Sobrasada is made by seasoning chopped pork with paprika, made on the islands (Mallorca in particular) using locally-grown red peppers. Once seasoned, the meat is stuffed into casings and hung up to cure in the open air, usually for between one and eight months depending on the size and shape of the casing; they range from very long and thin to short and fat, depending on which part of the pig is used.
Although the final result looks like a sausage, with a color not unlike that of chorizo, it has a softer texture that means it’s better spread onto toast rather than cut up into slices. It’s also used to give a rich flavor to other dishes such as stews, and is a popular topping for cocas, a type of flatbread common on the islands and in parts of mainland Spain like Valencia.