Vinha d'Alhos

March 1, 2018

Vinha d’Alhos - marinating - kvalifood.com

Vinha d’alhos is a Portuguese wine-and-garlic marinade for pork, traditionally from Madeira and the Azores. The name literally means “wine and garlic.” The pork marinates for several days in wine and vinegar with garlic, bay leaves, and spices, then gets pan-fried until deeply browned. This preparation is the direct ancestor of Indian vindaloo.

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 kg boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2.5 cm cubes, excess fat trimmed
240 ml dry white wine
240 ml red wine vinegar
60 ml extra virgin olive oil, for marinade
10 garlic cloves (ca. 50 g), minced
3 dried bay leaves
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp dried red pepper flakes, to taste
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp kosher salt (15 g)
2 tbsp neutral cooking oil, for frying

Directions

Combine wine, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, bay leaves, paprika, pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt in a bowl. Whisk to dissolve salt.
Place pork cubes in a glass or ceramic container. Pour marinade over the pork. The liquid should mostly cover the meat.
Cover tightly. Refrigerate 2-4 days, stirring once daily.
Remove pork with a slotted spoon. Reserve marinade. Pat pork dry.
Heat cooking oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
Working in small batches, brown pork on all sides (3-4 minutes per batch). Transfer to a plate.
Pour about 120 ml reserved marinade into the hot pan. Scrape up browned bits. Reduce by half (2-3 minutes).
Return pork to the pan, toss in the sauce. Remove from heat. Discard bay leaves.
Serve with crusty bread, boiled potatoes, or rice.

Vinha d’Alhos - cooked - kvalifood.com

Notes

Pork shoulder is best – enough fat to stay moist through the long marinade.
2-4 days marinating is the sweet spot. Overnight works but the flavor will not be as developed.
Dry white wine is most common. Red wine also works.
Azorean variation: replace vinegar with 80 ml fresh lime juice, add 1 tbsp red pepper paste, use piri piri sauce instead of pepper flakes.