National Dish Brazil: Feijoada (Recipe)
In this article
Feijoada is black beans cooked with several kinds of pork, and the traditional cuts are the ones nobody else wanted: ear, tail, trotter, snout. It is served on Saturdays, it takes most of a day, and nobody makes it for two people.
About Feijoada
Feijoada completa is Brazil’s national dish. Black beans simmer with salted and smoked pork until the liquid goes thick and almost black, and it comes to the table with rice, farofa, sautéed collard greens and orange slices. The orange is not a garnish; the acid cuts the fat and is considered to aid digestion.
The version below is scaled down and simplified. A real feijoada uses six or seven cuts of pork and feeds twenty.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 200g black beans (dried)
- 1 small onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 200g pork
- 200g beef
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
Optionally, you can also add:
- 200g smoked sausage
- 200g bacon
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
Shopping for the ingredients
Brazilian black beans are smaller and hold their shape better than the Mexican kind; either works. Carne seca, salted dried beef, and paio, the smoked pork sausage, are sold in Brazilian and Portuguese shops and are what give feijoada its character. Smoked bacon and chorizo are acceptable substitutes.
Preparing the dish
Soak the beans overnight. Any salted meat needs soaking too, with two or three changes of water, or the finished pot will be inedibly salty. Cook the beans until they are almost done before the meat joins them, so nothing turns to mush.
Step-by-step instructions
- Tip the soaked black beans into a pot and add water until they are just covered.
- Add the salt, set the pot over a medium heat and let the beans gently simmer.
- In a large pan, heat the olive oil and add the onions. Fry until they have softened.
- Add the pork and beef and brown until the meat is cooked through.
- Stir in the tomato purée and parsley, mixing everything together well.
- Add the fried sausage and bacon and stir once more until evenly combined.
- Pour the meat mixture into the pot with the beans and let everything simmer together over a medium heat.
- Leave the feijoada to simmer for around 30 minutes, until the beans are soft and tender.
- Serve warm with rice and/or bread.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Beans and pork contain no gluten or dairy, but sausages often do carry wheat as a binder, so check them. Farofa is cassava flour and naturally gluten-free. The rest of the plate needs no adaptation.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Feijoada vegetariana is a real dish in Brazil, not an apology. Smoked tofu, jackfruit and plenty of smoked paprika replace the pork, and the beans, garlic and bay leaf carry it. Serve it with the same rice, farofa and orange and it works.
More tips and tricks
Mash a ladleful of beans against the side of the pot and stir it back in. That is how the liquid thickens, and it is better than any flour. Taste before adding salt, because the cured meats bring plenty. And make it the day before: feijoada is genuinely better reheated.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
The full version adds pig’s ear, tail and trotter, which contribute gelatine and are the point for many Brazilians. A bay leaf and a whole orange peel in the pot are common. Cachaça splashed in at the end is a Rio habit.
Ingredient substitutions
Any smoked pork works. Kidney beans can replace black beans, giving the Portuguese style rather than the Brazilian. Smoked paprika adds depth if you are short of cured meat.
Drink pairing ideas
A caipirinha before the meal is standard. Cold lager during it. Brazilians will tell you that anything heavier than beer with feijoada is a mistake, and they are right.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve the beans and meat in one dish, with white rice, farofa, sautéed collard greens and orange segments arranged separately. Everyone builds their own plate. This is a long lunch, not a quick meal, and it is traditionally followed by not much.
A bit of history
The romantic story that feijoada was invented by enslaved people from leftover scraps is popular and probably wrong: bean-and-pork stews were European peasant food long before, and the offcuts were eaten by poor Portuguese as readily as anyone. What is certain is that it became the national dish in the twentieth century and now defines Brazilian cuisine more than anything else.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Feijoada
Feijoada is black beans slow-cooked with salted and smoked pork, served with rice, farofa, greens and orange. Soak everything, salt late, mash some beans to thicken, and make it a day ahead.
