This recipe for feijoada is the classic Brazilian black bean recipe.  However, you can play with this recipe to make many interesting variations of feijoada.  For example, the Paulistas make feijoada out of brown beans, cachaca, scallions, parsley and orange juice.  You can also use different cuts of meat or pork (like bacon, spareribs, sweet sausage, carne seca, beef tongue, pork butt, pigs feet, pigs ears, pigs tails, basically any meat!)

Ingredients:
- 1 pound of pork sausage (smoked sausage gives the best flavor)
- 1 pound of pork tenderloin
- 5 slices of bacon
- 1 can of black beans (or you can use dried black beans if you want to be 100% authentic)
- 2 TB vegetable oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 large onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  If you are using dried black beans, put the beans in a bowl with water that goes 3-4″ above the beans.  Leave the beans soaking overnight.  The next morning, drain the beans and refill the pot with fresh water, again covering the beans by 3-4″.  Bring the beans in the pot to a boil over medium heat.
2.  Saute the onion and garlic in vegetable oil for a few minutes.  Add in the cubes of pork sausage, pork tenderloin and bacon.  Saute for another few minutes.
3.  Remove a few TB of the cooked black beans and mash it into a paste (to help thicken the sauce).  Add the paste to the saute frying pan and cook for 15 minutes.
4.  Add everything into the pot with the black beans, and let it boil over medium heat for a couple of hours.