Brazilian recipe
Authentic Feijoada: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide (Feijoada : passo a passo completo)
Master the art of making a genuine Brazilian feijoada, featuring tender black beans, a selection of savory pork cuts, and a deeply aromatic, rich broth.
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Ingredients
500g salted pork ribs
250g smoked Portuguese-style sausage
1kg dried black beans
1 clean pig's trotter
1 clean pig's ear
1 clean pig's tail
500g dried, salted beef (carne seca), desalinated
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 salted pig's tongue
4 tbsp chopped onions
4 cloves garlic, crushed
100g smoked bacon (toucinho)
1 whole paio sausage
2 bay leaves
250g smoked Portuguese-style sausage
1kg dried black beans
1 clean pig's trotter
1 clean pig's ear
1 clean pig's tail
500g dried, salted beef (carne seca), desalinated
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 salted pig's tongue
4 tbsp chopped onions
4 cloves garlic, crushed
100g smoked bacon (toucinho)
1 whole paio sausage
2 bay leaves
Where to find ingredients
You can source dried black beans and various pork cuts at local butcher shops or the meat counters of large supermarkets. For the salted or cured items like carne seca, check with specialty deli counters. If you cannot find specific cuts like pig's ear or tail, ask your local butcher for alternatives to ensure a similar fat content and gelatinous texture in the broth.
Preparation method
- Place all the salted meats in a large bowl of cold water for at least 12 hours, changing the water several times to ensure the excess salt is fully removed.
- Once the desalting process is complete, drain the meats, rinse them thoroughly under cold running water, and set aside.
- In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, combine the black beans, the prepared salted meats, the trotter, ear, tail, tongue, bacon, and the whole paio.
- Cover the ingredients with plenty of water, add the bay leaves, and simmer over low heat for 2 to 3 hours, or until all the meat is tender and the beans are cooked through.
- While the stew simmers, heat the oil in a separate frying pan and sauté the garlic and onions until they are fragrant and lightly golden.
- Take a ladle of the cooked beans from the main pot, mash them into a paste, and stir this into the pan with the sautéed onions and garlic.
- Add a few spoonfuls of the hot cooking liquid to the pan, stir well to combine, and let it simmer for a few minutes to create a rich base.
- Pour this mixture back into the large pot of feijoada to help thicken the broth into its signature consistency.
- Taste the broth carefully and adjust the seasoning if necessary, keeping in mind that the salted meats may still retain some salinity.
- Cook for a final 30 minutes to allow the flavors to fully meld together before serving hot.
Observations
Feijoada stands as the most iconic dish in Brazilian cuisine, cherished as the ultimate centerpiece for family gatherings and weekend hospitality. This recipe relies on traditional salted and smoked pork cuts combined with earthy black beans to create a hearty, soul-warming stew. The hallmark of a great feijoada lies in the patient preparation: the meticulous desalting process followed by a long, slow simmer that allows the depth of flavor to build, resulting in a perfectly thick, velvety broth.
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