Feijoada – Red Kidney Beans with Pork

Feijoada is a Portuguese recipe and become a popular dish in all it’s colonies Brazil, Macau, Angola, Mozambique and of course Goa. For an American the all time favorite “Chili” is the closet to it. It always taste better the next day.

Feijoada is derived from the word ” feijão“, Portuguese for “beans“. Usually kidney beans or white beans along with pork and beef are used in Portugal. Brazilians use black beans and Goan’s use dark red kidney beans.

In the past I only made it with goan smoked pork sausages which is really easy. So when I was testing the recipe with marinated meat I realized how easy it was to make. This recipe could not have turned out any better than this after 2 previous failed attempts.

It is a 2 step process. First the meat needs to be marinated and then the feijão are cooked along with the marinated meat. The longer you marinate the meat, the better the feijoada tastes. I marinated my meat for 2 whole days and during the day I kept it out to dry in the California sun. The meat soaked up the spices well.

Serving Size: 6-8

Ingredients:

1 lbs of pork meat with some fat

5-6 tbsp of recheado masala

4 cans of dark red kidney beans

8-10 fresh garlic cloves grated.

2 medium onions diced

2 medium ripe tomatoes diced

4 cups of water

Salt to taste

Directions:

Cut the meats in small cubes about 1/2″. Wash and dry with paper towel. Apply 1.5 tsp of salt, fresh garlic and recheado masala paste. Marinate for a minimum of 24 hrs.

Drain the liquid from the canned beans. Keep aside.

Heat a pot and saute the onions till translucent. Next add the tomatoes saute till softened.

Next add the marinated pork meat and saute for 4-5 minutes.

Add the water and cook covered on medium heat for 20-25 minutes till beans are soft. Check and stir in between so the beans do not stick to the bottom.

Serve hot. Enjoy with white rice, bread or roti.

Make a vegetarian or vegan version of the famous Goan Feijoada Recipe with Soya Nuggets for meat texture.