Bifana (Portuguese pork cutlets) |
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Prep Time: 1440 Minutes Cook Time: 0 Minutes |
Ready In: 1440 Minutes Servings: 6 |
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Here in Toronto (which has a large Portuguese community), every Portuguese food store likely sells bifana; except for the bakeries, I've seen it frequently. It's very tasty - I've never made it, but I've bought it on occasion and eaten it at my Portuguese girlfriend's home many times as well. Bifana is regarded more as a snack than a meal. This recipe is from Uma Casa Portuguesa (Portuguese Home Cooking) by Carla Azevedo. Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs boneless pork cutlets, cut very thin |
1 1/4 cups dry white wine, divided |
1/4 cup white wine vinegar |
2 cloves garlic, minced |
1 bay leaf, crumbled |
3/4 teaspoon pimiento, paste divided (available in portuguese food stores) |
1/2 teaspoon spanish paprika, divided |
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorn, crushed |
1/4 teaspoon whole cloves |
1/4 teaspoon piri-piri, sauce (or tabasco sauce, if necessary) |
2 tablespoons lard |
Directions:
1. Rinse the pork cutlets and then pat dry with paper towels.
2. Place pork in a large heavy plastic bag (like a freezer ziploc bag) and place in a large bowl.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine one cup of the wine, the vinegar, garlic, bay leaf, 1/2 tsp of the pimento paste, 1/4 tsp of the paprika, peppercorns, cloves and piri-piri sauce.
4. Pour this over pork, make sure all meat is coated, and seal the bag.
5. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight, turning bag over in bowl frequently.
6. Bring meat to room temperature before cooking.
7. To cook, remove pork from marinade and lightly pat pork dry with paper towels.
8. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and melt lard, then cook pork in batches in hot lard; if your pork is thin it will likely only take a minute per side, at the most.
9. When all the pork has been sauteed, drain off the fat and add the remaining wine (1/4 cup), remaining pimento paste (1/4 tsp), remaining paprika (1/4 tsp) to the skillet, as well as salt and pepper to taste.
10. Bring this to a boil, stirring the pan to get up any brown bits.
11. Return all the pork to the skillet, reduce heat to low, and cook for about another minute.
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