Slow cooker Brazilian feijoada – rich pork stew with black beans served with spring greens, orange wedges and brown rice.
My husband came home from work one day and he said ‘I had the best lunch – it’s this pork stew thing’.
Not a lot to go on, I think you will agree with me. But after a quick Q&A session it transpired that this stew also had black beans in it and an exotic name – Feijoada.
I remembered laying out the recipe for this rich pork stew when I worked on The Meat Cookbook and so I looked it up and the ingredients list was a bit intimidating.
It included trotters and salted pork ribs… an apotheosis of all things pork, but not necessarily items you will find in your average trip to the supermarket.
I wanted to make this stew but I also wanted it to be simple and approachable to the kids. My first attempt tasted good but was short on black beans and a bit watery.
The second attempt is the one before you and I have to say it is mighty tasty and also very easy to make.
It most definitely doesn’t bear much resemblance to Brazil’s national dish – but again I couldn’t really tell you for sure having never had the pleasure.
All I know is it is a mighty tasty addition to our family meals that even the kids ate with minimal grumbling.
I served the stew over brown rice with orange slices, spring greens and fried breadcrumbs (a substitute for coarse cassava in the farofa). Totally delicious!
Slow cooker Brazilian feijoada stew
Ingredients
- <span></span>950g | 2 pounds thick-cut pork shoulder steaks trimmed of fat
- <span></span>100g | 3 1/2oz cooking chorizo
- <span></span>100g | 3 1/2oz lardons or cubed bacon
- <span></span>100g | 3 1/2oz shredded ham hock
- <span></span>2x400g | 14oz tins of black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 large onion peeled and diced
- 3 large garlic cloves peeled and sliced
- <span></span>240ml | 1 cup hot chicken stock
- juice of 2 oranges plus small piece of orange peel
- 1 red chilli
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- <span></span>1 tsbp cornflour cornstarch diluted in a little cold water.
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- <span></span>pinch dried thyme
- chopped parsley to serve
- freshly ground pepper to season
- steamed brown or white rice to serve
- orange wedges to serve
- Spring greens
- <span></span>300g | 10 1/2 oz spring greens finely shredded or chooped
- <span></span>2 red onions finely chopped
- <span></span>1 garlc clove minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- juice of 1 small orange
- Fried breadcrumbs
- <span></span>2 slices toasting bread blitzed into breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic granules
Instructions
- Peel the casing of the chorizo and cut into chunky cubes.
- <span></span>Dry fry in a large non-stick frying pan together with the lardons for 4 minutes over medium heat. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- Cut the pork steaks into chunky cubes using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife. Discard any large pieces of fat.
- Add to the pan and fry over medium-high heat until browned. Do not crowd the pan or the meat will not brown properly. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- <span></span>Heat the olive oil in the pan and fry the onion and garlic over low heat for 7 minutes. Add the thyme, paprika and season with black pepper.
- Transfer to the slow cooker and add the black beans, ham hock, orange juice and peel, chilli, honey, vinegar and bay leaves. Add the stock and mix everything together.
- Cook for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Add the cornflour slurry one hour before the end of cooking.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions and garlic over low heat for seven minutes. Pile the chopped greens on top and continue to cook, stirring, until the greens have wilted. If the pan gets too dry, add the orange juice. Cook until the greens are tender.
- Heat the oil and butter and fry the bread crumbs until golden, seasoning with the garlic granules.
- <span></span>Serve the stew over brown rice garlished with chopped parsley and the breadcrumbs, with the greens and orange slices on the side.
Pedro Luiz Ribeiro says
This recipe is not very authentic, I suggest the author study the subject in more depth. Cumin? never. Honey? Cornstarch? Unheard of. The bean liquid has to get thick by the effect of the gelatinous meat and the method of cooking the beans. That is why a good Brazilian feijoada incorporates the pork ears, feet and tail. Alas, feijoada was created by the slaves, they were given just the pork pieces that nobody wanted, they salted them, and voila. original feijoada uses only salted parts of pork, and maybe Carne-seca, a salted dried beef.
Lucy Parissi says
I think I state clearly in my post that this is not the authentic recipe. Incorporating pork ears and feet is indeed authentic but a bit difficult for the home cook not to mention some people would not touch the recipe because of it. This is a simplified version for the slow cooker that is miles away from the Brazilian recipe but still tastes damned good.