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Halal-conscious recipe

Halal feijoada

Brazilian black bean stew slow-cooked with Halal beef short ribs, smoked beef and Halal beef sausage in place of the pork cuts, with no blood sausage.

  • Cuisine Brazilian
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 1 large pot
  • Time 3h 40m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
A bowl of feijoada: black beans and dark stewed meat with yellow rice and greens
Photograph from our ingredient library: a bowl of feijoada, not the finished dish.

Why Halal checks matter here

Feijoada is a pork stew: BBC Good Food's version uses smoked pork ribs with pancetta, pork belly, chorizo and blood sausage, and blood is forbidden whatever the animal.

Feijoada is Brazil's black bean stew, slow-cooked with a mix of smoked and fresh meats until the beans turn thick and dark. In BBC Good Food's version every meat is pork: smoked pork ribs, pancetta, pork belly, chorizo and blood sausage (see feijoada).

This version keeps the beans, onion, garlic and bay and swaps the meat for Halal beef: short ribs where the pork ribs were, and smoked beef with Halal beef sausage or beef chorizo for the mixed cuts. Blood sausage is left out altogether, because blood is forbidden whatever the animal (see black pudding).

Canned beans save the overnight soak. Give the stew the full 2 to 3 hours so the short ribs turn tender.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Pork ribs, pancetta, pork belly and chorizo The original's meat is all pork: 800 g of smoked pork ribs and 500 g of mixed pork cuts and sausage. Use Halal beef short ribs, Halal smoked beef and Halal beef sausage or chorizo. See Chorizo and Bacon.
  • Blood sausage Blood sausage is made with blood, which is forbidden whatever the animal. Leave it out; there is no Halal version. See Black pudding.
  • Beef Beef, smoked beef and beef sausage are Halal only from Halal slaughter. Buy from a Halal butcher or certified packs. See Beef.

Safe substitutes

  • Smoked pork ribs → Halal beef short ribs
  • Pancetta, pork belly and pork chorizo → Halal smoked beef and Halal beef sausage or chorizo
  • Blood sausage → Nothing

Allergens

none in the core ingredients (read the sausage and smoked beef labels)

Ingredients

Stew

  • 500 g (2½ cups) dried black beans, or 2 × 400 g cans
  • 30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
  • 2 onions, roughly chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely grated or crushed
  • 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) Halal smoked beef, diced, and Halal beef sausage or beef chorizo, sliced, in place of the mixed pork meats
  • 800 g (1¾ lb) Halal beef short ribs, separated, in place of the smoked pork ribs
  • 4 bay leaves

To serve

  • to serve steamed rice or farofa (optional)
  • a handful coriander, roughly chopped

Method

  1. Prepare the beans. If using dried beans, soak them overnight in plenty of water, then drain and rinse. Cover with fresh water in a large lidded pan, bring to the boil over a medium-high heat, cover and cook for 10 minutes, skimming off any foam. Take off the heat. If using canned beans, skip this step.
  2. Soften the onions. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat and fry the onions with a pinch of salt for 15 minutes until soft and just golden, adding a splash of water if they brown too fast. Stir in the garlic for 1 minute.
  3. Add the meat and beans. Add the smoked beef, sausage or beef chorizo, short ribs and bay leaves. Tip in the boiled beans with 200 ml of their cooking liquid, or the canned beans and their liquid, and top up with cold water so everything is covered.
  4. Simmer. Stir, cover and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 2 to 3 hours until the meat is tender. Serve hot, scattered with coriander, with farofa or steamed rice if you like.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Feijoada' (black beans soaked and parboiled or canned; onions softened 15 minutes; garlic; 500 g mixed meats such as pancetta, pork belly, chorizo and blood sausage and 800 g smoked pork ribs simmered with bay and the beans for 2 to 3 hours). We replaced the pork with Halal beef short ribs, Halal smoked beef and Halal beef sausage or beef chorizo, and left out the blood sausage. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Feijoada — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    Serves 6: 500 g dried black beans (or 2 cans), olive oil, 2 onions, 4 garlic cloves, 500 g mixed meats such as pancetta, pork belly, chorizo and blood sausage, 800 g smoked pork ribs, 4 bay leaves; simmered 2 to 3 hours; rice or farofa and coriander to serve. We replaced the pork with Halal beef and left out the blood sausage.

  2. Feijoada analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    What goes into feijoada and what to ask in a Brazilian restaurant.

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