Feijoada (Brazilian black bean stew)
This black bean stew is Brazil's national dish for a good reason! It's incredibly delicious, and this version is super easy to make.
Servings: 17
Calories: 587kcal
Ingredients
- 24 oz dried black beans
- 10 cups of water (to cook the beans)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ lb corned beef (just salted meat, discard pack of spices)
- 2 lb Pork ribs (country-style or baby back ribs) (1 lb if boneless)
- 1 lb Smoked Ham hock or smoked neck (or any other smoked pork meat)
- 12 oz Smoked Sausage
- 10 oz sliced bacon (cut into strips)
- 1 red onion (chopped)
- 6 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 3 bay leaves
- salt to taste (if necessary)
Instructions
- Start by soaking the beans for 12 hours. Drain the water, wash the beans and drain it again.
- Cut corned beef into cubes, and ribs between bones (or into cubes, if boneless). Cut the bacon into pieces, and the sausage into slices. Chop onion and garlic.
- In a large pan, sauté corned beef and ribs in olive oil (you will have to make it in batches). When they are seared, transfer them to a pressure cooker (I like Instant Pot) and add the drained beans, 10 cups of fresh water and smoked meat (in my case I like using smoked neck or ham hock).
- Let it cook on High pressure for 30 minutes (after it gets pressure). When it's done cooking, let it naturally release pressure for 30 minutes.
- While the beans are still cooking, place the bacon in the same pan in which you seared the meat, and fry the bacon in the fat it will release. Once it starts crispening, add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent. Then add sausage and let it cook for a minute. Turn off the heat and wait for the beans and meats to finish cooking in the pressure cooker.
- After the meats and beans are ready, and pressure has been naturally released for 30 minutes, transfer everything to the same big pan, with the sausage, bacon, onion and garlic. Add the bay leaves and adjust salt if necessary. Cook it over medium heat for approximately 30-40 minutes, or until liquid thickens to your liking.Your feijoada is ready! Serve it on a bed of white rice, vinaigrette, farofa and orange slices.Enjoy it!
Notes
*If you want to thicken the liquid even more, you can separate some of the beans and smash them with a fork to create a paste. Then add this paste back to the feijoada.
*It is very important to soak the beans. First, because it helps to soften the beans. Second, and even more important, because beans have a protein called lectin, which can cause some problems when eaten, such as: bloating, stomach pain and gas. When soaking, change your water at least once or twice, and discard it. Do not use this water for cooking. Wash the beans to remove any residue, then drain it.
Nutrition
Calories: 587kcal