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A bifana, a Portuguese pork sandwich on a white plate with a bottle of mustard in the background.
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4.86 / 48 votes

Bifanas ~ Portuguese Pork Sandwiches

Bifanas are traditional Portuguese sandwiches made with thin slices of pork that are marinated and simmered in a sauce of white wine, garlic, and paprika and served on soft rolls with plenty of mustard and piri-piri sauce.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 35 minutes
Total Time2 hours
Course: Mains
Cuisine: Portuguese
Servings: 4 sandwiches
Calories: 541

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds thinly sliced pork top round, or cutlets, or thin-sliced boneless pork chops, trimmed of fat
  • 1 1/2 cups white wine
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 bay leaves, broken in half
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
  • 2 teaspoons Diamond kosher salt, (or 1 1/4 teaspoon Morton kosher salt)
  • 3 tablespoons lard
  • Papo secos or crusty rolls, to serve
  • piri-piri sauce, for serving (optional)
  • mustard

Instructions

  • Slip a slice of top round, a pork cutlet, or pork chop into a zip-top bag or between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound it with a meat tenderizer or rolling pin until it's very thin but not torn. Ideally, you want it to be the thickness of deli meat, less than 1/8 of an inch (3mm) thick. Repeat with the rest of the pork.
  • In a small bowl, stir together the 1 1/2 cups white wine, 6 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon sweet paprika, and 2 teaspoons Diamond kosher salt.
  • Add the pork slices to a shallow pan and pour the marinade over top. Stir the pork in the liquid, making sure the slices are pretty much submerged. Refrigerate the pan 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 3 tablespoons lard. Fry the bifanas quickly until cooked through, about 1 minute per side. Add more lard if the pan threatens to dry out. Transfer the cooked bifanas to a plate.
  • Discard the bay leaves and pour the reserved marinade into the skillet and scrape up any stuck-on bits. Let the mixture boil until reduced by about 1/3, 4 to 6 minutes.
  • Add the bifanas back to the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and simmer to warm them through.
  • Slice the Papo secos or crusty rolls in half. Spoon some of the sauce over each half, pile with the pork, and, if desired, serve with the mustard and piri-piri sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sandwich | Calories: 541kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 1470mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g