Brazilian recipe
Traditional Feijoada: A Complete Stew (Feijoada)
Feijoada is an iconic Brazilian soul food, featuring black beans and an array of cured and fresh meats, slow-cooked to achieve a deep, rich flavour.
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Ingredients
70g clean pig's trotter, chopped
1kg dried black beans
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
150g Portuguese linguiça sausage, chopped
70g clean pig's tail, chopped
70g clean pig's ear, chopped
Black pepper, to taste
3 bay leaves
Salt, to taste
6 garlic cloves, crushed
40ml cachaça (Brazilian sugarcane spirit) for seasoning
100g paio sausage, sliced into rounds
100g carne seca (Brazilian jerked beef), desalted and shredded
100g pork spare ribs, chopped
1 or 2 oranges, sliced
2 large onions, finely diced
50g pork loin, cubed
1kg dried black beans
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
150g Portuguese linguiça sausage, chopped
70g clean pig's tail, chopped
70g clean pig's ear, chopped
Black pepper, to taste
3 bay leaves
Salt, to taste
6 garlic cloves, crushed
40ml cachaça (Brazilian sugarcane spirit) for seasoning
100g paio sausage, sliced into rounds
100g carne seca (Brazilian jerked beef), desalted and shredded
100g pork spare ribs, chopped
1 or 2 oranges, sliced
2 large onions, finely diced
50g pork loin, cubed
Where to find ingredients
You can find black beans, fresh pork cuts, and pork ribs at any local supermarket or butcher. For authentic Brazilian ingredients like carne seca, paio, and linguiça, seek out a specialist South American deli or an international grocer in your local metropolitan area. Cachaça is widely available in liquor stores.
Preparation method
- Soak the salted meats in cold water for at least 36 hours, changing the water frequently, particularly if the weather is warm.
- Add ice cubes to the water during the soaking process if necessary to maintain a low temperature.
- Begin by simmering the tougher cuts—trotter, ear, tail, and ribs—in a large heavy-based pot, covering them completely with water.
- Simmer until the meats become tender, which can take several hours depending on the cuts.
- Introduce the tender meats, such as the loin, carne seca, paio, and linguiça, to the pot, continuing to cook until everything is succulent and the flavours have melded.
- Once the meats are tender, stir in the pre-washed black beans.
- Continue to simmer until the beans are soft, adjusting the salt and seasoning as required.
- Carefully remove the cooked meats from the pot and set them aside.
- Season the bean broth by stirring in the onions, garlic, bay leaves, black pepper, cachaça, and salt.
- Allow the stew to bubble for a few more minutes so the flavours integrate fully.
- Serve the feijoada hot, accompanied by fresh orange slices, sautéed greens, white rice, farofa, crispy pork crackling, bacon, and seasoned broth according to preference.
Observations
Feijoada stands as the cornerstone of Brazilian home cooking, a hearty dish that masterfully blends black beans with a variety of pork cuts and smoked sausages. This robust stew requires patient, slow cooking to ensure every piece of meat reaches a melt-in-the-mouth tenderness, creating a complex and savoury depth. Ideally suited for large, convivial gatherings, a classic feijoada service is always accompanied by finely shredded collard greens, fluffy white rice, segments of fresh orange, and toasted cassava flour, known as farofa, rounding off a quintessential and deeply comforting meal.
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