Brazilian recipe
Traditional Brazilian Feijoada: A Complete Homemade Recipe (Feijoada)
Learn how to prepare an authentic feijoada, featuring tender pork cuts, a rich broth, and creamy black beans. The definitive guide for a memorable meal.
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Ingredients
1/2 orange with peel
400 g pork ribs, cubed and desalted
150 g bacon, cut into pieces
300 g fresh or desalted pork loin, cut into pieces
2 paio sausages
1 onion, chopped
1 bunch parsley, chopped
2 calabresa sausages
1 pork knuckle, desalted
400 g pork tail, desalted
1 kg black beans, soaked for at least 4 hours
2 bay leaves
1 pig's trotter, desalted
300 g carne-seca (dried beef), desalted
400 g pork ear, desalted
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
400 g pork ribs, cubed and desalted
150 g bacon, cut into pieces
300 g fresh or desalted pork loin, cut into pieces
2 paio sausages
1 onion, chopped
1 bunch parsley, chopped
2 calabresa sausages
1 pork knuckle, desalted
400 g pork tail, desalted
1 kg black beans, soaked for at least 4 hours
2 bay leaves
1 pig's trotter, desalted
300 g carne-seca (dried beef), desalted
400 g pork ear, desalted
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
Where to find ingredients
Find black beans, bay leaves, onions, garlic, and fresh pork at local butchers or grocery stores. The specific sausages (paio and calabresa) and carne-seca are traditional Brazilian ingredients; if unavailable, smoked chorizo may be used as a substitute for the sausages and biltong or salt-cured beef as a substitute for carne-seca.
Preparation method
- Ensure all salted meats are properly desalted before beginning.
- In a large pot, sear the pork loin and ribs until browned for approximately 6 minutes.
- Remove and set aside.
- In the same pot, fry the bacon until golden and it has rendered its own fat.
- Add the onion to the bacon, sautéing until translucent and scraping the bottom of the pot well to release the flavors.
- Add the garlic and bay leaves, sautéing for another 5 minutes.
- Add the drained beans to the pot and mix well.
- In a separate pot, boil the tougher cuts (trotter, knuckle, tail, ear, and dried beef) to remove impurities.
- Drain and transfer them to the pot with the beans.
- Cover the ingredients with water, adjust the salt, and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce the heat, partially cover, and cook for 3 hours, regularly skimming off any foam that forms on the surface.
- After 1 hour and 15 minutes, remove the dried beef from the pot, cut into cubes, and set aside.
- At the end of the cooking time, incorporate the reserved loin and ribs, the parsley, and the half orange.
- After an additional 30 minutes, remove the orange from the pot and discard it.
- When the loin is tender, remove it from the pot, slice into cubes, and set aside.
- Cook the sausages whole for 15 minutes, then slice them into rounds and return them to the pot.
- Return the cubed dried beef and loin to the mixture, letting everything cook until the beans are tender and the broth has thickened.
- Add boiling water if necessary during the process.
Observations
Feijoada is an iconic pillar of Brazilian cuisine, marrying the robustness of various pork cuts with the deep, earthy flavor of slow-cooked black beans. This preparation focuses on the patient, steady cooking technique required to ensure each ingredient maintains its ideal texture while the broth achieves the perfect, velvety consistency. It is a dish that celebrates tradition, making it ideal for large family gatherings that call for a hearty, aromatic, and comforting meal.
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