Portuguese Traditional Breaded Fried Garlic Pork

There’s something fantastic about sinking your teeth into some crispy and juicy pork cutlets hehehe, its one of those things that are a bit underrated across Portugal. Porco Panado em Vinha D’Alhos or Portuguese Traditional Breaded Fried Garlic Pork is one of those wonderfully simple dishes that proves the best comfort food doesn’t need to be complicated. This traditional Portuguese recipe takes humble pork cutlets, gives them a flavorful garlic and wine marinade bath called Vinha de Alhos, then wraps them in a perfectly crispy bread coating and gets it crispy and golden, what more can you want! ;D

What makes this dish particularly special is its versatility and practicality. While many Portuguese restaurantes and well families traditionally prepare these panados (breaded cutlets) early in the morning to serve throughout the day or for a meal later on in hearty sandwiches, this version elevates the classic with just a touch more seasoning than the traditional recipe. Let’s be honest, hummmm the original can be a bit on the bland side, it relies on sauces like mustard, hot sauce, or other sandwich fixings to make it even more tasty. But marinating the meat on a traditional portuguese vinha d’alhos marinade, these cutlets go from awesome to outstanding hehehehe.

Also the beauty of this recipe lies in its forgiving nature and make-ahead friendliness. Whether you’re planning a casual lunch, prepping for a busy week, or just craving that satisfying crunch of perfectly breaded pork, this dish delivers every time. Plus, there’s something deeply satisfying about pounding out those cutlets (great stress relief!) and watching them transform into golden perfection in the pan. I made it for a meal, so I served them with pasta, but you can go full tradition and stuff the oversized pork cuttlet into a small crusty portuguese roll, like papo seco or carcaça for the ultimate comfort sandwich. 😉 Lets check the recipe!

Portuguese Traditional Breaded Fried Garlic Pork

Servings: 2
Time: 50mins
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
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Delicious classic crispy bread fried pork, very traditional in Portugal, almost as a cold cut, perfect to be served hot or cold as part of a dish or in a sandwich throught the day.

Ingredients

Spaghetti – 200gr
Pork – 2 Tall Steaks
Vinha de Alhos – 1 Tablespoon
Bay Leaf – 1
Lemon – 1/2 (Juice)
Flour – Enough to Cover
Egg – 2
Breadcrumbs – +/- 100gr
Butter – A Teaspoon
Parmesan – A Pinch
Vegetable Oil – For Frying (I used Sunflower Oil)
Pepper – A Pinch
Salt – A Pinch

Directions

Start by covering the pork steaks in cling film and beating them a few times with a meat mallet until the meat is tender. If you don’t have a meat mallet, use a rolling pin.
Then add the steaks to a soup plate with the garlic vine, bay leaf and lemon juice, mix well and season with salt and pepper, seal the plate with cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.
When it’s time to make the steaks, take them out of the fridge, remove them from the marinade and let them come back to room temperature.
Start by cooking the spaghetti in a pan with plenty of hot water and a pinch of salt. When the spaghetti is tender, drain it and season with a knob of butter.
Put a frying pan with 3 fingers of oil on the heat, when the oil is close to being hot (you can tell if you add a piece of bread to the oil or the handle of a wooden spoon, if it starts to bubble then it’s hot), turn the heat down a little.
Prepare three soup plates, one with flour, one with beaten egg seasoned with salt and finally one with breadcrumbs.
Pass the steak through the flour, shake it, pass it through the beaten egg and finally put it in the breadcrumbs, press the steak a little into the bread so it sticks and put it on a plate, repeat for the other steak.
Then heat the oil, put a frying pan with 3 fingers of oil on the heat, when the oil is close to being hot (you can tell if you add a piece of bread to the oil or the handle of a wooden spoon, if it starts to bubble then it’s hot), turn the heat down a little.
Let the steaks slide into the oiled frying pan, fry them until the coating is well browned, mind you, it’s worth turning early and a few times to make sure the pork is well cooked and the coating is browned but not burnt.
And that’s it, serve with the spaghetti sprinkled with parmesan and take advantage of your half a lemon that’s left over and cut slices so you can drizzle them over the pork buns, bon appetit.

Notes: You can change from bread crumbs to japanese pank bread if you prefer a thinner crispier version 😀 Also of course if you want a more simple portuguese style, just season the pork steaks with salt, pepper and a drizzle of lemon juice before breading.

Vinha de Alhos or Vinha d’Alhos sauce is a very traditional Portuguese seasoning/marinating sauce, its available everywhere, and it’s a basis of a lot of dishes around the world, from Hawaii to the Caribbeans, it’s basically a marinade using salt, paprika, black or white pepper (or chilli paste), wine (red or white or both), vinegar (or lemon juice), and tons of garlic, that you normally add to pork, let it rest and then cook, but you can add it to anything from beef to chicken, normally not fish or seafood because it’s a very strong flavour, and depending on the toughness of the meat you let it marinate longer.

This recipe for Portuguese Traditional Breaded Fried Garlic Pork was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Porco Panado em Vinha D’Alhos foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.