I told myself I wouldn’t mention them but I can’t really escape it, so here goes; Nandos.
We’ve all experienced Nandos’ decade-long onslaught to the British high street, one that has introduced millions of us to the addictive combination of BBQ and spice that we all now know and love as ‘peri-peri’.
The simple fact of the matter is though that Nandos is, in fact, actually South African – and in terms of true Portuguese authenticity – there’s a lot of work for them yet to do.
This weekend however, the city welcomes ‘JUST FRANGO‘, a brand-new delivery service that actually IS Portuguese – and just you wait ’til you try this chicken!
Just Frango is available NOW on Deliveroo and Uber Eats, offering up an impressive selection of freshly grilled chicken dishes, wraps and sides – all lovingly created by husband and wife owners Marcio & Cristina Coelho and his team – whose aim is to bring Portugal’s most favourite street food to the people of Manchester.
The streets of Portugal are lined with restaurants offering up mouth-watering “Frango no Churrasco” – or chicken that’s has been roasted or grilled after being marinated for a 24 hours. Each chicken restaurant will have their own special, family marinade and peri-peri – and in this respect Just Frango is exactly the same.
I pressed Marcio for a little bit more information on what goes into their peri-peri but he was unrelenting – this has been made to an old family recipe that’s secret and shall remain a secret forever. Much like most secret family recipes, this peri-peri is absolutely phenomenal and a significant flavour step-up than what we’ve all experienced before.
The trick to good Frango is ensuring the chicken is consistently brushed with sauce throughout cooking and afterwards, ensuring that the flavours permeate every single bit, whilst still ensuring that you keep that all-important crispy chicken skin.
Marcio informs me that it’s Portuguese tradition to use smaller chickens for the frango because they hold a much more concentrated flavour -perfect for then adding one of the 5 additional sliding scale of spicy marinades to – starting at a rather easy “plain-ish” and finishing up on the extra-hot “Jindungo”.
You can choose from 1/2 Peri-Peri Chicken (£6.95), or go for a whole one (£11.95), or there’s a range of Portuguese style chicken wings (from £3.95), as well as weekly guest burgers, starting with their unique Caco Chicken Burger which comes served on a traditional bolo de cacao bread roll from Madeira.
Just Frango is all about the true authenticity of Portuguese cuisine and peri-peri – and it’s helped by an impressive selection of sides to go along with your chicken. There’s spicy rice, fries, salads sure, but you’ll also find a range of Stuffed Croquettes on the menu (beef, chicken or cod), Mandioca Frita or Yam Fries, and Brazil’s favourite street snack – Pao de Quejio – cheesy dough balls that just are pure heaven.
Pao de Quejio – Brazilian cheese balls
No mention of Portuguese food is complete without an appearance by the legendary Pastel de Nata – quite possibly the most delicious and most famous dessert around at the moment.
And you just know that Just Frango are going to offer up some of the best you’ve ever tasted. In fact, Marcio insists that he’s personally taste tested nearly 20 different ones – just to make sure that they’re the best around!
Pastel de Nata – YES!
If you want to WIN a YEAR’S SUPPLY OF CHICKEN from Just Frango (and who wouldn’t) then you should enter the competition over at Proper Manchester’s Facebook Page right here…
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Just Frango is open NOW on both Deliveroo & Uber Eats…
