"Carne Vinho e alhos" recipe

CARNE VINHO E ALHOS RECIPE

Yum. .. it already smells like Christmas! The season is officially upon us when the streets are filled with colour and magic, decorations and lights that bring cities to life and you can feel a sparkle in the air.
Kids and adults alike begin the countdown to that most eagerly awaited of celebrations: Christmas Day. Gather the family around the table and share Christmas Eve dinner with the typical aromas and flavours of the season. Christmas is not the same without its distinctive treats that delight everyone.
Madeira is no exception and the most popular dish across the island this season is Carne Vinho e Alhos (Garlic Wine Marinated Pork), a meal that will make you a star turn at the dinner table. Do you want to know how to prepare this dish for Christmas Eve? Let us show you step by step!

Recipe by Chef Alcino Marques, Executive Chef at the Vila Porto Mare

Ingredients (serves 10):
• 750 g pork shoulder
• 750 g pork belly without rind
• 600 g pork leg
• 50 g lard
• 50 g sea salt

Marinade
• 750 ml dry white wine
• 200 ml wine vinegar
• 50 ml olive oil
• 3 bay leaves, broken into pieces
• 15 g savory
• 6 large, unpeeled garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• pinch of paprika, pepper or 1 chilli pepper

Method:
The first step is to prepare the meat. Start by dicing the different pieces of meat into cubes and seasoning with salt. Leave to rest for 24 hours.
The following day, bring together all the marinade ingredients, stir and add to the previously seasoned meat. Leave the meat to marinate for three days. This step is essential to ensure that the meat absorbs all the desired flavours and aromas.
After three days, place the meat in a saucepan with the marinade and let it cook slowly, until it is al dente (firm when bitten); approximately 30 minutes. When it is ready, remove the meat, leave it to cool and set it aside as the stock.
Before serving, finish off the meat. Place a little lard in a heated frying pan, add the meat and let it brown well. Then, to ensure the meat is succulent, add a little of the stock previously put aside, and season again if necessary.
In the same frying pan you can sauté new potatoes, or other potatoes of your choice, boiled beforehand.
You can fry thick slices of bread in the pan used to prepare the meat with a little lard and stock to go with the dish. Add slices of orange and enjoy!

And if you have any leftover meat, use it to make sandwiches with bread rolls and enjoy a carne vinho e alhos sandwich, a treat no Madeirans goes without at this time of year, especially on market night!