Around the World in Foodventures (Brazil: FEIJOADA)

We went to a Halloween party this weekend, so Brazil happening to be next on the list allowed me to bring a hearty, warm, very tasty, crock pot compatible dish as our party pot-luck contribution.  In other words, another South American country meant another meat-filled bowl . . . and no one was sad about it.  

Feijoada, if I had to describe it to someone who didn't know, is basically Brazil's version of chili, but with a much higher meat-to-beans ratio than you'd expect from American chili.  It has Pork Shoulder, Linguica, Chorizo, Carne Seca, and a Smoked Ham Hock! 

Luckily, there are lots of ethnic and specialty grocery stores where we live, so finding ingredients isn't usually too much trouble; and in fact this foodventure caused me to have to hit up one that I frequented as a child, plus another (one of Julia Child's favorite shops, as it turns out) that I'd never had occasion to check out -- so that was a pretty cool trip down memory lane.

I used this recipe (https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/feijoada_brazilian_black_bean_stew/) in which there is apparently some debate about whether tomatoes belong, but I decided to use them (why not, right?).  And because it's not very specific about how much salt to add combined with there being 4 kinds of already-prepared, salt-containing meats in there - I personally think it came out a little too salty.  Others thought it was good, though.  If you decide to make this, I would simply suggest you taste it before adding *any* salt.
 
This post is part of my project: "Around the World in Foodventures" (I decided I want to expand my culinary horizons even further by making the national dish or a popular recipe, or some signature food or traditional meal from every country in the world. Maybe it'll happen alphabetically, or by region, in random order, or something else. I figure if we can't (yet?) travel everywhere, we at least have the luxury of being able to taste it. It’ll be fun and interesting, but obviously, will take a long time to get through -- as we'll only be doing it once a week or so at most. I am chronicling the journey here.)

“If I’m an advocate of anything, it’s to move…Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food.” --Tony Bourdain