Chanfana (Portuguese Goat Stew in Red Wine)

My mother-in-law is from a village not far from Coimbra, and the first time I sat at her table for Sunday lunch, she set down a pot of chanfana and told me, only half joking, that it had probably been simmering since the days when they still argued with the parish priest about baking bread in the communal oven.

I grew up two provinces north, in Trás-os-Montes, where our slow-cooked classic is Posta à Mirandesa (recipe on the site) — beef, not goat, and no clay pot involved. But one bite of chanfana, and I understood why people drive an hour out of their way for it.

Chanfana comes from the region around Miranda do Corvo and Coimbra, in the Beira Baixa, where old goat or mutton is marinated overnight in a full-bodied red wine with garlic, bay leaf and paprika, then baked low and slow in a black clay pot called a caçoila until the meat falls off the bone and the wine reduces into something dark and almost sweet.

Legend has it the dish was perfected by nuns settling debts with local priests — nobody quite agrees on the details, but everyone agrees it is one of the great slow-cooked dishes of Portugal.

Around here, I make it in a Dutch oven instead of a clay caçoila, since I do not know a single American kitchen supply store that stocks them, and I use lamb shoulder more often than goat, because it is far easier to find at a regular grocery store.

Lucas, my resident savory quality control, declared it “better than pot roast,” which from a twelve-year-old is as close to a Michelin star as I am going to get. Serve it with crusty bread for mopping up the sauce, and do not rush the marinating step, that is where all the magic happens.

Chanfana Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus overnight marinating) · Cook time: 3 hours · Total: 3 hours 20 minutes (plus marinating) · Servings: 6 · Calories: ~430 per serving

Ingredients

• For the marinade:
• 4 lbs bone-in goat meat or lamb shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 4 cups full-bodied dry red wine (a Portuguese Dão or Douro red, or a Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 8 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• For the stew:
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (optional, for a thicker sauce)
• Crusty bread and roasted potatoes, for serving

Instructions

1. In a large bowl or zip-top bag, combine the meat, red wine, garlic, bay leaves, paprika and red pepper flakes. Cover and refrigerate 12 to 24 hours, turning once or twice if you remember.
2. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry, reserving the marinade; season the meat generously with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the meat in batches, about 3 minutes per side, then set aside.
4. Add the onions to the pot and cook until soft and golden, about 8 minutes, scraping up any browned bits.
5. Return the meat to the pot and pour in the reserved marinade. Bring to a simmer on the stovetop.
6. Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until the meat is fork-tender and nearly falling off the bone.
7. If you would like a thicker sauce, whisk the flour with a few tablespoons of cold water and stir it into the pot; simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
8. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot with crusty bread and roasted potatoes.

Recipe Notes

• Goat meat can be found at halal butchers, Latin American and Caribbean markets, or ordered online; bone-in lamb shoulder is a widely available substitute that gets you very close to the original.
• The traditional cooking vessel is a black clay pot called a caçoila; a heavy enameled Dutch oven does the job just as well at home.
• Like most braises, chanfana tastes even better the next day, so do not hesitate to make it ahead and reheat gently.
• Pour yourself a glass of the same red wine you cooked with, that is non-negotiable in this house.