Secrets around an old knowledge

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Beira Lamego Beira Lamego Beira Lamego
41.018344113948956
-7.744459772155778

Secrets around an old knowledge

There is a family-run company in Lamego which spreads the name and the old knowledge of the Douro to the four corners of the globe. It offers a different product which is much appreciated for the uniqueness of its processes and the respect​...

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There is a family-run company in Lamego which spreads the name and the old knowledge of the Douro to the four corners of the globe. It offers a different product which is much appreciated for the uniqueness of its processes and the respect for tradition.

Beira Lamego is a “very old” industry supplying all kinds of fresh meat and pork by-products, notably cured meat products, from the most traditional to the less conventional.

The company currently has 90 employees, which represents “a substantial role and social responsibility in view of the present circumstances and the region in which it operates,” Vítor Ferreira, one of the managers, explains.

A fast-growing company, it has already started to export its products. The flavours that preserve the essence of the Douro leave no-one indifferent, and this is evident in the tasting sessions at gastronomic fairs and events which have proved “extremely successful”.


A distinctive brand

All processes are based on old knowledge and traditions passed on by the ancestors of the current owners. They were in this business before, although in an unsystematic way, but now the company, in different hands, has been modernised and has achieved a higher level of renown.

Vítor Ferreira reveals that what sets Beira Lamego apart is the manner in which processes are managed and the fact that they have a farming and livestock breeding component. “We’ve always excelled in the strictest selection of raw materials and our products have a taste and quality to which their history and success in the marketplace attest.”

This business, operating in a structured and sustainable way for almost 50 years, has built its success over time on the preservation of gastronomic knowledge. “Recipes come from family tradition and are a legacy that has been passed down and has survived over the years and the generations. Then the company’s mission is to preserve them and disseminate them on a large scale,” the businessman says.


A menu of flavours and knowledge

Pork meat is the product par excellence of Beira Lamego, notably from the various breeds of white pig.
The products are on sale all over the country under the most diverse forms. The most popular are the traditional products from smoked pork loin to alheiras (bread and meat sausages), not to forget the production of black pudding, farinheiras (pork sausages made with flour), prosciutto and hams.

One of the distinguishing factos of this company is the typical curing process that it adopts to this day. A well-guarded secret, this know-how has resisted time. “The curing of these products varies a lot. Prosciutto, for instance, undergoes a very original process. First, it is salted, then cured, smoked or cold, under controlled temperature and humidity. The sausages are matured and later undergo ageing to absorb all the condiments.”

There are many tricks to ensure the unique flavour of these products. “Smoked pork sausage matures for some time in wine and garlic. After a few days, I can’t reveal how many, we fill it, tie it and hang it over the smoke, and the end product is really extraordinary,” Vítor Ferreira says.

The inclusion of the name of the city in the company name brings benefits to both sides. “Lamego is also fortunate that we use the city’s name. There is an interaction of interests here. We publicise the name of Lamego and the tourist, economic, social and even cultural aspects gain from it, because preserving knowledge and flavours is a part of a people’s culture.”

Beira Lamego sells its products in the main commercial outlets in the country. In addition to the domestic market, the company wants to invest in the so-called “market of nostalgia”, which covers the Portuguese communities abroad.

Text: Patricia Posse | Daniel Faiões

Schedules/Prices 
Contacts 
Owner/Responsible
Vítor Ferreira
Address
Beira Lamego
Lugar do Serradouro
3610-096 Mondim da Beira

Other points of sale:
Continente, Pingo Doce, Lidl or E-Leclerc
Phone
+351 254 671 120
Latitude
41.018344113948956
Longitude
-7.744459772155778