Dunkin' Donuts offering spicy sausage in RI, Mass.

A spicy staple of Portuguese cuisine is the inspiration for a new menu item at Dunkin' Donuts, the Canton-based coffee-and-baked-goods chain.

The company is marketing a chourico (shuh-REES') breakfast sandwich in Rhode Island and Bristol County in Massachusetts, a region with the largest Portuguese population in the United States. (The image above this story was taken from Dunkin's website.)

A Dunkin Donuts spokesman said the coffee store chain has cooked up other ideas to target regional tastes, including a chicken biscuit sandwich in the South.

Chourico, a spicier concoction than its sister sausage linguica (lin-GWEE'-sa), is often served in Portuguese households with eggs. It's added to kale and potatoes to make Portuguese soup, and it's served in flaming bowls as appetizers in restaurants. (AP)