Chanfana is the great slow-cooked dish of the Coimbra region, especially around Miranda do Corvo and Penela: goat marinated and braised for hours in red wine in a black clay pot (caçoila), traditionally in a bread oven.

Where Trás-os-Montes has Posta à Mirandesa (recipe on the site), beef grilled fast over embers, the Beira Litoral has chanfana, the opposite approach: old animals, long marinades and patient heat. People drive an hour out of their way for a good one.

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.

At home a Dutch oven stands in for the clay caçoila, and lamb shoulder is a good substitute for goat, since it is far easier to find at a regular grocery store.

Serve it with crusty bread for mopping up the sauce, and do not rush the marinating step: that is where the magic happens.

Chanfana Recipe

What you need

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

Cook along

Instructions

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.
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.
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.
Add the onions to the pot and cook until soft and golden, about 8 minutes, scraping up any browned bits.
Return the meat to the pot and pour in the reserved marinade. Bring to a simmer on the stovetop.
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.
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.
Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot with crusty bread and roasted potatoes.