Easy Portuguese Steak Sandwich with Garlic and Mustard • Prego no Pão

Today we have the classic Portuguese prego no pão, one of those sandwiches you will find in just about every café and snack bar in Portugal, usually with a cold drink and a happy crowd. A prego is simply a thin, juicy beef steak tucked into a bread roll, do we need anything more? ;D

This time I added a little twist. I asked my butcher to cut some really thin veal steaks for me, so the steak ends up thinner and more tender than usual. I also seasoned it strong with garlic, because a prego without garlic is a sad prego, and I served it on toasted whole wheat bread with plenty of mustard. I think it came out great and it’s an excellent variation!

But I have to be honest with you, a softer, crustier roll is better for a prego. Whole wheat bread is delicious, just maybe not the best match for this sandwich its a harder bread so if you want the more traditional variation choose a crispy softer bread, hehehe ;D Let’s get to it!

Easy Portuguese Steak Sandwich with Garlic and Mustard • Prego no Pão

Servings: 2
Time: 15mins
Difficulty: Easy
Rating: ★★★★★
Print

Sometimes you want a steak and sometimes you want a steak sandwich, if you are in Portugal they look at you and always ask bifana or prego? hehehehe today is Prego!

Ingredients

Bread – 2 (I used whole wheat bread)
Beef – 2 Thin Veal steaks
Garlic – 2 Cloves
Olive Oil – A Drizzle
Yellow Mustard – To Taste
Pepper – A Pinch
Salt – A Pinch

Directions

Start by seasoning the steaks with a pinch of salt and thin slices of garlic, heat a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil.

Once the skillet is hot, add the steaks and fry on both sides until they get a nice crust. Keep in mind that since they are thin, they will be ready in less than 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with a pinch of pepper.
Toast the bread slightly and spread on some yellow mustard, add the steaks, and you’re all set, enjoy!

Notes & Tips: I made 2 sandwiches, but i did use whole wheat bread, that’s not common, so if you’re in doubt about the bread, go for the typical Portuguese carcaça, bijou or papo seco roll. You want a bread that is crusty on the outside but soft on the inside. A bread that is too hard (like whole wheat) or too soft is normally not the best for a Prego! In the US, a Portuguese roll, a ciabatta roll or a good crusty sandwich roll works well.

But I heard these had sauce and these add this and that, well you might be right 😉 in Portugal there are a thousand different ways to make “bifanas” (pork sandwich) and “pregos” (beef sandwich), most places have their special way and their special sauce, this is just one of the ways.

Pat the steaks dry with a kitchen paper before they hit the skillet. Dry meat browns, wet meat steams.

Don’t crowd the skillet. Cook the steaks one at a time if the pan is not big enough, so you get a golden crust instead of grey meat. Keep the heat high and the cooking short. Thin steaks go from perfect to tough in seconds.

Watch the garlic. Thin slices can burn fast and turn bitter, so if they start to darken too much, lower the heat a little. For an even juicier sandwich, pour the garlicky pan juices over the steaks or onto the bread before closing it.

This recipe for Easy Portuguese Steak Sandwich with Garlic and Mustard • Prego no Pão was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Prego no Pão com Alho foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.