Best 7 Feijoada Traditional Brasilian Stew Recipes

BRAZILIAN FEIJOADA (BLACK BEAN STEW)

Steps:

• In a large bowl with water, soak beans overnight.
• When you are ready to make your stew, in a large heavy-bottom soup pot, over medium heat, add the oil and bacon. Cook until crisp and transfer to a plate.
• Use the same saucepan to brown ribs and sausages in batches. (You will want to be sure to cook the sliced Mexican chorizo on its own, as it can be very greasy. Drain the grease before continuing.) Set each aside as cooked.
• If needed, add more oil to the pan. On medium-high, sauté onion and garlic until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for another 3 minutes.
• Drain and rinse the soaked beans. Add them to the pot along with the ribs, bacon, sausages, salt, pepper, bay leaf. Cover with water (about 8 cups).
• Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Cover and let it cook for 2 to 2 and a half hours, or until the beans are soft.
• If the stew is too liquidy, uncover the saucepan and continue to cook for another 20 minutes to allow some of the liquid to evaporate.
• Serve with white rice and sprinkle some farofa on top.

FEIJOADA

Steps:

• The day before you plan on cooking the feijoada, trim the excess fat of all the meats (except the bacon) and place them in a large bowl. Cover with cold water and refrigerate for 24 hours, changing the water 3-4 times, to get rid of the excess salt.
• Place the black beans in a separate bowl and cover with cold water. Let them soak overnight in the fridge.
• Drain the meat and beans. Place the soaked meat in a large Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot and cover with enough water so they're all submerged. Cook, over medium-high heat, until boiling. Let them boil for 20 minutes, adding more water as needed. Drain and reserve.
• Combine the boiled carne seca, beans, bay leaves and orange in that same pot. Pour 2.5 quarts cold water and cook, over medium-high heat, until boiling. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, add the sausages. Cover and continue simmering, occasionally skimming the fat that rises to the top, until the meat is tender, about 1.5 to 2 hours.
• Remove the orange and bay leaves. Discard. Remove the meat and sausage and slice into smaller pieces. Reserve.
• Heat the oil in a sauté pan, over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until no longer raw but not yet golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until softened and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add a ladleful of the cooked beans, without liquid, and stir to combine. Using a fork, mash the beans, to release their starch.
• Pour that mixture into the feijoada pot and cook over medium heat, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes or until thickened. If too thick, add more water as needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Return the meats back to the pot.
• Serve with white rice, collard greens, fried bananas, farofa, vinaigrette salsa and orange slices!

FEIJOADA (BRAZILIAN BLACK BEAN STEW)

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add 3/4 cup of chopped onion, green onions, and garlic; cook and stir until softened, about 4 minutes. Pour in the soaked beans and fill with enough water to cover beans by 3 inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered for 2 hours, or until tender.
• While beans are cooking, place ham hocks in smaller pot with 1/4 cup of the chopped onion. Cover with water and simmer, until meat pulls off of the bone easily, about 1 hour. Drain and add to the beans.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place ham, bacon, and remaining onion in a baking dish. Bake 15 minutes or until mixture is crispy.
• Drain the bacon and ham mixture, and add to the beans. Season with bay leaves, coriander, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered 30 minutes more. Stir in chopped cilantro and parsley just before serving.

BRAZILIAN BLACK BEAN AND MEAT STEW: FEIJOADA

Steps:

• Make the beans: In a large bowl, add the beans and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Let the beans soak in the refrigerator overnight. Drain.
• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the adobo: In small bowl, whisk together cumin, coriander, salt, cayenne, and adobo seasoning.
• Add the garlic and bay leaves to the onion and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the beans, water, ham hocks, and half of the adobo. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are very tender, about 2 hours. Remove the ham hocks and pull and shred the meat. Add the meat back to the stew and discard the bones. (The stew can be made up to this point up to 3 days ahead.)
• Make the meat: In a large bowl, toss the sausages with the remaining adobo.
• Heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Working in batches, brown the sausages and transfer them to a plate. Roughly chop the sausages and stir them into the stew. Return the skillet to high heat and, working in batches, brown the beef and pork and add them to the stew.
• Return the stew to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes more.
• When ready to serve, arrange a mound of rice in the center of 8 plates and spoon some of the stew over the top of each. Spoon some of the pico de gallo and greens on opposite sides of the stew. Sprinkle with the farofa and chopped scallion and garnish with orange wedges.
• In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the greens and wine and cook, stirring, until wilted. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until its fat has rendered. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add manioc flour and cook, stirring, until golden brown and toasted. Add the butter and cook, stirring, until absorbed. Add the eggs and scallion and cook, stirring, until scrambled. Season with salt, to taste. Transfer to the farofa to a bowl and let cool slightly.

FEIJOADA (BRAZILIAN BLACK BEAN STEW)

Steps:

• drain beans in colander.
• in heavy pot heat oil, add onion and garlic, saute until lightly browned.
• add pork and brown.
• add beans, chorizo, water to cover and bay leaf.
• simmer for 1 1/2 hours, covered.
• uncover, raise heat to medium, cook 15 minutes until thickened.
• salt and pepper to taste, serve over rice.

FEIJOADA NORDESTINO (NORTHEASTERN BRAZILIAN BLACK BEAN STEW)

Steps:

• Combine beans, onion, ham, calabresa, 3 cloves garlic, salt, cumin, black pepper, and bay leaf in a pressure cooker; cover with water to fill line.
• Close cooker securely and place pressure regulator over vent according to manufacturer's instructions. Cook at high pressure until regulator is gently rocking, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce pressure to low. Cook, adding water halfway if needed, until beans are tender and water is reduced to your liking, about 1 hour.
• Turn off heat. Let pressure release naturally according to manufacturer's instructions, about 5 minutes. Unlock lid and remove. Let feijoada cool until ready to serve.
• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute remaining 1 clove garlic and collard greens until just tender, about 2 minutes.
• Place cassava flour in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until toasted, about 3 minutes. Stir in butter.
• Serve feijoada with the collards-garlic mixture, toasted cassava flour, rice, orange wedges, and cilantro.

FEIJOADA (BRAZILIAN BLACK BEAN AND MIXED MEAT STEW) WITH ORANGE

Steps:

• Drain the beans and place in a very large clean pan (or 2 large smaller pans) Fill with enough water to cover the beans by around 2 inches and bring to the boil. Do not add salt.
• Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally if you remember to. Now add the cubed steak and the bay leaves and reduce the heat to low.
• In a separate frying pan heat the oil over a high heat, fry the pork belly until browned all over and add to the pot. Fry the raw spicy sausages whole and once browned, slice and add to the pot. Fry the bacon and add to the pot. Lastly add the cooked smoked sausage slices (no need to fry these).
• Cook over a medium heat for 15 minutes, if the mixture is looking a little dry, add more water but do not water log. Reduce the heat to low.
• Now take out a cup full of the beans and water leaving the meat in the pan. Put in the blender with the onion and garlic, whizz until almost smooth (add a bit more tap water if necessary) and add to the pot. (If you don't have a blender, mash the beans and grate in the onion and garlic).
• Add the hot pepper sauce if using, season to taste with salt and pepper and cook over a low heat for an hour or two checking every 15 minutes or so. Do not let the mixture dry out.
• You should have a thick, meaty fragrant stew, if not continue cooking until the excess water has evaporated.
• Serve with white rice and the orange and coriander salad below. Freeze any leftovers within 24hours.
• For the salad, cut the onion into rings or half rings and soak in iced water for at least an hour.
• Cut the oranges on a plate to catch the juice. Slice the top and bottom off each orange and run a knife down under the skin and pith so you end up with a perfectly peeled orange with no white pith. Cut into rounds, remove any pips and arrange on a plate or platter. Season with salt and plenty of pepper.
• Drain the onions and pat dry, mix with the olive oil, lemon juice and coriander then season well. Sprinkle over the oranges and garnishing with a little extra coriander.
• Enjoy your feast! In Brazil they say that feijoada will induce sleep, so don't eat it on a busy day!