Chanfana (Goat Braised in Red Wine in a Clay Pot)
- Prep
- 30 min
- Total
- 3 h 30 min
- servings
- 6
- Calories
- 510 kcal
- Difficulty
- Easy
Chanfana is the signature dish of the Beira Litoral, with its gastronomic capital in Miranda do Corvo and deep roots in Lousã, Vila Nova de Poiares and Coimbra. It’s made with goat (or mutton) marinated for a long time and baked in full-bodied red wine in a black clay pot, with garlic, bay, paprika and a spoonful of lard. After 3 hours in a slow oven, the meat is tender enough to break apart with a spoon and the wine becomes a dark, deep sauce.
Recipe
Chanfana
Traditional goat chanfana as made in the Beira and Miranda do Corvo: meat marinated overnight in full-bodied red wine with garlic, bay and paprika, baked slowly in a clay pot until it falls apart at the touch of a fork.
Ingredients
For the meat and marinade
Method
Seasoning the chanfana (the day before)
- 1Trim the excess hard fat from the goat, keeping some of the natural fat that protects the meat in the oven. Rinse the pieces in cold water and dry them well.
- 2Put the meat straight into the black clay pot (or a clay bowl) on a layer of onion and garlic.
- 3Season with the coarse salt, paprika, bay, black pepper and piri-piri. Pour in the red wine until the meat is almost covered, cover and marinate in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours.
Slow cooking in the oven
- 4The next day, take the pot out of the fridge 30 minutes before it goes into the oven. Add the lard and olive oil on top of the meat and check that the wine covers at least two thirds of the pieces.
- 5Cover the clay pot (with a clay lid or tightly sealed foil) and bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C (350 °F) for 3 hours.
- 6After 2 hours 30 minutes, remove the lid so the top of the meat browns and the wine sauce reduces for the last 30 minutes, until the meat comes off the bone at the touch of a fork.
- 7Let it rest for 15 minutes out of the oven before taking it to the table in the pot, with boiled potatoes and sautéed turnip greens.
The marinade
Trim off the hard white fat, which gives the sauce too strong a taste, but keep the thin layer by the bone. The acidity of the red wine tenderizes the meat during the 12 to 24 hours of marinating. Goat is lean, so the spoonful of lard before baking is the traditional trick for soft meat and a glossy sauce.
Without a clay pot
The unglazed black clay spreads the heat slowly and evenly. In a cast-iron pot, cook it covered over very low heat for 2 hours 30 minutes, uncovering for the last 20 minutes. In a pressure cooker, use about half the wine and cook for 45 to 50 minutes, then simmer uncovered for 15 minutes to thicken the sauce.
Chanfana is even better the next day.
