Slow Cooker Feijoada Recipe

Feijoada is Brazil's national dish.  It is usually served in restaurants throughout the country every Saturday.   This dish can be traced back to the early days of Brazil.  Slaves that worked the sugar cane plantations used the undesirable parts of the pig that were discarded to make this hearty pork stew.  They served it with Kale, rice and farofa (made from casava root) to make a perfectly well rounded meal.  Combine it with a few caipirinhas or caipiroskas and you will learn why this is the most popular dish in Brazil. 

Ingredients:
3/4 pound pork ribs
1/2 pound smoked bacon
2 ham hocks
1 tbsp tomato paste
8 oz. chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
28oz. can of black beans
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound of pork filets
4 cloves garlic,minced
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 pound linguiça or chorizo sausage, chopped into thin slices
1 4oz. can of green chiles
4 scallions, sliced lengthwise and then sliced across into 2 to 3 inch pieces

Preparation:

1. Put the pork ribs, smoked bacon (slices unseparated), and ham hocks in the slow cooker.  Add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, black beans, bay leaf, salt, and pepper.
2. Cover with lid and cook on low for 7 hours.
3. Remove the ham hocks and ribs from the slow cooker.  Remove any bones that you can find and then place the pieces of meat back in the slow cooker.
4. Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Remove the smoked bacon from the slow cooker and place it in the skillet.  Skim off the fat and add crisp bacon back to the slow cooker.
5. Add the olive oil to the skillet along with the onions and garlic.  Cook the garlic and onions until the onions are translucent.  Place the onions and garlic in the slow cooker.
6. Slice up the linguiça or chorizo into 1/4 inch slices and add them to the skillet.  Brown the sausage and then add it to the slow cooker.
7. Add the can of green chilies to the slow cooker and cook on low for another hour.
8. Chop up the scallions lengthwise and then into 2 inch slices.
9. Serve the feijoada over steamed rice with the scallions as garnish.

Serve with couve or just lightly steamed kale and fresh orange slices.  Farofa, rice, and heart of palm are also served with feijoada as they taste great along with the pork and black beans!! 

Brasil  [ print this recipe for Slow Cooker Feijoada ]