Prego no Pao
A thin steak marinated in garlic and wine, fried briefly and served in a crusty roll with its juices, ready in 25 minutes.
Photograph credit: Sizzling Steak Sandwich with Crispy Fries by Amine Kübranur Çakıroğlu · Pexels License · Pexels
The first sign it is ready is the smell: garlic and butter on a hot pan, and a thin steak turning brown in a minute. Prego no pão is the Portuguese steak roll, sold in cafés and eaten at the counter at any hour, and it is a thin slice of beef in a roll with garlicky juice.
Beat the steak very thin, to about 5 mm, so it cooks in a flash. Marinate it in white wine, crushed garlic, a bay leaf and salt, ideally for 1 hour, though 10 minutes will do. Fry it for 1 minute on each side in a very hot pan, no more. Overcooked steak turns grey and tough. Add a spoonful of the marinade and butter to the pan and let it bubble to a sauce.
Split the rolls, dip the cut sides into the juices to soften them, and tuck in the steak. The sandwich should be moist, not dripping. Add a smear of mustard if you like, or a fried egg for a prego com ovo. Eat at once, with a cold beer, standing up if you want to do it properly.
Prego no Pao: Step by Step
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Beat the steaks to 5 mm. Mix the wine, garlic, bay and salt and marinate the steaks for 10 minutes.
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Heat the oil in a wide pan until very hot. Fry the steaks for 1 minute on each side, in batches. Lift out.
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Add the butter and 4 tablespoons of the marinade to the pan and bubble for 2 minutes.
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Split the rolls, dip the cut sides in the sauce, spread with mustard and fill with the steak.
Worth Getting Right
- Beat the steak thin.
- Fry for one minute a side, no more.
- Dip the roll in the pan juices.
If You're Missing Something
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
- A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.
What to Serve With It
Chips · Cold beer · Fried egg
Leftovers and Storage
Best fresh.
The Numbers per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. The calories include 3 g of alcohol a serving, which is not part of the protein, carbohydrate or fat. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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