Migas AlentejanasBread Migas with Fried Pork

Migas alentejanas are day-old Alentejo bread soaked, then fried in pork fat with lots of garlic until they come together into a golden, soft-centred roll. They're served next to pieces of marinated fried pork, and they're loved because they turn stale bread and cheap cuts into one of the most satisfying plates in Portugal. Many Alentejo families still serve them with sliced oranges on the side.

The two things that make them work: use dense, properly stale bread, never soft sandwich bread, and use the fat the pork was fried in. That fat, full of garlic and paprika, is where the migas get their flavour.

The recipe

Migas AlentejanasBread Migas with Fried Pork

Migas alentejanas recipe: garlicky bread migas fried in pork fat, rolled into a golden log and served with marinated fried pork. A true Alentejo classic.

Print Pin Share

Prep20 min

Cook45 min

Total65 min

Serves4

Ingredients

MetricUS

Serves

4

½×1×2×3×

• 600 g pork with some fat (shoulder, entrecosto/spare ribs cut small, or entremeada/pork belly), cut into 3 cm pieces
• 6 cloves garlic (2 crushed for the marinade, 4 sliced for the migas)
• 2 tbsp massa de pimentão (red pepper paste), or 1 tbsp sweet paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 100 ml white wine
• 500 g day-old Alentejo bread or other dense country loaf
• 500 ml boiling water
• 4 tbsp lard (banha) or olive oil
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt
• 1–2 oranges, sliced, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Mix the pork with the crushed garlic, massa de pimentão, bay leaves and white wine. If you used paprika instead of massa, add 1 tsp salt. Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
2. Lift the pork out of the marinade and pat dry. Heat the lard in a large heavy frying pan over medium heat. Fry the pork for 25–30 minutes, turning often, until browned and cooked through (at least 63 °C inside, ideally 70 °C for shoulder and ribs). Pour in the marinade for the last 5 minutes and let it bubble down.
3. While the pork cooks, cut the bread into small pieces, crust and all. Put it in a bowl, pour over the boiling water with a pinch of salt and leave for 5 minutes. Then squeeze and mash it with a spoon into a damp paste.
4. Move the pork to a warm dish. Leave about 5 tbsp of fat and juices in the pan, adding the olive oil if there isn't enough.
5. Fry the sliced garlic in the fat for 1 minute over medium-low heat, without letting it brown.
6. Add the bread and stir and mash constantly for 10–15 minutes. It will go from wet to a soft mass that pulls away from the pan.
7. Tilt the pan and use a spatula to fold the mass over itself into a log, like rolling an omelette. Cook for 2–3 minutes more so the outside turns golden.
8. Slide the migas onto a plate and serve with the pork around it and orange slices on the side.

Notes

Clear ticks

Tap ingredients and steps to tick them off. Scaling changes the quantities at the start of each line; check the rest by eye.

Which bread to use

Pão alentejano is a dense, chewy wheat loaf with a thick crust. Outside Portugal, use a sourdough or country loaf that's two or three days old. Soft bread turns to glue. Our Portuguese bread guide explains the different loaves. Leftover bread is also the base of açorda alentejana, the Alentejo's bread soup.

Other kinds of migas

The pork version is the classic, but there are many others. Migas de espargos use wild asparagus, migas de tomate are made with tomato, and in the Beiras migas are often made with cornbread and greens. Find more regional dishes in our guide to what to eat in the Alentejo, and for the other great Alentejo pork dish, see carne de porco à alentejana.

From the shop

What you’ll need

Links go to Amazon, where you can check today’s price. If you buy, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Amazon best seller

Lodge 12-inch cast iron skillet

One of Amazon's best-selling pans. Gets hot enough to sear bitoque steaks and blister sardines.

Tip: Season it and it lasts forever.

View on Amazon

Amazon best seller

CAROTE 12-inch non-stick frying pan

A top-selling non-stick pan, ideal for bacalhau à Brás, where the eggs must slide.

Tip: Use wooden or silicone tools to protect the coating.

View on Amazon

Portuguese

Casafina Portuguese cork placemats, set of 4

Portugal produces about half the world's cork. These heat-safe placemats take a hot cataplana or clay pot.

Tip: Wipe clean with a damp cloth. Don't soak them.

View on Amazon