We’re currently going through winter and I’ve been craving something hearty like a soup or stew. I checked my pantry and found lots of beans and lentils that I need to use up. The result is the stew you see before you.

This is loosely based on a Brazilian dish called feijoada that’s made with meats like beef or pork, and beans like black or red beans. This dish is popular outside of Brazil and the recipe often differs from country to country and even from home to home.

For this recipe you can kind of get away with whatever you have on hand. Below I make my hearty pork and bean stew with pork butt, smoked ham shank, ham bone, onions, garlic, jalapeno, and other spices. If you are missing some of these, you could try bacon, beef, or any type of ribs. One trick I do is grill the whole onion, jalapeno, and pork pieces before I add them to the stew. Grilling them provides a very unique smoky flavor.

A final touch is to serve this dish with some sides, namely chopped red onions, lime wedges, corn chips, or cooked rice. This is a perfect dish for a cold day or for any day of the year!

• 1 cup black bean, soaked overnight
• 1 lbs. pork butt or any cuts of pork
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black ground pepper
• 1 (1.99 lbs.) smoked ham shank
• 1 ham bone (leftover from ham dinner)
• 4 cloves garlic or 1 tbsp. minced
• 1 large jalapeno
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and halved
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 tbsp. smoked paprika
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 5 cups water

Instructions

Pick through the black beans and discard any shells, dirt, etc. Transfer the beans to a bowl, then add enough water to cover the beans by about an inch. Soak the beans overnight.

You can discard the bean water the day after. Wash, rinse, and drain the beans well, then set aside.

Place fresh pork in a bowl. Add 1/4 each salt and pepper. Mix well. Heat an indoor grill over medium-high heat. Spray the grill grates with non-stick cooking spray or brush with oil. Grill the pork, onion, and jalapeno, until the pork has grill marks in all sides and onions and jalapeno has char on all side. See the third picture for reference.

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker along with grilled meat and veggies. Stir well, cover, and cook the stew for 5-6 hours over high setting until beans and meats are tender.

Remove the ham shanks, pork, and ham bone from the stew. When meats are cool enough to handle, cut or shred the meat to your liking, discarding the bones. Put the meat back into the stew and stir well. Pull out the jalapeno and onion pieces. Discard the jalapeno if you are not a spice fan. If you are, cut the onions and jalapeno into bite size pieces and transfer back to the stew and mix well. Serve this wonderful dish over rice or corn chips. Pass along cilantro leaves, lime wedges, and cheddar cheese!

Serves 6-8

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like this post and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram. If you would to be notified of upcoming posts, please consider subscribing to my blog!