Brazilian Feijoada

Okay here is hands-down the greatest slow cooker meal on the face of the planet. Now I've never been to South America (hope to next year, but not yet) and if every dish is a fraction of how good this one was I may never go and never come back. It came from a section of Cooking Light called 'slow-cooking made easy'. Jessi begs to differ with that title though - it was not exactly easy for her. Especially since Jessi is novice at finding strange meat selections at the grocery store, then having to cut and trim them. HT only had 5.5 lbs of Boston Butt, so I just sawed some off and froze the rest for later. We served it over jasmine rice, but I would recommend serving it with just a bit of rice. Too much just takes away from the flavor of the feijoada.

Recommended for a weekend because of the time it takes. It is a very delicious, filling meal - definitely give it a try! Serves about 8. On a side note... we made this creation about a month ago and froze some. Last week Jessi was traveling and I reached into the freezer and pulled out an unmarked container of what I thought was some sort of BBQ. When I got done reheating it I ecstatically realized that it was the Feijoada! Just as good as the day we made. So I can assure that one; we label very few things in the large freezer and two; that this dish reheats wonderfully.

Some info about feijoada, straight from Cooking Light: "Feijoada (pronounced fay-ZWAH-da) is a delicious stew of pork and black beans that's traditionally served over rice with fresh orange slices. In Brazil, this dish is often served on special occasions, but preparing it in a slow cooker makes it possible to serve this rich dish on the busiest weeknights."
*I say noway to serving it on the busiest of weeknights unless you are superman/woman.
 

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried black beans
• 4 slices smoked bacon
• 1 pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 4 bone-in beef short ribs, trimmed (about 1.5-2 pounds)
• 3 cups finely chopped onion (about 2 medium)
• 1 14 oz. can fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (9-ounce) smoked ham hock
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 8 orange wedges

Directions

1. Place beans in a small saucepan; cover generously with cold water. Bring to a boil; cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain.
2. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Store in refrigerator until rest of meal is ready.
3. Sprinkle pork evenly with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Increase heat for skillet to medium-high. Add pork to bacon drippings in skillet; sauté 8 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Transfer pork to a 6-quart electric slow cooker. 
4. Sprinkle ribs evenly with 1/8 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add ribs to skillet; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Place ribs in slow cooker. 
5. Add drained beans, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, onion, chicken broth, garlic and ham hock to slow cooker, stirring to combine. Cover and cook on LOW 8-9 hours or until beans and meat are tender.
6. Remove ribs from slow cooker; let stand 15 minutes. Remove meat from bones; shred meat with 2 forks. Discard bones. Discard ham hock. Return beef to slow cooker. 
7. Stir in vinegar and crumbled bacon. Serve with orange wedges.