Cozido brasileiro

Name: Cozido brasileiro
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Brazil
Ingredients: 500 g beef brisket or chuck, in one piece; 300 g pork ribs or pork belly, in pieces; 200 g smoked linguiça (or Portuguese chouriço), in chunks; 200 g chicken thighs, bone-in; 4 stalks celery, cut into 8cm pieces; 3 medium carrots, peeled and halved; 2 medium potatoes, peeled and halved; 300 g cassava (mandioca), peeled and cut into chunks; 1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks; 1 small white cabbage, cut into wedges; 2 ears of corn, cut into rounds; 2 medium onions, quartered; 4 garlic cloves, smashed; 2 bay leaves; 1 tbsp salt; 2.5 litres water; To serve: cooked white rice, farofa (toasted cassava flour), hot sauce

Brazil's great boiled feast: meats, sausages, and root vegetables in a golden aromatic broth

Origin: Brazil

From the journey of Celery.

Cozido brasileiro (literally 'Brazilian boiled') is one of the most celebratory dishes in Brazilian cuisine (a great, lavish boiled feast of multiple meats, sausages, and vegetables that descends from the Portuguese cozido à portuguesa and the Spanish cocido madrileño, transformed by the Brazilian tropics and the culinary contributions of African slaves and indigenous people into something uniquely its own. The dish arrived in Brazil with Portuguese colonisers and underwent centuries of creolisation: the European root vegetables) including celery and celeriac, were retained alongside New World additions (mandioca/cassava, sweet potato, corn on the cob) that have no equivalent in the Old World versions. In the Brazilian kitchen, celery provides the characteristic aromatic note in the cooking broth, its sweet, slightly bitter character helping to balance the richness of the multiple meats and the starchy density of the root vegetables. Cozido is festival food: it is made for large family gatherings, Sunday lunches, and the cold winter months of southern Brazil (particularly São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul, where the winters are genuinely cold). It is served in a traditionally theatrical manner: the broth first as a soup, then the meats and vegetables on vast platters in the centre of the table, with rice, farofa (toasted cassava flour), and pirão (a thick cassava porridge made from the broth).

Ingredients

Meat

500 g beef brisket or chuck, in one piece
300 g pork ribs or pork belly, in pieces
200 g smoked linguiça (or Portuguese chouriço), in chunks
200 g chicken thighs, bone-in

Celery

4 stalks celery, cut into 8cm pieces

Vegetable

3 medium carrots, peeled and halved
2 medium potatoes, peeled and halved
300 g cassava (mandioca), peeled and cut into chunks
1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
1 small white cabbage, cut into wedges
2 ears of corn, cut into rounds

Base

2 medium onions, quartered
4 garlic cloves, smashed

Aromatics

2 bay leaves

Seasoning

1 tbsp salt

Liquid

2.5 litres water

To serve

To serve: cooked white rice, farofa (toasted cassava flour), hot sauce

Method

Place the beef and pork ribs in a large pot. Cover with cold water and bring slowly to the boil. Skim off all foam carefully. This initial blanching removes impurities.
Drain the blanched meats. Rinse the pot. Return the meats to the pot with 2.5 litres of fresh water, the onion, garlic, bay leaves, celery, and salt. Bring to a simmer.
Simmer gently for 1 hour. Add the chicken thighs and linguiça. Continue simmering for 30 minutes.
Add the harder root vegetables: cassava, potato, and carrot. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the sweet potato, corn, and cabbage wedges. Simmer for a further 15–20 minutes until all vegetables are tender.
Strain the broth into a separate pot. Taste and adjust seasoning: it should be golden, aromatic, and deeply flavoured.
First course: serve the broth as a soup in cups or bowls. Second course: arrange the meats and vegetables on large platters and place in the centre of the table. Serve with steamed rice, farofa, and hot sauce.

Notes

Cozido brasileiro is inherently improvisational and regional, the choice of meats varies enormously by family and region. The core principle is always the same: multiple meats, multiple vegetables, one large pot, one fragrant broth. In Rio de Janeiro, the dish is traditionally associated with winter (June–August), when restaurants make it as a special Sunday special. Farofa, cassava flour toasted in butter with onion and parsley: is the essential accompaniment, used to soak up the broth and add textural contrast.

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control