Lisbon Style Pork Bifana Recipes

BIFANA (PORTUGUESE PORK CUTLETS)

Steps:

• Rinse the pork cutlets and then pat dry with paper towels.
• Place pork in a large heavy plastic bag (like a freezer ziploc bag) and place in a large bowl.
• 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.
• Pour this over pork, make sure all meat is coated, and seal the bag.
• Refrigerate for several hours or overnight, turning bag over in bowl frequently.
• Bring meat to room temperature before cooking.
• To cook, remove pork from marinade and lightly pat pork dry with paper towels.
• 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.
• 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.
• Bring this to a boil, stirring the pan to get up any brown bits.
• Return all the pork to the skillet, reduce heat to low, and cook for about another minute.

PORTUGUESE PORK BIFANAS (SANDWICHES)

Steps:

• Pound the pork cutlets until they are very thin (1/8"), being careful not to tear the meat.
• Stir the wine, garlic, siracha, bay leaves, vinegar, paprika, and salt. Add the pork to a shallow pan and pour the marinade over top, and submerge the meat. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1-1/2 hours, tossing the meat several times.
• Heat a large skillet until hot, then add the lard. Fry the cutlets (reserve the marinade) quickly just until cooked through, about a minute per side, adding more lard as needed. Transfer the cooked meat to plate, and set aside.
• Slice the onions into 1/2 inch slices. Separate the rings then add them to the skillet and saute until softened, then add the peppers and saute several minutes. Discard the bay leaves, then pour the reserved marinade into the pan with the onions & peppers and heat for 5 minutes. Add the pork back into the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Slice the buns and spoon some of the sauce & vegetables over half of each bun, then pile with meat.

BIFANA (PORTUGUESE PORK CUTLETS)

Steps:

• 1. Place pork cutlets in a large heavy plastic ziptop bag and place in a large bowl.
• 2. In a mixing bowl, combine one cup of the wine, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, 1 tbsp pimento paste (1/2 tbsp if using hot), 1/4 tsp paprika and piri-piri sauce. Pour this mixture over pork, making sure all meat is covered and seal bag.
• 3. Refrigerate for severl hours or overnight, turning bag frequently.
• 4. Bring meat to room temperature before cooking; to cook, heat skillet over med-high heat and melt lard, cook pork in batches. When pork is sauteed, drain off the fat and add remaining wine (1/4 cup), remaining pimento paste (1 tbsp, 1/2 tbsp if using hot), remaining paprika (1/4 tsp) to the skillet, as well as salt and pepper to taste.
• 5. Bring to a boil, stirring and scrapping up any brown bits. Return pork to the skillet, reduce heat to low and cook for a couple minutes.
• 6. Serve pork on fresh Portuguese buns (Papo Secos) topped with sauteed onions and about a tsp of cooking sauce.