The Gastronomy of Terceira Island

Alcatra da ilha Terceira (Terceira Island rump) is one of the most famous dishes in the Azores archipelago. Its origins lie in the arrival of the first settlers on the island, especially those from the Trás-os-Montes region.

In times gone by, the rump was considered the best part of the animal, which is why you could only find this type of dish among landlords. Farmers only kept the other parts of the animal, the parts considered less good. However, the dish made by the farmers with the parts of the animal that had bones became very well known and much tastier, so much so that it became the main recipe for the famous Alcatra à moda da ilha Terceira.

The dish is cooked slowly in a clay pot (alguidar). This element is essential in the refining and thickening of the meat sauce. The sauce is made up of bacon, onion, garlic, bay leaves, bell pepper, wine and other ingredients. The meat is cut into medium-sized pieces, as is the garlic. The bacon is cut into thin slices and the onions into half-moon shapes.

The meat is placed in the bowl at the same time as the onion, garlic, bay leaf and bacon – all in turn. The bowl is then covered and placed in the oven to cook slowly over a moderate heat. When the meat is toasted on top, the bowl is removed from the oven so that the meat can be turned inside out. An excellent accompaniment to Alcatra is bread, sourdough and a good regional wine.

The seafood includes mackerel, barnacles and limpets, which are always fresh, and you can also taste many other species of fish.

Accompany your dishes with Biscoitos wines. This area, easily recognizable by its stone walls arranged in the shape of squares, is recognized as a Denomination of Origin, producing wines, sparkling wines, liqueurs and white wine vinegar. It was so named because the basalt stones of its walls resemble the cookies (“biscoitos”) that sailors used to take on their voyages.

For dessert, consider trying the famous Dona Amélia cakes. Named after Queen Amélia and King Carlos I who visited the island of Terceira in 1939, they are a special treat. Carlos I to the island of Terceira in 1901. The island’s inhabitants offered a conventual sweet from Terceira (adapted from the Bolo da Índia) as a way of thanking them for their visit, and then decided to name the sweet after the queen, in homage to the monarch.

These small dark corn cakes, covered in icing sugar, have an intense aroma of cinnamon and cane honey. The spices used to make them allude to the important role played by Terceira Island in the spice trade throughout the history of the Kingdom of Portugal.

Did we leave out your favorite dish? Let us know in the comments!