What you should better not order in Portugal

A week wandering through Comporta or strolling over the stones in Porto, maybe a road trip from Lisbon through the countryside? We already tipped you about Portugal, because it certainly doesn't stop at the Algarve. But if you're going, you might want to review this menu one more time. To NOT order in that little local café. Know before you go, made possible by our neighbors from the online food magazine FavorFlav.

Arroz de Cabidela

‘Arroz de…’ you will often see on the menu. It means ‘rice with…’ Often these are the most delicious dishes, such as Arroz de Marisco (rice with seafood) or Arroz doce. Arroz de Cabidela? Sounds good, rice with chicken. Important detail: everything from the chicken is used, including the legs AND the organs. And if you were still wondering why the mixture is so brown? That's blood. Because yes, the little creature is cooked in its own blood.

Omelete de Mioleira

Portuguese people love to eat well-filled omelets for dinner, with fries and rice on the side. But don't be mistaken, the omelete de mioleira is not an omelet with ham, cheese, or mushrooms. Omelete de mioleira literally translates to omelet of brains. Pig brains, mind you.

Burras Assadas

Burras Assadas is honestly a delicious dish. But know what you're ordering before you literally sink your teeth into other teeth. Once you've gnawed the roasted pork off the bone, you'll see which part of the animal it is, namely the jaw. What remains? A beautiful set of teeth. Say cheese.

Green life is happy life? Not in Portugal!

This is not a dish, but a warning: vegetarians have a hard time in Portugal. They can't really prepare vegetables well. Of course, there are exceptions; there are good restaurants and especially in the larger cities, vegetarian and vegan restaurants are on the rise. But the smaller places, especially in the countryside, prefer to cook their vegetables to death. As in: cook until all vitamins are gone and you hardly have to chew.

Well done

Are you on the other side of the vegetarian spectrum and prefer your meat as red as possible? Then we have a tip. The reason is unclear, but Portuguese people have trouble just grilling meat nicely short. Often your steak comes back well done, even if you ask for rare or medium rare in English. Therefore: ask it in Portuguese. The magic words? ‘Muito mal passado.’ The muito (which means ‘much’) is important. If you ask for ‘mal passado’ you will get your meat medium rare. With the word ‘muito’ in front of it, you should get it nice and rare.

Maranho

Are you a fan of the Scottish dish haggis? The meat dish made from sheep heart, lung, and liver which is stuffed with fat into a (artificial) casing like a kind of sausage. Then you should definitely order maranho: the haggis of Portugal. While the casing in Scotland is often artificial now, the Portuguese are still old school; there the casing is made from sheep stomach.

Francesinha

The Francesinha was Portugal's attempt at a croque madame. They failed. Okay, it is indeed an iconic dish and you never know until you've tried it, so just order it. Especially if you're in Porto, where the Francesinha comes from. But be warned: the chance of an instant heart attack after eating this sandwich with cheese, ham, sausage, entrecôte, tomato sauce, thick cheese/beer sauce, fried egg AND fries is high.

Bacalhau a Zé do Pipo

Bacalhau is better known in the Netherlands as cod. According to the Portuguese, there are 365 different ways to prepare the fish, one for each day of the year. They are crazy about it. Bacalhau a Zé do Pipo is a strange one, especially since Portuguese people don't necessarily use a lot of mayonnaise in the kitchen. The bacalhau is first cooked in milk in this dish, then goes into the oven with a layer of onions, mashed potatoes, and, yes, a very thick layer of mayo. A few black olives on top and you’re good to go.

Salade de Orelha

After reading that there isn't much for vegetarians in Portugal, you might be very happy with the word salad in this dish. Well, think again. Salade de Orelha actually means salad of ear. Yes, it's true: pig ears are chopped into pieces and mixed into your salad.

Too salty

Suffering from high blood pressure? Portugal may not be the best destination for you. Portuguese people are crazy about salt. The salt and pepper shakers are on the table to salt your omelete de moleira or salade de orelha even more, but it probably won't be necessary.