Bifana (portuguese Lamb Cutlets)

Total Time: 24 hrs 10 mins Preparation Time: 24 hrs Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless lamb cutlets, cut very thin
• 1 1/4 cups dry wine, divided
• 1/4 cup wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled
• 3/4 teaspoon pimiento, paste divided (available in portuguese food stores)
• 1/2 teaspoon spanish paprika, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorn, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon piri-piri, sauce (or tabasco sauce, if necessary)
• 2 tablespoons lard

Recipe

• 1 rinse the lamb cutlets and then pat dry with paper towels.
• 2 place lamb in a large heavy plastic bag (like a freezer ziploc bag) and place in a large bowl.
• 3 in a mixing bowl, combine one cup of the wine, the vinegar, garlic, bay leaf, 1/2 tsp of the pimento paste, 1/4 tsp of the paprika, peppercorns, cloves and piri-piri sauce.
• 4 pour this over lamb, make sure all meat is coated, and seal the bag.
• 5 refrigerate for several hours or overnight, turning bag over in bowl frequently.
• 6 bring meat to room temperature before cooking.
• 7 to cook, remove lamb from marinade and lightly pat lamb dry with paper towels.
• 8 heat a skillet over medium-high heat and melt lard, then cook lamb in batches in hot lard; if your lamb is thin it will likely only take a minute per side, at the most.
• 9 when all the lamb has been sauteed, drain off the fat and add the remaining wine (1/4 cup), remaining pimento paste (1/4 tsp), remaining paprika (1/4 tsp) to the skillet, as well as salt and pepper to taste.
• 10 bring this to a boil, stirring the pan to get up any brown bits.
• 11 return all the lamb to the skillet, reduce heat to low, and cook for about another minute.