Pig-slaughtering Season and Winter menus

When the winter rigours come, one of the most rooted rituals within the traditions of Salamanca takes place: the pig-slaughter.

To commemorate the times when this gastronomy ritual was a festival, The Pig-slaughter Days are celebrated, especially relevant in Guijuelo, considered the cradle of cold meat and Iberian pigs.

Declared a Regional Tourist Attraction, the pig-slaughtering days are a swarm of people, crowded with celebrities who drop in the Iberian cold meat capital to honour the old trades.

The recreation of the killing, the cutting up and the processing of the pig is an unique celebration which transports the visitor to other times, not so long ago, when the pig-slaughtering was nearly a sacred ceremony.

Different municipalities of the province also celebrate their Pig-slaughtering Festival. That´s why there is a celebration route from December to March along 25 villages, where, by putting together tradition and gastronomy and by showing their particular way of developing this tradition from Salamanca, this ritual is celebrated, having the pig as its main character.

By the hand of a master of ceremonies, the visitor may gaze at the typical tasks of pig-slaughtering, the selection of meat and the processing of cold meat, as well as being witness to the clothing and traditional tools used in this ritual which has passed down from generation to generation. Also, tastings of the products coming from this tradition are offered, as well as of local pastries from the province of Salamanca, such as the “perrunillas”, pastries made of lard, flour and almonds.

Winter is also an excellent season to succumb to the tasting of a nice serving of lentils from La Armuña or chickpeas from Pedrosillo (Protected Geographical Indication).

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