Alcatra - Portuguese Pot Roast Recipe - Farmgirl Gourmet (2024)

Alcatra is a Portuguese pot roast that is simmered in onions, wine, bacon, and spices that is rich and flavorful. This recipe uses a slow cooker or crockpot but you could easily do this recipe in a dutch oven.

My Family History with Alcatra

After starting off the week with Filozes– Portuguese DonutsI made for Sunday dinner, I couldn’t help but start to crave some of my other Portuguese faves….like Alcatra.

Alcatra is a pot roast that’s traditionally cooked in large clay pots that resemble those that you might find in your garden. I’m fresh out of a clay pot like that, so I pulled out my trusty slow cooker. The roast cooks for many hours (8 in my case) and is so incredibly tender that it’s almost like butter. The spices and wine are what make this dish full of flavor and goodness. Oh and bacon. Everything is better with Bacon.

In my lifetime, I have eaten this dish many a time. Most often at the Portuguese Festa, or Holy Ghost Festival as some call it. The story goes like this:

The original Holy Ghost Feast was held during the reign of Elizabeth (Isabel) of Portugal, who lived from 1271 to 1336. She was known as a peacemaker and as “The Holy Queen” who was devoted to the Holy Spirit. She built a church dedicated to the name of the Holy Spirit in Lisbon and often demonstrated her devotion to her people and their well-being. There are many stories of the Queen’s piety and service, but the dearest to the Portuguese people of the Azores is the one explaining their devotion to Queen Elizabeth and the Holy Ghost. In the 13th century, the Azores Islands suffered from many violent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The most seriously hit was the Island of Pico. The people of these Azores Islands could not survive the drought, crop failures, and famine that now plagued them. They gathered together in prayer to the Holy Ghost for help. On the morning of Pentecost Sunday, there was a great rising sun, and the people of these islands saw in the sunrise a ship coming into the Port of Fayal. This ship was laden with necessities of life. The food was distributed among the people of the various islands, and they were very grateful that their prayers had been answered. When their Queen heard of this providence, she organized a solemn procession in honor of the Holy Ghost. Accompanied by her maids she carried her Crown through the streets of Lisbon to the cathedral, where she left it on the altar as an offering of thanksgiving for the favors the Holy Ghost had given her people. In addition, she began a tradition of feeding the poor at Pentecost. Each year she chose twelve people to whom she gave a new suit of clothing and personally served them a meal at her table. The people of the Azores vowed that they and their children and their children’s children would commemorate the day by giving thanks to their Queen for the sacrifice she made. Since then, many Portuguese churches have displayed replicas of her eight-sided crown in remembrance of her goodness and God’s grace. Later, in the 16th century, the church canonized this holy queen in recognition of the miracles that were attributed to her pious life.

Ingredients List

• Bacon – it is best to use a thicker cut of bacon for this recipe so it holds up to the long slow cook.
• Spices – a mixture of allspice berries, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, and black pepper will perfume the meat and also your house.
• Red Wine – is a staple in Portuguese cooking and you will want to use a hearty red for this recipe. I’d recommend a Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir.
• Roast – chuck roast or rump roast is best in this recipe for Alcatra
• Tomato Paste – the umami ingredient that will help create the luscious sauce and you will surely want some French bread to it mop up.

Find the printable recipe card with exact measurements and instructions below.

Holy Ghost Festival of Northern California

My Grandmother is currently the oldest living Queen for her area of California and walks the parade each year. Both my daughter and I have walked with her in parades past as young girls. It’s a pretty great tradition….and at the end of the parade route are long tables loaded with Alcatra, Sopas (cabbage and french bread soup) and lots of Portuguese Sweet Bread.

How to Make Beef Alcatra in a Slow Cooker

1. Fry the bacon until crisp, drain and set aside.
2. Saute onions and spices until translucent.
3. Season the chuck roast and sear on all sides to create a crust. Add to a slow cooker with the onion and spice mixture.
4. Deglaze the pot with wine and water, scraping up the bits. Pour over the beef and add the bacon.
5. Cook on low for 8 hours, turning the roast at 4 hours.

Tips for Storing

• For Storing – keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• For Reheating – to reheat in a microwave, add an ice cube to a microwave safe dish with your Alcatra and cover loosely with parchment paper. Heat at 1-2 minute intervals until the desired internal temperature is met. Discard the ice cube.
• How to Freeze – add to a zip top freezer bag and remove as much air as possible or use a vacuum sealer bag/machine and freeze up to 3 months.