  33. Emily Malloy says:

    Amaaaaazing post!

  34. Great post! looks totally delicious!

  35. I totally love the ECO collection

  36. fitinthemidwest says:

    I am following you on twitter now.

  37. fitinthemidwest says:

    I am following Zak on twitter.

  38. fitinthemidwest says:

    Love the Wild Flora dinnerware and placemats!

  39. Kimmy Bingham says:

    Lovely sausage-making! I learned the hard way about overstuffing the meat grinder… never again. I also learned doing this with chicken is a lot grosser than doing this with pork. Me might stick to the pork at this point 🙂

  40. Melissa @IWasBornToCook says:

    I follow you on Twitter.

  41. Melissa @IWasBornToCook says:

    I like the egg tray!

  42. Angela FRS says:

    I already follow you on Twitter.

  43. Angela FRS says:

    Well that looks pretty amazing! I love linguica but have never tried to make it at home. As for that giveaway, I would love their square, stacking salt mill-very attractive and clever.

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