Name: Cozido a Portuguesa
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Portuguese
Ingredients: 800 g beef shin; 500 g smoked ham hock; 400 g pork belly; 2 ½ litres water; 2 bay leaves; 200 g chouriço; 200 g morcela; 4 carrots; 300 g turnips; 800 g potatoes; 1 savoy cabbage, about 800 g; 200 g rice; 1 tsp salt

Cozido a Portuguesa

A Portuguese boiled dinner of beef, pork, sausages, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and rice, simmered for 2 hours 30 minutes.

3 hr total Serves 8 servings Medium

What Makes Cozido a Portuguesa Work

Compare it to the Spanish cocido and you find fewer chickpeas and more vegetables, with a platter that comes out looking like a feast. Cozido à portuguesa is the national boiled dinner, a table of eight, each piece of meat and each vegetable cooked in the same broth in turn and served on a large dish.

Start with the tougher meats: beef, a ham hock and pork belly, simmered in water for 1 hour 30 minutes with a bay leaf. Skim the foam as it rises. Add each next item in order of its cooking time: chouriço and morcela for 20 minutes, then the carrots, turnips and potatoes for 20 minutes, and the cabbage for the last 15 minutes. Use a second pot for the rice if you want a clear broth.

To serve, lift each piece out with a slotted spoon, slice the meats and sausages, and arrange them on a big platter with the vegetables. Serve the broth separately, or cook rice in it. Offer mustard, piri piri and olive oil at the table. The leftovers make a good soup or a fry up the next day.

Making Cozido a Portuguesa

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Put the beef, ham hock, belly, bay and water in a large pot and bring slowly to a simmer. Skim for 15 minutes.
Cook gently for 1 hour 30 minutes. Add the chouriço and morcela and cook for 20 minutes.
Add the carrots, turnips and potatoes for 20 minutes, then the cabbage for 15 minutes.
Lift out the meats and vegetables. Cook the rice in 600 ml of the broth for 12 minutes.
Slice the meats and arrange on a platter with the vegetables. Serve with the rice and broth.

Related guide: Choosing rice.

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Small Things That Help

Add each item in order of cooking time.
Skim the foam early.
Serve the broth separately.

Serving Suggestions

Mustard
Piri piri
Red wine
Olive oil

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Broa de Milho, Migas Portuguesas, Pao de Deus.

Leftovers and Storage

Keeps for 4 days in the fridge. Freeze for 2 months.