Mocotó Gaúcho

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 6-liter pot
• •Wide skillet
• •Large bowl for soaking beans
• •Wooden spoon
• •Ladle

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the beans

   Put the white beans in a large bowl and cover them with at least 3 inches of water. Leave them overnight, then drain and rinse. Soaking is not fuss. It helps the beans cook more evenly and sit easier in your stomach, which matters when the pot is already rich.

2. 2

   Clean the mocotó

   Rinse the cow feet well under running water, rubbing them with the vinegar or lime juice, then rinse again. Put them in a large pot, cover with fresh water, bring to a boil for 5 minutes, and drain. This first boil cleans up the flavor and leaves you with a broth that tastes deep, not muddy.

   Ask the butcher to cut the mocotó for you. Home knives are not built for this job, and neither are your nerves.
3. 3

   Simmer until tender

   Return the drained mocotó to the pot with 10 cups water and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently, lid half on, until the pieces are tender and the broth feels slightly sticky between your fingers, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. That stickiness is the collagen giving body to the caldo. Boil it hard and you get cloudy noise instead of clean, rich broth.

4. 4

   Start the beans

   Add the soaked, drained white beans to the pot with the mocotó. Keep the simmer low and steady until the beans are tender but not falling apart, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add more hot water if the beans peek above the liquid. Beans cook badly when they bob around dry at the top, and then you blame the recipe. Don't give them the chance.

5. 5

   Brown the meats

   While the beans cook, warm the oil or pork fat in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage slices in one layer and brown them on both sides, then move them to a plate. Do the bacon next until the edges take color. If you crowd the pan, the meat releases water and steams grey instead of dourar. Brown food tastes like dinner. Grey food tastes like regret.

6. 6

   Build the refogado

   Lower the heat to medium. In the same skillet, add the onions and cook until they murchar, soft and see-through, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic for one minute, just until you smell it, then stir in the carrot, tomato, tomato paste, paprika, cumin, black pepper, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. The tomato paste should darken a shade and stick lightly to the pan. That's flavor building itself, not burning.

   Garlic goes after the onion because it burns faster. Burnt garlic is bitter and bossy. It will take over the whole pot like it pays rent.
7. 7

   Thicken the caldo

   Scoop 1 ladle of tender beans with a little broth into the skillet with the refogado. Mash them with a spoon until creamy, scraping the bottom of the pan as you go. This is the old, useful trick: mashed beans make the caldo thick and glossy instead of watery. No seasoning packet can do this better than the bean itself.

8. 8

   Finish the stew

   Stir the mashed refogado, browned sausage, and bacon into the big pot. Simmer uncovered for 25 to 35 minutes, stirring now and then, until the broth coats the spoon and the beans are tender all the way through. Taste and add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt only if it needs it, because sausage and bacon already bring salt to the party.

9. 9

   Rest and serve

   Turn off the heat and let the pot rest for 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley and scallions just before serving so they stay fresh and green. Serve with arroz soltinho, sautéed couve, and farofa if you have it. Now it's not a scary butcher cut. It's dinner.

Chef Tips

• •Buy mocotó from a butcher who will clean it and cut it into pieces. The recipe is about cooking, not sawing bones at home like a tragic little project.
• •If you have a pressure cooker, you can cook the cleaned mocotó with water and bay leaves for about 45 minutes under pressure, then continue with the beans in the open pot. Honest shortcut. You save time, but you still need the refogado and the slow finish for flavor.
• •Don't use powdered broth. This pot already has bones, sausage, onion, garlic, and beans. Powder here is not help, it's noise.
• •White beans should be tender and creamy inside, not bursting into paste. If the beans are old, they may take longer. That is the bean's fault, not yours.
• •This stew thickens as it sits. When reheating, add a splash of water and warm it slowly, stirring from the bottom so the beans don't catch.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the white beans overnight, at least 8 hours, in plenty of water.
• •The mocotó can be cleaned, blanched, and simmered one day ahead. Chill it in its broth, then lift off any firm fat from the surface before continuing.
• •The finished stew keeps 4 days in the fridge and freezes for up to 3 months. Freeze in meal-size portions so one future dinner is already half solved.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 680g)