Feijoada

Feijoada as part of feijoada completa with rice, collard greens, orange slices, and mandioca flour

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City/Region: Brazil

Time Period: 1928

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Like all cultures throughout history who have had access to beans and meat, the people of Brazil put them together in a pot and cooked them. While the origins of feijoada are murky and a topic of much contention amongst historians, the dish itself has been enjoyed by everyone who lived in Brazil, including indigenous peoples, European colonizers, and enslaved people from Africa.

It takes some time to prepare and the ingredients aren’t typically found in a supermarket here in the U.S., but it is worth the effort. Take care to soak the salted meats well so that the saltiness isn’t overpowering, and you’ll have a wonderfully complex dish that is different with every delicious bite.

“It is essential that the beans used be fresh so that the feijoada turns out delicious, with preference for the mulatinho variety, although others prefer the black bean…Separate any grains and debris from the beans and any beans damaged by the weevils or woodworms, and finally wash beans in cold water. While this is done, scald the dried beef on the fire and wash it of any impurities with water. The beans, dried beef, “green meat” or stew meat, and bacon are put to boil, then add sausage, salted pork that’s been washed to remove the salt, chopped onion, black pepper, tomato and garlic, and a little vinegar. Along with that, add one or half a bay leaf, depending on the amount of feijoada. To make it tastier add Portuguese sausage, and add some of the grease from the sausage…”

— A Arte Culinária Na Bahia by Manoel Querino, 1928

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Ingredients:

• 2 lbs (5 cups, or 1 scant kg) dried black beans
• 1 lb (450 g) carne seca (dried meat)
• 1/2 lb (225 g) fresh stew meat
• 1/2 lb (225 g) thick cut bacon
• 2 to 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 lb (225 g) paio sausage
• 1 lb (450 g) Portuguese linguiça sausage
• 1/2 lb (225 g) salt pork
• 2 onions, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Instructions:

1. Soak the beans in cold water overnight. Soak the carne seca and salt pork in water for at least 12 hours, preferably 24 hours. Switch out the meat’s soaking water every couple of hours, the more the better.
2. After the carne seca has soaked, add it to a pot of boiling water and scald for 20 minutes.
3. While the carne seca boils, cut all of the other meat into small pieces, including the sausage. After the carne seca has cooked, cut it into small pieces as well. Don’t cut off any of the fat on the carne seca, that’s where a lot of the flavor is.
4. In the biggest pot you have, combine the soaked beans, a gallon of water, carne seca, stew meat, bacon, and bay leaves. Set over medium heat and bring it to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Don’t let it come to a full boil.
5. When the hour is almost up, cook the sausage in a pan over medium heat for a few minutes until it starts to brown. You may need to do this in batches if you have a lot of sausage. Leave any sausage grease in the pan, we’re going to need it. Put the sausage into the pot along with the salt pork.
6. Fry the onions in the sausage pan for about 1 minute, then add the garlic and cook until the onions start to brown. Add everything from the pan into the pot.
7. Add the tomatoes, pepper, and vinegar, and stir. Simmer for another 1 to 2 hours depending on how soft you want the beans. Keep an eye on it and add water as needed.
8. Taste the feijoada when it’s done cooking and see if you need to add any more water to balance out the saltiness. For a feijoada completa like I had, serve it forth with rice, collard greens, orange slices, mandioca flour (farofa).

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