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Brazilian Feijoada

Yield: 8 Servings
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 9 hours

Ingredients

  • 2 cups dried black beans
  • 4 slices thick-cut bacon
  • 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • ½ teaspoon salt, more for sprinkling the meat before browning
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
  • 3 boneless beef short ribs, trimmed (about 1-2 pounds)
  • 3 cups finely chopped yellow or white onion
  • 1 ¼ cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 (9-ounce) smoked ham hock
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 8 orange wedges
  • Hot, cooked rice, for serving

Instructions 

  • Place beans in a small saucepan; cover with cold water. Bring to a boil; cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain. Alternately, place the beans in a bowl and cover by 2-inches with cold water. Soak overnight. Drain.
  • Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Let the bacon cool and then place in a covered container or bag in the refrigerator to use before serving.
  • Sprinkle pork evenly with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high. Add pork to bacon drippings in skillet; cook the pork 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown all over.
  • Transfer the pork to a 6-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle ribs evenly with salt and pepper. Add ribs to skillet; cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until browned. Place ribs in slow cooker. Add drained beans, 1/2 teaspoon salt, onion, chicken broth, garlic and ham hock to slow cooker, stirring to combine.
  • Cover and cook on low 8 hours or until beans and meat are tender.
  • Shred meat with 2 forks (you can do this by removing the pork and ribs from the slow cooker or just digging in and shredding amid the broth and beans). Remove and discard ham hock. Add the meat back into the slow cooker if you removed it for shredding. Stir in vinegar and crumbled bacon. Serve with hot, cooked rice and orange wedges.

Notes

Liquid: my husband loved the flavor of this but suggested it needed more liquid to be like the authentic feijoada he enjoyed in Brazil while living there. I liked it as is, since I don't know the difference, but if you really do want it more stew-like, increase the liquid accordingly (perhaps starting with an additional cup of chicken broth).