A Madeiran dish of pork marinated for a day or two in garlic, wine, vinegar, bay and spices, then braised in its own marinade; the ancestor of Filipino adobo.
A Madeiran dish of pork (sometimes rabbit) marinated in garlic, wine, vinegar, bay and spices for a day or two, then braised in its own marinade. It is the Portuguese branch of the Iberian adobo marinating tradition and a Christmas speciality on Madeira and the Azores. Portuguese colonists carried the vinegar-and-wine method to Goa in the early 16th century, where, remade with palm vinegar and Indian spices, it evolved into the fiery curry known as vindaloo (Goan vindalho).
Tender, falling-apart pork in a glossy, reduced sauce of wine, vinegar and garlic, the bay and pepper warm beneath, deeply savoury with a gentle tang from the marinade. Eaten with bread to soak up the sauce.
The dish is built on a long marinade and a slow braise in the marinade. Pork shoulder is cut into chunks and submerged in a marinade of crushed garlic, white wine, white vinegar, bay leaves, black peppercorns, paprika and salt, refrigerated 24 to 48 hours. The vinegar and wine both season and partially preserve the meat (the dish's origin as a way to keep meat on long sea voyages), and the garlic penetrates. The meat and marinade are then simmered together for 1.5 to 2 hours until tender, the liquid reducing to a glossy, intensely flavoured sauce that coats the meat. The long marinade and the braise-in-marinade are the technique, and the vinegar is what travelled to become Filipino 阿多博（菲律宾醋炖肉）.
Variations
Rabbit replaces pork on Madeira. Some add allspice or clove. A Christmas version uses the marinade for various meats at once.
On the Palate
Where Carne Vinha d'Alhos sits in the Portuguese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
6 steps · 15 min
- 14 min
Cut 1kg pork shoulder into chunks; place in a non-reactive bowl.
- 25 min
Make the marinade: 15 crushed garlic cloves, 250ml white wine, 150ml white vinegar, 3 bay leaves, 1 tbsp black peppercorns, 2 tbsp paprika and 2 tsp salt.
- 33 min
Pour the marinade over the pork, cover, and refrigerate 24 to 48 hours, turning occasionally.
Watch outMarinate the full 24-48 hours in the fridge — this is where the garlic and vinegar penetrate deep; a short soak leaves the pork flat and one-note.
- 48 min
Transfer everything to a pot, bring to a boil, skim, then simmer covered for 1.5 hours until the pork is tender.
- 55 min
Uncover and cook 20 minutes more until the sauce reduces and glosses the meat.
Watch outReduce uncovered at the end until the sauce turns glossy and clings — leave it thin and it won't coat the meat with that concentrated tang.
- 63 min
Serve hot with crusty bread to soak up the sauce.
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