Few dishes sum up the flavours of the south of Portugal quite as well as Carne de Porco à Alentejana. You’ll find the dish listed on menus across the Algarve and Alentejo and obscured from its name is the wonderful addition of local clams. Intriguing and unusual for lots of cuisines, this is a dish that combines seafood and pork perfectly.
Where does Carne de Porco à Alentejana come from?
Despite its name, it’s believed to have been invented somewhere in the Algarve. The Alentejana refers to some of the best pork available in Portugal, which would have originally been included in the dish. Although, just about any pork is fine, there’s no need to hunt for the famed Alentejo Pork if you’re not nearby. What else is in the dish? It’s the typical Southern Portuguese marinade of white wine, garlic, paprika, and bay leaf. If it’s familiar to you, that’s because it’s used in a surprising number of dishes, most famously the southern variant of the Bifana.
What Clams Should be Used?
The two key ingredients that will make or break this dish are the clams and the pork. The variety of shellfish in Portugal is quite large but the two usually associated with a Carne de Porco à Alentejana are Amêijoa Branca (White Clams) or Berbigão (Cockles). We prefer the Amêijoa Branca, they tend to be sweeter.
Of less importance is the choice of pork, although the traditional recipe calls for Alentejo pork, after all it is what the dish is named after. We don’t think it matters as much, and any good quality pork will do. The pork is marinated and simmered in the broth for at least an hour, so it gets tender, and very juicy either way!
Carne de Porco à Alentejana Recipe
Portuguese Pork and Clams – Carne de Porco à Alentejana
2
servings1
hour45
minutes750
kcalThis is a dish that combines seafood and pork perfectly. Despite its name, it’s believed to have been invented somewhere in the Algarve.
Ingredients
500 g Pork Loin
500 g Fresh Clams
2 Garlic Cloves – Crushed
2 tsp Massa de Pimentao
2 Bay Leaves
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
400 ml White Wine
2 Large Potatoes
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Fresh Cilantro
Salt to Taste
Black Pepper to Taste
Directions
- Cut the pork into approximately 3cm cubes and place in a bowl or deep dish.
- Add the wine, crushed garlic cloves, bay leaves, pepper paste and paprika to the dish.
- Mix thoroughly and be sure the pork is covered well.
- Cover, and leave to marinade for at least 2 hours.
- While the pork is marinating, we can prepare our clams. Place them in a large bowl and cover them with cold salted water. You’ll want to leave them for at least an hour. The clams which should be alive will start to breathe and begin to filter the water. This should push the older saltwater and sand out of their shells. You’ll notice the water get pretty murky.
- With the pork marinated, separate the pork and keep the marinade. Sear the pork in a hot pan.
- Once all of the pork is seared, pour the remaining marinade on top of the pork. Let it simmer with a lid for around 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes.
- Give them a nice coating of olive oil and salt and spread them on a baking tray. Place them in the oven at 200°. Cook them in the oven for around 30-40 minutes until they’re golden brown.
- Drain the clams into a large colander or sieve, remove any with broken shells, or any clams that don’t close when you touch them.
- If you’ve timed this correctly, we should be reaching the point where everything is nearly ready, the clams will only need around 5 minutes so pause here if your potatoes aren’t quite done.
- Place all of the clams into the pan with the pork. Use a lid and let the clams, steam/simmer in the liquid. They’ll take around 5 to 7 minutes to cook and open.
- While the clams are cooking, spread your potatoes evenly on a plate.
- Once the clams are cooked, discard any that did not open. We think its best to remove about half of the clams from their shells and leave them in the sauce.
- Spoon the pork, clams and plenty of the sauce on top of the potato base layer! Sprinkle with fresh coriander.
- Serve and enjoy!
We really like to serve ours with some fresh baked bread. It’s great for mopping up all the left over sauce on the plate! Let us know what you think of the recipe for a traditional Carne de Porco à Alentejana in the comments!
Discover More Seafood Recipes
- Esparguete com Amêijoas – Spaghetti with Clams
- Arroz de Lingueirão – Razor Clam Rice
- Portuguese Clams -Ameijoas à Bulhão Pato
Another story I found online says that the dish was indeed invented in the Algarve, where fishing supplies much of the diet, and that the local pork was fed on fish scraps, producing a poor fishy taste. They claimed to be using the highly regarded Alentejo pork, where the pigs feed on acorns. The author suggested that it was a sales scam to move the local pork. Maybe they just wanted to clarify that they were not using the local pork. Who knows?
Hi Jeff,
Fascinating, we hadn’t heard that story yet. like lots of Portuguese food, there’s lots of origin stories to find! Thanks for sharing!
Annie
Having just come back from visiting Portugal. There are two types of this dish one with clams and one without, the pigs in alentejo are indeed feed acorns but also they are a different breed closer to a wild boar called the black pig. More flavourful pig then that in the south Algarve region, I have made this dish for a very long time and here in the maritimes it’s hard to find the smaller clams so I make it with mussels or regular bar clams and sometimes when off season just the pork and potatoes. But our pork is incomparable to the black pig of Alentejo
Wow, this is a fabulous recipe with excellent detail instructions. I live in Porto Côvo in the Alentejo and served it to my local friends. They raved about it and are still talking about it a week later. I followed the recipe exactly. The pork was from my local butcher and the clams were fresh from our municipal market.
I’ve since shared the recipe with my friend at his request. He’s a foodie, an excellent cook, and was born here. This recipe is authentic and delicious! My highest compliments. ♥️