Feijoada is a unique traditional bean sauce with rich flavors you can prepare using various meats, sausages, and vegetables as a one-pot dish. This versatile meal has been around since the 1800s, slowly cooked over low heat and served with toasted manioc flour.
Below is the background of this ancient yet modern dish from Brazil.
Table of Contents
Background and Origin
Feijoada has been around Brazil since 1822, differing from family to family. As a traditional dish, the specific beans used those days are mulatinho, however, many regions across Brazil use fresh black beans.
The recipe got its name from feijão, which means beans in Brazil. Beans are an important crop for the indigenous people in Brazil. There are historical records of feijoada influenced by African slaves who first made the one-pot dish with leftover ingredients of the times.
Other history records show origins from French cassoulet. Then again, other variations of feijoada are popular in Mozambique and Angola.
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How to Prepare Feijoada
Key Ingredients
- 5 cups black beans
- 450g fresh Carne seca (beef jurky)
- 200g fresh meat, cubed
- ½ pound bacon
- ½ pound piao sausage
- 450g Portuguese Linguica
- ½ pound salted pork
- 2 red onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tomatoes, cubed
- 10 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 3 bay leaves
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Soak the beans in cold water overnight. Also soak the dried meat and salted pork 24 hours before cooking, changing the water at least every 5 hours.
- Once you soak the dried meat for 24 hours, add it to boiling water and cook for 20 minutes.
- Chop the rest of the meat and sausages into small cubes.
- Get a big cooking pot, and add the beans, a lot of water, carne seca, bacon, stew meat, and bay leaves.
- Stir the pot and simmer over low heat for an hour.
- In a frying pan, brown the sausages over medium heat. Add the browned sausages and salted pork to the pot.
- Sauté the onions in the frying pan for two minutes, then add the garlic. Add them to the big pot of beans and meat.
- Add the tomatoes, black pepper, and vinegar. Stir the pot and allow the feijoada to simmer on low heat for another hour.
- Serve with rice, collard greens, toasted manioc flour, and orange slices.
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Tips for Preparing Feijoada
Use dried beans if you don’t have fresh beans. If you live near a bean farm, you can get the fresh ones.
You can add an orange or two to soak up the grease from the dry meat. Alternatively, scoop out the grease once the meal is ready.
There’s no need to add salt because of the salted pork and meat.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to prepare a taste of Brazil, feijoada is the perfect idea. The recipe has history from diverse nations curated into a single main dish. It’s not surprising Brazil has inhabitants from various backgrounds. The dish is a perfect representation of its people and culture.
You’ll love preparing feijoada!
Hey, Sedi here, a content writer.
Subjects that interest her greatly are how people, lifestyle, relationships, God, technology, and communication interact, empowering and spreading positive messages. She’s an avid reader and a student of personal weekly workouts.
She holds a master’s degree in media and digital communication management.
When she’s not writing or promoting brands digitally, Sedi is busy advocating for plastic-free earth with her local NGO.
