Feijoada (Brazilian Black Bean Stew)

Feijoada is a bean stew with beef and pork. The name feijoada comes from feijão, “bean” in Portuguese. It is widely prepared in the Portuguese-speaking world, with slight variations. The main ingredients of feijoada are black beans and fresh pork or beef.

Ingredients:
1 kilo of dry black beans
3 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 kg pork shoulder, cut into cubes
2 large onions, sliced
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 thinly sliced ​​sausages of your choice
1/2 pound smoked sausage, such as linguica or kielbasa, sliced
1/2 kilo of sliced ​​bacon, cut into small pieces
1 smoked ham
4 bay leaves
water
3 maggi cubes or beef stock cubes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt
Hot sauce, depending on your preference
Orange, washed and cut into slices
Sliced ​​plantains
Rice

Soak the beans in a large bowl of water overnight.
In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat and brown the pork shoulder until browned on all sides. Remove the pork and set aside. In the same pan, add the bacon and cook until slightly crisp (for best flavor, leave the parchment paper on afterwards). Add the onions and cook until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the sausages and cook until no longer pink.
Return the roast pork to the pot along with the smoked ham. Drain, rinse and add the black beans to the pot. Add the bay leaves, black pepper and beef cubes. Cover the contents of the pot with water until it barely covers the meat (about 2 liters). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours, making sure the beans are soft. About 1 1/2 hours into the cooking time, if you are using a whole roast pork, remove it and either shred it or cut it into pieces and return to the pot. Do the same with the meat in the smoked ham.
If the feijoada is too runny, uncover the pot and continue cooking for another 20 minutes or so to allow some of the liquid to evaporate. Add more salt to taste as needed. Add some hot sauce depending on your preferred heat. Discard the bay leaves.
Serve with rice, fresh orange slices and fried plantains
👉🏽Pork/sausage can be replaced with beef and bacon/smoked ham with turkey bacon/smoked chicken.
👉🏽The vegan version of the dish can be made without any meat!