Classic Trinchado - Daryls Kitchen (2024)

My earliest memory of eating Portuguese food whilst growing up in South Africa was when my Dad took me to a small Portuguese restaurant in the town that he used to work in. It was accessed via a narrow stairway on the side of the building and you were always met by Johnny the owner with his huge moustache and big smile. The restaurant wasn’t very big, only containing 10 or 12 tables. It was dimly lit with basic decor, red tablecloths and the obligatory Portuguese music playing softly in the background. The food was delicious every time we visited. Fantastic fried fish, Portuguese soup, bacalhau and potatoes, grilled and butterflied prawns, grilled and flamed chorico sausage, great Portuguese bean stews, steaks egg and chips, peri peri chicken, chicken livers and of course my go to dish classic trinchado.

Johnny’s trinchado had an amazingly rich spicy sauce with huge chunks of beef. He didn’t add cream to his recipe but I have seen a few recipes that include the addition of cream after cooking. I prefer the recipe without cream. Johnny served his trinchado over the thick cut chips and it was amazing. My recipe is based on what I remember it tasting like at his restaurant.

Trinchado is a traditional South African Portuguese fusion dish with every family having their own recipe. It is difficult to trace the origin of the dish but some people think that is was born out of Mozambique where bars used to serve a small tapa type dish with your drinks. It was a spicy stew that contained whatever the bar would normally serve on a daily basis so it could contain various meats and seafood and of course the obligatory spices. These days classic trinchado is made using beef but I have a little secret to tell you. Cubed pork shoulder works a treat and the meat is so tender after the long cooking time.

Trinchado is served with fresh Portuguese rolls and not so traditionally with thick cut chips. I like to add the chips directly to the sauce for them to absorb all that amazing flavour. I find that trinchado tastes better a few days later so we always make a really big batch and refrigerate to snack on during the week.

Trinchado does require long cooking times so this is a perfect recipe for those lazy weekends. Make a large batch and freeze some for a quick weekday meal.

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