My Citizens! It is an abiding fact that your beloved Leader has a pure and unwavering love, nay – OBSESSION – with an entire cuisine genre first codified by that inveterate gambler the Earl of Sandwich back in 1718. He expressed reluctance to leave the table during a marathon card game session and invented the sandwich on-the-spot so he could play and eat while still holding his cards with one hand. The sandwich has since spread across six continents in some way, shape or form and today I share one of My favorite kinds – the mighty and unmatched Portuguese bifana!
I first had the opportunity to try a bifana when I visited Portugal a few months ago and heard the whispered stories of a legendary street sandwich that combined spicy marinated pork slices inside a crusty Portuguese roll – a favorite of the Portuguese and made differently throughout each region of the country. One bite and I experienced an epiphany – spicy, succulent pork, thinly-sliced, drenched in an intensely-flavorful sauce redolent of paprika, wine and garlic as the soft, pillowy insides of the roll absorbed a mustard garnish and the crisp crust crackled with each bite.
It was – quite simply – a perfect lunch that set me forth on a quest worthy of Vasco da Gama himself to discover the origins, best practices and methodologies to replicate this soulful sandwich for the benefit of all TFD Nation! After months of searching, complete with furtive meetings in shadowed kitchens and an enlightening visit to a strange and darksome gastronomic bookstore (which has since disappeared when sought a second time!) I have made an improved version of that sainted Lisbon bifana and will now happily share it with all of My beloved Citizens!
By the way – should you ever be fortunate enough to find yourself in Lisbon, take My advice and KNOW the true heart of the city – enjoy a bifana on the street at 10:00 at night after having hit a few bars, then wander about and listen – if you hear a soulful, equally sad and uplifting voice in song, accompanied by guitar, you’ll have found a fado bar – go in, and LISTEN. You will not emerge as the same person you entered – fado will transform you as no other music can! Learn more about it here and listen to a great fado song here, it is an amazing genre of music!
Be aware: while this is not a complicated sandwich to make, that also means there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide with so few primary building blocks. The ingredients are few, but they had better be PERFECT as defined by the recipe, or you’re going to not only disappoint your taste buds: you’re going to disappoint ME. This is a VERY ill-advised course of action for all members of TFD Nation hoping to remain in both good standing and My good graces – Room 101 is rarely used these days as so few Citizens require “correction”, but then again…
For example – when using mustard in this, ONLY use the cheap yellow kind in a squeeze bottle – it’s the right kind for this particular sandwich. The bread and pork and marinade must ALL be made with the finest ingredients to play off that cheap, strong mustard and the potent flavors exemplified in this meal. When done with a sensitive and discerning hand (which is Mine, by definition!), you will enjoy a meal worthy of nobility, enjoyed by the masses and touched by the Divine Hand of TFD Himself!
As noted on the excellent website curiouscuisiniere.com:
Bifana in Lisbon and the south and central regions of Portugal:
Since the bifana originated in south-central Portugal, the version of the bifana that you find in Lisbon and other southern and central regions, is a take on the original sandwich. In this region, they make bifana out of a thinly pounded pork loin cutlet. They marinate this meat overnight in a mixture of wine, garlic, paprika, and other spices. This meat is pan-fried, sometimes with the addition of the reserved marinade. Then the meat is placed on a split roll. Yellow mustard is the only topping and is optional.
Bifana in Porto and the northern region of Portugal:
In Porto and other northern regions of Portugal, they do the bifana a bit differently. Here they slowly simmer the meat in a sauce made from beer, garlic, paprika, and something to add a bit of spice. In this region, they pile multiple pieces of meat (or sometimes shredded meat) onto the split roll, with a healthy glaze of the simmering sauce. The northern version of bifana tends to be a bit more of a messy sandwich to eat, due to the delicious sauce and juices that soak into the bread.
Bifana meat:
Pork is classic meat for sandwiches across cultures. In southwestern America, you find smoked pork roasts used in many culinary applications, particularly in Memphis-style barbeque. When in Peru, you find slow-cooked pork and sweet potatoes in a classic pan con chicharron breakfast sandwich. In Mexico, you find pork in the form of chorizo sausage in their famous chorizo torta sandwiches.
In Portugal, you will find specific ‘bifana’ cuts of pork. However, thinly sliced pork loin is the best choice outside of Portugal. You can pound the loin cutlets thinner before marinating to give more surface area and make them more tender for the sandwich.
Bifana bread:
The Portuguese serve these sandwiches on papo-seco, a traditional Portuguese roll that is crusty on the outside but soft on the inside. The crust is just firm enough to hold the juicy sandwich together. If you don’t have a Portuguese bakery near you, any good soft but crusty roll will do the trick.
Bifana is so popular that even McDonalds serves them throughout the country as the “McBifana” – and other bifana variants are found throughout Portugal, though Lisbon and Porto lay claim to having the two definitive styles of the sandwich. For My version, I have chosen to hybridize both recipes into a singular version that combines – IMHO – the best of both styles in one phenomenal lunch without sacrificing anything of the proud lineage of either style. This is the sublime gift of genius that is TFD’s ALONE to command!
While bifana might not represent the height of Portuguese gastronomy, it does satisfy in a way that few foods can – and the street version I had in Lisbon cost less than 4 Euros. To make a truly authentic bifana in the United States means sacrificing the “cheap, fast eats” mentality and recognizing this is going to be a longer process (especially if you choose to make the bread for this sandwich), that the pork will take a few hours to marinate and that it isn’t going to be cheap. It will, however, be TRANSCENDENT – and that is all that truly matters to Myself and TFD Nation!
The first thing is the pork – have the butcher slice thin slices off a Boston Butt for you, if at all possible. If not – thin, trimmed, boneless pork chops (from an heirloom pig, if possible!) will work in a pinch. Finding the right white wine to marinate the pork in took some thinking – it should be Portuguese, have some residual sweetness and complement the other flavors of LOTS of garlic, bay leaves, smoked paprika and roasted sweet red pepper. I came up with the genius idea to use young madeira from the Portuguese island of Madeira – a white variety called Rainwater (learn more and buy it here).
Massa de pimentão, or red pepper paste, is a classic condiment of Portuguese cuisine and is made from red, sweet bell peppers – this is a very good and inexpensive variety. It represents a primary flavor profile of bifana, so please don’t leave it out of the recipe. Frying the pork cutlets in lots of crushed garlic is My innovative touch, but I insist on frying in the classic triumvirate of lard, butter and olive oil as defined in the codified Lisbon-style of bifana. I like to dip the cut side of each roll into the cooked-down sauce and serve extra on the side for dunking, akin to Porto.
You can, of course, not use the Portuguese papo seco bread recipe I have included and just use a simple kaiser roll – but in all seriousness, WHY? Yes, it makes this a lot faster to make, and the result is acceptable – but ACCEPTABLE IS NOT IN MY LEXICON. Suck it up, this bread recipe is actually very easy to make and the results are as good as anything you’ll find in Lisbon, I promise you! Besides mustard, I also enjoy spicing up this sandwich with genuine Portuguese Piri Piri hot sauce – use My own recipe or try this decent commercial version instead or just use Tabasco.
While having provided some alternatives/shortcuts in making this sandwich, I plead with you to do this sandwich justice, at least once – follow My trailblazing path, use the specified ingredients, bread and recipe guidelines I have laid before you and march with Me to ultimate gastronomic VICTORY and one, perfect sandwich will light your way to numinous GLORY!
Battle on – the Generalissimo
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The Hirshon Supreme Portuguese Marinated Pork Sandwich – Bifana
Ingredients
- Papo Seco rolls (makes 5):
- 2 cups bread flour
- 1 tsp. table salt
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup lukewarm water + 1/4 cup lukewarm water
- 1 beaten egg white or milk for brushing
- ***
- Pork Marinade:
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 crushed garlic cloves
- 2/3 cup Rainwater Madeira wine
- 1/8 cup Massa de pimentão
- ***
- 10 very thin pork cutlets
- ***
- Bifana Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 4 Tbsp. top-quality lard
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup massa de pimentão
- 2 shakes Portuguese piri piri sauce (strongly preferred) or use Tabasco
- 2 cups Rainwater Madeira wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
- 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika (optional TFD change, original used sweet paprika)
- ***
- Yellow mustard and/or piri piri sauce, if you’d like to make it really spicy
Instructions
- To make the papo seco rolls:
- In a small bowl, add ¼ cup of the warm water, then add the yeast and the sugar, stir and let it proof (foam up).
- Using a large bowl mix together the flour and salt. Add the yeast mix into the flour plus the ¾ cup of the warm water. You will need to use your hands to combine everything well together. Take the dough out into a floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes. Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover with a dish towel or blanket.
- Place the bowl in a warm place and let the dough rise for an hour.
- Remove the dough and place onto a floured surface, punch the dough down, and knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough feels smooth. Separate the dough into 5 equal balls. Place them on a greased or parchment paper lined baking trays, and let them rise for 30 minutes.
- Shape each piece of dough into an oval with your hands and score with a knife across the top lengthwise before it goes in the oven.
- Preheat the oven at at 190°C or 375°F and brush the rolls with either egg white or milk. Bake for 30 minutes or until the rolls are slightly golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Let cool and reserve.
- For the pork:
- Slip each thin slice of pork between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound with a meat tenderizer or rolling pin until very thin but not torn. Repeat with the rest of the pork. Place pork cutlets into a large sealable bag (use two if needed) and add in marinade ingredients. Remove as much excess air from the bag as possible and seal well. Massage the pork through the bag to cover everything with the marinade and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
- When ready to cook, remove the pork from the refrigerator and heat the olive oil, butter and lard in a frying pan over medium heat. Add in pork cutlets, cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds or so. Add all the remaining sauce ingredients, mix well and cook down for 2 minutes over medium heat.
- Remove pork, dip cut halves of bread into sauce, add 2 slices of pork per sandwich (perhaps with some extra mustard and a shake of piri piri if you dig the spicy) and serve with a cold Portuguese beer with more sauce on the side for dipping, if you’re so inclined.
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