Today I’m sharing a family favorite recipe that epitomizes traditional South American comfort food. Feijoada, a type of back bean stew served over rice, is Brazil’s national dish. Ever since I learned how to make it over a decade ago, it has been a family staple and something I make every couple weeks in the winter especially. You will love learning how to make feijoada in an electric pressure cooker to speed up the process!
It tastes even better 1-2 days after making it, since the seasonings really soak in. It also freezes and thaws wonderfully!
Brazilian Feijoada
Ingredients
Brown:
- 2 lbs rib meat (beef or pork) cubed, seasoned with course salt and garlic powder
- 1/2 length smoked sausage sliced into bite-size pieces
- 10 slices bacon sliced into tiny pieces
- 2-3 T minced garlic
- 1/2 onion diced
Cook on High Pressure for 35 min
- 1 lb dried black beans soaked in water overnight, drained and rinsed
- 3-4 dried bay leaves
- 2-3 T Mrs Dash seasoning without salt
- Enough water to cover beans and go 2 finger-widths above beans
Garnish:
- 2 T fresh parsley chopped
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Once beans are cooked, add 3 ladle-fulls of the bean broth to the browned meat and cook the meat in the electric pressure cooker for 12 minutes until rib meat is tender. Add beans to the meat mixture and let simmer for 15 minutes until thickened. Add salt to taste (or sometimes I will use chicken bullion powder). Finish with the fresh chopped parsley, stir and serve over rice.
If you are curious, my husband was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro and in our 16 years of marriage, I have not only become fluent in Portuguese, but I have fallen in love with the food and culture. Here are other posts I have done about Brazil:
A Brazilian Recipe: Brigadeiro
Top 10 Tips for Traveling Internationally with Kids
I love how you kept the traditional measure of “enough water to cover beans by 2 fingers-width”. Great recipe!
So, put some bean broth with the meat, then strain the rest off the black beans, right? When you add the beans back in, they’re strained….
No! You do NOT strain or drain the beans after they have been cooked. You want that broth, otherwise it will be entirely too thick.
Cannot wait to try tis recipe! All other recipes I’ve found overcomplicate it!