# Bife



## kw60 (May 12, 2012)

I am amazed at the variety of beef and pork cuts in the butchers here.
I try and google translate all the different cuts so I have a clue how to cook them.
We have been trying to find a cut of beef I can toss in the pan as hubby likes his blue!
Bought some beef today ( and I am sure I tried it before and it was rather tough ) called novilho bife de pa.
Anyone tell me how to cook it please, and anyone else interested in it it's on special offer in continente for 4.99 a kilo !!!!
Regards
Kim


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

It's supposed to be veal but not like any veal I know, find general supermaket beef to not the greatest except for stews,


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## notlongnow (May 21, 2009)

Supermarket beef, as said above, is never that great, but occasionally we spot a decent bit with good marbling. You're certainly not going to get good steak for €4.99/kilo.

In terms of cuts, look for vazia (sirloin) or lombo (fillet). We tend to go to the butchers we know well for steak - it's more expensive but I'd rather have it half as often and know it will be good. 

I don't know if you'll find it in your area but our local Continente sells vacuum packed steaks from Spain in the above cuts that tend to be of pretty consistent quality - they're in black and gold packaging. They are generally quite dependable. 

Not sure what to do with your "bife de pa" - I tend to judge what to do with a cut of beef by looking at it - if it's light red and unmarbled like much of Portuguese beef it's likely to be chewy and disappointing regardless of what you do with it...


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## notlongnow (May 21, 2009)

An aside: we've started to eat black pork (porco preto) in place of steak much of the time as it's of better quality and more readily available. Look out for a cut called presa - it's marbled and a bit fatty but beautifully succulent. You can also cook it fairly pink. We've gradually got used to doing this after being raised to think pork must always be cooked to the point of grey and chewy. It's never done us any harm cooking it a little bit rare and, in fact, we once saw it prepared on a Spanish cookery programme and they did little more than sear it....all at your own risk, of course


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

kw60's not in a great area for beef but the Laite Pork around her but a drive across to Tondela way, we've eaten beef second to none saying that beef forms a very small part of our diet.
Asked a Portuguese friend about the beef in Central Portugal and he said we like it so the sun shines through so maybe these ultra thin cuts cook better than a good thick piece of beef


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## steve01 (Dec 8, 2010)

Beef de pa is shoulder
What the french call a cote de boeuf

Ask for the butcher to cut it thick - at least one inch 2-3cm
Then treat it like a lover - massage it with a little oil, sprinkle on a nice mix of herbs,fresh or dried a little sea salt and black pepper, add a little finely chopped shallot and / or garlic.
Rest it in the Fridge for an hour or two.
Then grill it to taste - 10 minutes each side blue
15 medium 
20 well done
Cover it in foil and rest it for 10 minutes at the end.

I like mine wiith a shallot sauce 
add a generous helping of butter to a small pan, peel shallotts and add as many as will fit.
Sweat them down a little
Caramalise with a good helping of sugar
Add a glass of red wine vinegar and reduce on a high heat.
Add a glass of red wine and slow cook for 1 hour until the shallots start to turn very soft.
At the end add any juices the meat has produced.

cut the rested beef into slices and pour the sauce over 
Lovely

Vasia/ Lombo are the best steak cuts here
I usually give vasia a bit of a bash before cooking and cook lombo as little as possible
All thin cut Portuguese steaks require as little cooking on as high a heat as possible - thin steaks maximum 1 minute each side , most of them less with a little butter or olive oil in the pan.
Add a little chopped garlic or parsley to the butter / juices for a few seconds and spoon it over the steak at the end on the plate.
always let the meat rest for a couple of minutes before eating it = re-absorbs its own juices and makes it naturally more tender
Bom Appetitio


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## anapedrosa (Mar 21, 2011)

I googled talho cortes de bife on google.pt and got a few interesting hits. I think the wiki below could be useful to identify the Portuguese name for a cut.

Ficheiro:Beef cuts Portugal.svg ? Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre


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## kw60 (May 12, 2012)

Well the butcher had cut the beef thin so I battered it with a rolling pin, seasoned it , cut it into strips and fried for a minute on high heat.
Added it to noodles, onions, peppers, mushrooms ,garlic and a stir fry sauce from UK.
It was lovely.
Going to try steve01s recipe next, and thanks for the link anapedrosa , I think I will keep it on my phone for easy access when in the butchers!
Regards
Kim


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## anapedrosa (Mar 21, 2011)

Marinating beef in red wine and garlic tenderizes with a nice flavour.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

We buy beef ribs here and slow slow roast in oven a la Gordon Ramsey recipe


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## lynda s (Mar 31, 2013)

In the Algarve restaurants serve superb steaks. We haven't found anywhere that does so in the Silver Coast as yet. Have been told of an excellent one in Leria, and will try it out. The problem with tough beef is that it just isn't hung for long enough after slaughtering. We will keep trying to find edible steak to cook though. Anyone know where I can find a good butcher near Leiria?


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## Micksantacruz (Dec 1, 2012)

Ive yet to find beef tasting like english beef. Pork is usually tough and chicken is chewy and stringy. Sorry about the moan but thats what I find.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Linda try www.carmareiroreal.com restaurant in Caldas de Rainha excellent steaks and could no doubt recommend a butcher but don't have the expresso sauce UGH!


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## anapedrosa (Mar 21, 2011)

canoeman said:


> Linda try www.carmareiroreal.com restaurant in Caldas de Rainha excellent steaks and could no doubt recommend a butcher but don't have the expresso sauce UGH!


Did you mean Cervejaria Camaroeiro Real ? 

I'm interested as once we will move there we will miss Canadian beef I think, hmm, maple syrup, lobster, salmon. But definitely not the winter.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Yes tha'ts the one they have two other restaurants but we've only eaten in that one, maple syrup, lobster, salmon all here maybe not such good qaulity but readily available


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## anapedrosa (Mar 21, 2011)

canoeman said:


> Yes tha'ts the one they have two other restaurants but we've only eaten in that one, maple syrup, lobster, salmon all here maybe not such good qaulity but readily available


Great - on the other items, I suspect not just quality difference, cost. So many other good things to appreciate, but there will always be favourites to miss, or should I say saudades.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Post the cost and i'll let you know or you could just stack every nook & cranny of that container


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Micksantacruz said:


> Ive yet to find beef tasting like english beef. Pork is usually tough and chicken is chewy and stringy. Sorry about the moan but thats what I find.


I guess it's all about the skill/knowledge of the dealer.

Until recently, the meat from our local Intermarche was VERY 3rd rate but over the last few weeks has gone from that to being really good & I'd suspect they've either got themselves a new buyer or new suppliers.


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## anapedrosa (Mar 21, 2011)

In CAD (rate aprox 1.31)
Salmon - $5-9 a pound (range based on cut or whole and farmed, organic vs wild - smoked salmon more, but a wonderful treat)
Lobster - $8-12 a pound (depending on season - on the coast less and fresher)
Maple Syrup - $7-9 a litre

We will be bringing maple syrup and have warned friends that the price of the guest room is a can of maple syrup.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Looking at Continente which is a good indicator, Salmon here generally Norwegian farmed
Heads 99c kg, Fillets 10€ kg, Lombos 12,51 kg, steak(posta)9€ kk, whole 6.99€ kg, smoked tremendous variance around 34€ kg,
check on others when I'm out


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

FWIW, my local intermarche is flogging large frozen prawns for about E6 per kg.


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## steve01 (Dec 8, 2010)

Hiya Mick
not sure where you buy your meat
Chicken stringy - we always buy fresh from the local butcher or Intermarche butchers counter.
Spit roast/ roast whole for 1hour - 1hour 20 mins pop a whole lemon or orange , extra few slices of zest and a bit of garlic inside, moist, tender and falls off the bone - couldn't eat that water filled muck you call chicken in England again if you paid me.
Frango do campo - outside reared chicken is a real treat - we have a large one every now and then and treat it like the Christmas turkey - stuffing and all - totally delicious
Pork - buy the correct cut for what you want - again its lovely - just avoid overcooking it.
slow cook leg/shou;der, fast cook loin / fillet - again it tastes lovely here to me - again i have no idea where English pork comes from - no animal i've ever tasted - last time Angel ate some from England she spat it out.
chickens 1.59 a kilo at the moment.

Beefs the only difference here - Mick buy a slow cooker cut it up into cubes leave it alone for 6-8 hours and i guarantee you'll love it - if you must throw a bit of bisto or some oxo cubes in.

Failing that Iceland in the Algarve sell Irish beef, rib, rump etc treat yourself to the odd trip down there - but it is expensive


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## Micksantacruz (Dec 1, 2012)

steve01 said:


> Hiya Mick
> not sure where you buy your meat
> Chicken stringy - we always buy fresh from the local butcher or Intermarche butchers counter.
> Spit roast/ roast whole for 1hour - 1hour 20 mins pop a whole lemon or orange , extra few slices of zest and a bit of garlic inside, moist, tender and falls off the bone - couldn't eat that water filled muck you call chicken in England again if you paid me.
> ...


Thanks for the advice Steve maybe Ive been buying the wrong stuff. Need to come and see the Chef at work next time we are there lol. Yes I believe your right about the meat in uk guess I just got used to it. Think I was put off chicken a bit when we went to Lisa's sisters home and had a chicken stew, put in the ladel and out came Head and feet from the bird then she started chewing on the feet saying how good they were. Guess us English are too soft! lol


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