Portuguese Caçoila (Slow-Cooked Spiced Pork)

Caçoila (say it “kah-SOY-lah”) is the Azores’ great slow-cooked pork — and thanks to Azorean emigration, it is as famous in Fall River and New Bedford as in the islands themselves, where caçoila sandwiches are a Portuguese-American institution.

The magic is the marinade: wine, vinegar, garlic, paprika and the warm spices — cinnamon and allspice — that mark it unmistakably as island cooking. Twelve hours of marinating, then hours of gentle simmering, traditionally in the clay pot that gives the dish its name.

Serve it the Azorean way with crusty bread or rice — or the New England way, piled into a papo seco (that roll recipe is on the site) as the legendary caçoila sandwich.

Caçoila Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus 12+ hours marinating) · Cook time: 2 to 3 hours · Total: about 3 hours active · Servings: 6 · Calories: ~388 per serving

Ingredients

• 3 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 cup red wine (Portuguese, ideally)
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper (optional)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and black pepper
• Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
• Crusty bread or steamed rice, for serving

Instructions

1. Mix the wine, vinegar, paprika, cinnamon, allspice, garlic and bay leaves. Add the pork, coat well, cover and refrigerate at least 12 hours, ideally overnight.
2. Remove the pork (reserve the marinade), pat dry and season with salt and pepper.
3. Brown the pork in batches in the olive oil; set aside.
4. Soften the onions in the same pot, about 5 minutes, then cook the tomato paste 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Return the pork, pour in the reserved marinade, bring to a gentle boil, then lower the heat.
6. Cover and simmer 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until the pork surrenders completely.
7. Adjust seasoning, top with parsley, and serve hot — with bread to mop, or stuffed into rolls.

Recipe Notes

• The vinegar is authentic and essential — it mellows into brightness over the long simmer.
• A clay pot (the caçoila itself) is traditional; any heavy Dutch oven does the work.
• Leftovers shredded into a papo seco make the famous caçoila sandwich — arguably the entire point.