Feijoada (Brazilian Black Bean Stew)

I'm brazilian, and I'd suggest you guys to drop the ham and get some nice smoked sausages (won't ever substitute the gelatin in pork ears or feet, which is what we use to get the consistency right, but it'll taste more legit) instead. This recipe takes about 1 hour to cook in a pressure cooker (which is how most people cook beans in Brazil, housewives haven't got all day to cook and rice and beans are a daily staple). Nowadays there are even electric pressure cookers with timers, which are safer. The feijoada will be perfect when the beans are very well cooked, turning into paste when you smash them. If you want the feijoada creamier, you can smash some of the beans and stir while it simmers for a bit after cooking it.

This recipe was hard to review. I had to make this twice. 1st I did follow as close to a T before I had to give in. 7 1/2 hours to make this dish, even soaking the beans over night. In step 1 it says to fill enough water to cover beans by 3 inches. That's alot of water depending on the size vessel you are using. That's my mistake in the 1st round. However, the hamhocks did not pull off the bone in 1 hour either in part 2 of the directions. And I waited and had 2 pots going for 3 1/2 hours before just frying the 3rd step on the stove and adding all together. I was very disappointed the flavor was no more then tasting like watered down pintos meat and beans after 7 1/2 hours . Day 2 I started over again. This time determined to get it to what it was suppose to be. I started the hamhocks 1st (still took 2 hours) then in another pan put oil, onions, garlic, and meats together and saute'ed, added hamhocks and broth, then the soaked beans, and water to an inch and 1/2 over beans, then bay leaf and coriander, boiled on high for 20 minutes, then simmered for 2 hours, added cilantro and parsley and cooked about another 30 minutes or so until hamhocks were tender and falling apart and beans were tender. The flavor was way better then the 1st time but was still liquidy, so I added a thickening agent to the broth and it came out very well. With the changes, it was really good. But it was a frustrating recipe to follow. The time line isn't correct here. A minimum 4 1/2 hours to cook.

We loved this! I made it without the meat since I'm a vegetarian. Instead I added olive oil, browned the onions and garlic to lend a little more flavor and added some cayenne pepper to give it a kick. I did cook a sausage separately for my husband and served it sliced over the top, but in my opinion it wasn't necessary. (Obviously my vegetarian version isn't very authentic, but it was delicious and a good alternative for those of you who are looking to lighten up this recipe...)

I am brazilian and can tell you this is nothing like Feijoada. For one, the beans MUST be dry because they soak the flavor of the pork as they cook... the pork cuts are totally wrong - they should be smoked and pork loin, baby back ribs, fresh pork sausage and smoked portuguese sausage. Bay leaves and rum are also essential... The side dishes are white rice, oranges and kale, thinly sliced and lightly cooked with garlic. And to finish off, farofa - a corn-meal based mix with glazed onions and olive oil. Where in this world there is coriander in feijoada??!? anyway, sorry guys, you're eating something else that is not feijoada. at all. I am putting down the recipe tonight.

I made this with canned black beans, and ham that I diced into large chunks. Apart from adding quite a lot more ground coriander, I pretty much made this as written. I threw in a lot of fresh cilantro but skipped the parsley. Served it over plain white rice. This was a filling, satisfying meal. Thanks!

I have been trying to make this for my Brazilian husband for years and he says this is perfect. A little too much meat and it needs to cook alot longer to get those darn beans soft, but after a few extra hrs of simmering...perfect!!!!!

The key to making this dish perfect is using dry beans that have been soaked over night. I first made this with canned (Yes, I was lazy) but the canned beans do not give the dish that hearty Brazilian style. I also love the idea of smoked ham hocks which also add to the rich juicy flavor. I squeezed a lime into my version. I happen to like the zing of lime but my family did not. We all love this. Served over white rice. Obrigada.

Substitute a pork roast and a full kielbasa for the meats and you'll be approximately right. The rice must be white, cooked pilaf style, and sprinkle farofa (wiki it) across the top.

Having lived in Brasil I really wanted to find a good Feijoada recipe that didn't take forever to make. This one tastes great and doesn't take all day.

To make this even more authentic, use the ham hocks, linguica, country style pork ribs and blood sausage. It is the most delicious thing ever. My most requested food for special occasions. One thing to add...Brazilian cooking is based on the flavors of garlic, parsley and salt. The beans should be cooked with a bunch of parsley that is then removed.

SO SO GOOD!!! I could eat this every day (unfortunately, I might die from high cholesterol if I did).

I took some shortcuts. I put 2 cans drained black beans in a stoneware 9x13. Added the sauted onions/garlic (only used 1/2 a regular onion but full amount of green onion), boiled ham, 5 strips uncooked diced bacon, salt pepper. Mixed and poured 1/2 can chicken broth on top. Baked uncovered 45 minutes at 375 to crisp meat. Added remaining broth and cooked 30 min longer. Served over wild rice blend. Enjoyed by all!

This was really good and it took most of the morning to make it. I had everything on hand for a change. I followed the directions. It is very good over brown rice.

I added pork sausages to the recipe and it was great. Very filling and satisfying meal for the family.

To everyone that is complaining about how long it takes, just use a pressure pot. It will take not more than a hour,if that much.

Fantastic!! I followed the advice of others and simmered the ham hock for 3 hours and the beans for the same. There was so much meat on the ham hock that I did not add the diced ham called for. On recommendation from my Brazilian sister in law, I added cumin and extra garlic (she said traditionally the meat is simmered with the beans, I liked cooking the ham separately to cut down on added fat). I served over rice that had been cooked with a small amount of minced garlic and 1 tsp. butter (I highly recommend it!). In the future I will fry the bacon and set it aside for later and then saute the garlic and onions in the bacon fat. Omit the diced ham and the cilantro/parsley (not needed at all). This recipe took a long time to cook, but it was worth it and I think that now I've made it I can adjust the recipe in the future to make the cooking time faster.

On a taste level, this is beyond 5 stars. Used our leftover ham bone from Easter and cut up the remaining meat. I used 2 cans of rinsed and drained black beans and added a third can of drained beans that I pureed. Still it was a little too soupy for me. I used a slotted spoon to serve it. And as others have said, it didn't look particularly good in the pot. Regardless, we all loved it, even my 11 year old. I will make this anytime I can get my hands on a ham bone!

I made this for the meat lovers in my house but I have to admit I love it too. It is absolutely delicious. All the flavors cook well together for a long time, so you really get a fantastic taste. We had some left over and it was wonderful heated up the next day too. I'm keeping this on my main list.

YUM!

My dad is Portugese. He used to make this when we were growing up. And he was getting ready to make it again as we were talking on the phone. :)

My 12 year old daughter wanted to make some bean dish she had at a friends house. Her mothers is Brazilian so I did a search and this was the first recipe that came up. We made it as is. No sausage. We served it over white rice. Will definitely make again.

I really enjoyed the taste ( I used the cilantro and parsley). Did find the recepie a little hard to follow.. Used a crockpot with the bones and ham and simmered all day. Then I fried up the rest of the ingredients, meat first and onions and garlic in the grease. Threw it all together with canned beans (my grocery store did not have dried) added more water and cooked for about another hour. Added the spicy sausages as some other users suggested and it added a great kick. Thanks for the yummy recepie.

I didn't follow the recipe exactly, but I got exactly the results I was looking for. This weekend, our fridge went on the fritz. So I decided to try making feijoada. I used to have a Brazilian significant other, so I have tried many different Brazilian recipes. She was an excellent cook, and apparently made the best feijoada according to her friends and family. I used 5 cans of different beans, and leftover meat, and some Italian sausages that had thawed. I basically followed this recipe, because it seemed the closest to what I wanted. I started it about 8 hours ago, and it is delicious! For me, the keys to feijoada are beans, Churrasco sausage, smoked bacon(including the cooked fat), a bit of onion and garlic. Adjust until you are happy. Cook at a low heat after bringing it to a boil and make sure it doesn't burn. You can use many different ingredients to get you there as long as you deviate too far. I used Spicy Italian Sausage, left over BBQed Pork Tenderloin, 1/2 dried Churrasco Sausage, and some left over sirloin steak.

This dish came out pretty good. I only used leftover of ham, I didn't add any bacon or ham hocks. I prefer black beans without any meat, I just made this because my husband was craving my Mom's food, he really enjoyed this. Served over brown basmati rice. Thanks for the recipe!

I made this for my husband for his birthday (he spent some time in Brazil and misses it very much). He absolutely loved it! He says the texture, smokiness, and taste were wonderful, exactly like back in Brazil!!!

Loved it! I added roasted chopped tomatoes with jalapenos to give it a kick. I would like to try to add chicken in the future ??

This dish is deceiving, it looks very black and perhaps burn but it gets the colouring from the beans. After cooking it is a tasty dish that is very satisfying! I will be making it again!

It was delicious even though it's not an exact replica of my mother-in-law's feijoada because she does a little bit of this and a little bit of that with no measuring plus she uses dry meat which is hard to find. BUT, that being said this version is still pretty close. We added a bunch more garlic but that was the only change. Thanks for sharing this! Yum!!!

This was a fabulous recipe. My husband, who spent two years in Portugal, loved this recipe. He said this was the best Feijoada he's had in years. He loved that the flavor of the pork was there without the parts. We used ALL of the meats: ham, bacon, & kielbasa. So good but we'll only eat it once or twice a year because of the fat content. Enjoy!

Broth was thinner than expected for a steel but the flavor was excellent!

I made it with considerably less Cayenne (although I like it hot & spicy, my family prefers to live on the mild side). Regardless, it was still fantastic.

We make this recipe when we have left over ham, and usually omit the bacon so we can pretend to be a little bit healthy. Its creamy tasting and very rich feeling, so you don't eat much in one sitting anyway. So delicious.

Excellent! We didn't have ham hocks but had lots of ham. We added extra ham, bacon and garlic. It was excellent! This is a keeper!

So disappointed with this recipe after following not only the original recipe but the hints others posted. Ham hocks and beans simmered for 4 hours and result was very bland. Salt and pepper did not improve the recipe to the point of my expectations. For all the work this one took, I will not be repeating this recipe.