Portuguese barbecued pork (Febras assadas)

Name: Portuguese barbecued pork (Febras assadas)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 27 min
Total time: 42 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Portuguese
Ingredients: 2 Pork; 200ml White Wine; 1/2 tsp Paprika; 2 Lemon; 1/2 Lemon Juice; Dash Olive Oil; To serve Mayonnaise; 1 kg Potatoes; For frying Vegetable Oil

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Pork recipe with Portuguese flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 73 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Step-by-step instructions

STEP 1.
Cut the tenderloins into 5 equal-size pieces leaving the tail ends a little longer. Take a clear plastic bag and slip one of the pieces in. Bash it into an escalope the size of a side-plate with a rolling pin and repeat with the remaining pieces.
STEP 2.
Put the wine, paprika, some salt and pepper and the juice of ½ a lemon in a bowl and add the pork. Leave to marinate for 20-30 minutes, while you get your barbecue to the stage where the coals are glowing but there are no flames.
STEP 3.
To make the chips, fill a basin with cool water and cut the potatoes into 3cm-thick chips. Soak them in the water for 5 minutes and then change the water. Leave for 5 more minutes. Drain and then pat dry on a towel or with kitchen paper.
STEP 4.
Heat the oil in a deep fryer or a deep heavy-based pan with a lid to 130C and lower the chips into the oil (in batches). Blanch for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain well. Place on a tray to cool. Reheat the oil to 180C (make sure it’s hot or your chips will be soggy) and lower the basket of chips into the oil (again, do this in batches). Leave to cook for 2 minutes and then give them a little shake. Cook for another minute or so until they are well coloured and crisp to the touch. Drain well for a few minutes, tip into a bowl and sprinkle with sea salt.
STEP 5.
The pork will cook quickly so do it in 2 batches. Take the pieces out of the marinade, rub them with oil, and drop them onto the barbecue (you could also use a chargrill). Cook for 1 minute on each side – they may flare up as you do so. This should really be enough time as they will keep on cooking. Take them off the barbecue and pile onto a plate. Repeat with the remaining batch.
STEP 6.
Serve by piling a plate with chips, drop the pork on top of each pile and pouring the juices from the plate over so the chips take up the flavours. Top with a spoon of mayonnaise and a wedge of lemon.

Why this works on a weeknight

Portuguese barbecued pork (Febras assadas) lands at about 42 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Portuguese barbecued pork (Febras assadas) actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Pork Portuguese