Bifanas are traditional Portuguese sandwiches made from thin slices of pork marinated and cooked in a sauce of white wine, garlic and paprika and served on soft buns with plenty of mustard and piri-piri sauce.
In the pantheon of great Portuguese dishes, superlative sandwiches are few Bifana. Although bifanas sound like beef sammie, they’re made with thinly pounded pork slices marinated in white wine, paprika, garlic, bay leaf, and vinegar. It’s a simple dish, an unadorned dish. They’re such a casual meal that you’ll often eat them standing up at Bifana palaces with your elbows raised and a cold beer (or in my case Uma Coca) ready. Many people add a squirt of hot piri piri sauce and/or a squirt of yellow mustard. Some prefer caramelized onions as a topping. Purists want nothing but pork, bread and gravy. I don’t care how you take your bifana, but please, by all means, take one. You won’t be sorry.–David Leite
Should I sauce my bifana or not?
Just as there are many ways to serve bifanas, there is no hard and fast rule as to what to do with the sauce they are cooked in. Some places in Lisbon have pork and bread – that’s all. No longer. Other cooks put some gravy over their pork. Some dip the cut side of the top half of the roll. And then there are the radicals waiting to dip the whole sandwich.
Me? I’m wrong on the sauce side. But I also like to flatten it first, which is why it’s a bit thicker than what you see in most places in Portugal. What else should you do – throw it away?! Drippy or dry, few foods can top this humble symbol.
UPDATE: FABULOUS SAUCE TIP
My Instagram friend Manuela Gil Pereira wrote: “[A good] Bifana has a secret, it takes a very old sauce, a sauce that was often used to make bifanas.” And that makes sense. In Portugal, meat simmers in huge pans all day, and when the meat runs out, new meat is added. So if you want to discover the secret, don’t reduce the sauce like I did. Instead, bring it to a boil and then set aside. When cool, pour into a container and refrigerate or freeze. Next time you want to make bifanas, just heat it up!
Bifanas – Portuguese pork sandwiches
Bifanas are traditional Portuguese sandwiches made with thin slices of pork marinated and cooked in a sauce of white wine, garlic and paprika and served on soft buns with plenty of mustard and piri piri sauce.
-
Slide a slice of topping, pork chop or pork chop into a ziplock bag or between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet or rolling pin until very thin but not torn. Ideally, it should be the thickness of delicatessen meat, i.e. less than 3 mm. Repeat with the remaining pork.
-
In a small bowl, stir together the wine, garlic, bay leaves, vinegar, paprika, and salt.
-
Place the pork slices in a shallow pan and pour the marinade over them. Stir the pork in the liquid, making sure the slices are well coated. Place the skillet in the refrigerator for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring the meat several times.
-
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot and add the lard. Quickly sear the bifanas until cooked through, about 1 minute per side. If the pan threatens to dry out, add more lard. Transfer the cooked bifanas to a plate.
-
Discard the bay leaves, pour the leftover marinade into the pan and scrape off any sticking bits. Let the mixture cook until reduced by about 1/3, 4 to 6 minutes.
-
Return the bifanas to the pan, reduce the heat to low and simmer to warm through.
-
Halve the Papo Secos. Smear some sauce over each half, top with the pork and serve with mustard and piri-piri sauce, if you like.
Portion: 1sandwichCalories: 541kcal (27%)Carbohydrates: 24G (8th%)Protein: 41G (82%)Fat: 23G (35%)Saturated Fatty Acids: 7G (44%)Polyunsaturated fat: 5GMonounsaturated fatty acids: 10Gtrans fats: 1GCholesterol: 114mg (38%)Sodium: 1470mg (64%)Potassium: 804mg (23%)Fiber: 2G (8th%)Sugar: 1G (1%)Vitamin A: 900IU (18%)Vitamin C: 2mg (2%)Calcium: 72mg (7%)Iron: 3mg (17%)
When you make this recipe, take a picture and tag it with a hashtag #LeitesCulinaria. We would love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook and others Twitter.
Recipe tester reviews
Originally published June 27, 2020
Recipe © 2020 David Leite. Photos © 2020 David Leite. All rights reserved. All materials used with permission.
When you make this recipe, take a picture and tag it with a hashtag #LeitesCulinaria. We would love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook and others Twitter.