Feijoada, Brazil 🇧🇷 | Beans S1, EP1

Welcome to Beans From around the world, this is part 1 and today were taking a trip to Brazil to make a classic Feijoada.

Welcome to my new series ‘Beans From Around The World’ where I will be exploring the best bean dishes the world has to offer.

For part 1, we’re taking a trip to Brazil to make Feijoada 🇧🇷. A rich, hearty and comforting bean stew with a variety of cuts of pork including Brazilian carne seca (dried beef), Linguica Calabresa (Brazilian smoked sausage) and many more…

The Feijoada was bought to Brazil from the Portuguese, then adapted by the African enslaved population which introduced a few new ingredients such as black beans, carne seca & more.

Ingredients (4)

8 garlic cloves finely diced

250g dried black beans

2500 ml water (approx)

5 bay leaves

250g smoked pork ribs chopped into cubes

100g smoked back bacon

125g Linguica Calabresa sausages (found in Brazilian markets, use any smoked sausage as a replacement

50g chorizo

75g carne seca (a type of dried beef which is a non negotiable item, well worth the amazon order or trip to the Brazilian store for this)

1 tbsp ground cumin

Salt to taste* a naturally very salty dish, so only add at the end, if it needs it*

Method

Step (1)

Start by placing your black beans in a large bowl to soak overnight. Place your carne seca in a large bowl of water for 12 hours, replacing every 3 hours to remove the excess salt or you can boil it twice for 15 minutes to remove the salt quicker.

Step (2)

To start the stew, heat up a large stew pot on a medium heat, then add a dash of rapeseed oil. Add your garlic and lightly saute for 1 minute, then add the beans + the soaking water (that’s how you get the authentic dark colour), then top up with a dash more water to ensure you have enough to cook all the beans. Bring to a boil, then add the bay leaves and bring to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.

Step (3)

In the meantime, brown off all of your meats then set aside. After 45 minutes, add the meats to the pot and cover and simmer for a further 1 hour 15 minutes.

Step (4)

Now remove the lid and let simmer uncovered for a further 30 minutes until everything is cooked through. You can now mash some of the beans and this will help to thicken up the stew.