Picadinho — “little chopped pieces” — is tavern food from the old school: small cubes of beef simmered with wine, double paprika, bay and vegetables until the sauce thickens into something that demands rice or bread underneath.
It is the kind of dish Portuguese tascas have kept honest for generations: bold, inexpensive and better than it has any right to be. The long, slow simmer is where cheap stew meat becomes silk.
A pork version of picadinho also lives on the site — the eternal tasca debate is which one is better, and the only responsible answer is to make both.
Beef Picadinho Recipe
Prep time: 20 minutes · Cook time: about 2 hours · Total: about 2 hours 20 minutes · Servings: 4 · Calories: ~341 per serving
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck or stew meat, cut into small cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1½ cups beef stock
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 cup diced potatoes
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- Salt and black pepper
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Brown the beef on all sides in the olive oil; remove and set aside.
- Soften the onions in the same pot, about 5 minutes, then the garlic for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the tomato, both paprikas and the bay leaves, cooking until the tomato softens.
- Return the beef, add the wine, and reduce 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the stock, carrots, potatoes and pepper flakes, and bring to a simmer.
- Cover and cook on low 1½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the beef is tender and the sauce thickened.
- Season, garnish with parsley, and serve with rice, bread or boiled potatoes.
Recipe Notes
- Chuck rewards patience — the sauce will tell you when it is ready by coating the spoon.
- A splash of piri-piri at the table is entirely within tradition.
- For the pork version, see my Portuguese pork picadinho recipe.
