Cozido à portuguesa
Beef, pork belly, chicken and smoked sausages simmered in one pot, with cabbage, carrots, turnips and potatoes cooked in the broth and rice on the side.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 3 hr 10 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 3 hr 40 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Treat yourself$28+ USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Cozido à portuguesa is a boiled dinner on a large scale. Beef shin, pork belly, chicken and smoked sausages simmer together in one pot, each going in according to how long it needs, until the broth is rich and fatty. The vegetables, cabbage, carrots, turnips and potatoes, then cook in that broth, and some of it goes to make rice cooked with a little sausage. Everything is cut up and laid out on platters, with the rice and a jug of broth alongside. The traditional pot adds pig's ear, trotter, salted ribs and farinheira; this home version keeps the core meats and leaves those as options.
What you'll need
14 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Meats
- Vegetables
- Rice
- To serve
Ingredients
Meats
Vegetables
- Carrot, peeled, halved4 medium
- Turnips, peeled, quartered3 medium
- Potato, waxy, peeled, halved1 kg
Choose one
Savoy cabbage, cut into wedges through the core1
Rice
- Rice, Carolino or another medium-grain rice300 g
To serve
- Olive oil, for drizzling over the cabbage44 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Put the beef and pork belly in a large stockpot with about 5 litres of cold water, the bay leaves, peppercorns and salt. Bring slowly to the boil, skim off the scum, then simmer gently, partly covered, for 1½ hours.
100 min
Step 2
Add the chicken and the chouriço and simmer for another 40 minutes, until a skewer slides easily into the beef and the chicken is cooked through, 74°C at the thickest part. If the beef is still firm, give it longer and lift the chicken out when it is done. At the same time, poach the morcela in a small pan of the broth for 15 minutes so it does not burst in the big pot.
40 min
Tip: Prick the morcela once or twice with a pin and keep its pan at a bare simmer.
Step 3
Lift all the meat onto a large dish, cover with foil and keep warm in a low oven. Put the carrots and turnips into the broth and simmer for 10 minutes, then add the potatoes for 10 minutes more, then the cabbage wedges for the last 10 to 12 minutes.
32 min
Step 4
Meanwhile make the rice. Measure 750 ml of the broth into a saucepan, add a few slices of the cooked chouriço and bring to the boil. Add the rice, cover and cook on low for 15 to 18 minutes until tender and still a little moist.
18 min
Step 5
Slice the beef, pork belly, chouriço and morcela and joint the chicken. Lay the meats on one platter and the vegetables on another, drizzle the cabbage with olive oil, and serve with the rice and a jug of hot broth.
10 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 1041 kcal
- Protein
- 98.3 g
- Carbs
- 57.5 g
- Fat
- 43 g
- Saturated fat
- 14.2 g
- Fibre
- 7.4 g
- Sugar
- 7.5 g
- Sodium
- 1073 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- No major allergens flagged in the structured ingredients.
- Dairy-free
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Portuguese morcela → Spanish morcilla or black pudding
Morcilla is closest. Black pudding is softer and more oaty; poach it gently and briefly.
Tips
- Keep the leftover broth. It is the base of the next day's soup, with pasta or rice and shredded meat.
- Salting the pork belly overnight with a handful of coarse salt, then rinsing it, gives the broth more depth.
- Farinheira, a smoked sausage of flour and pork fat, is traditional. If you find it, poach it with the morcela.
History & culture
It is a winter Sunday lunch for a crowd, the dish families gather for, and many tascas cook it on one fixed day each week. Every region has its version. On São Miguel in the Azores, cozido das Furnas is sealed in pots, buried in the volcanic ground and cooked by its heat for hours.
It belongs to the family of Iberian one-pot boiled dinners, alongside the Spanish cocido and olla podrida. Its range of pork cuts and sausages comes from the rural pig killing, the matança, when a household salted, smoked and stuffed every part of the animal to last the year. The cozido was a way to eat a bit of everything at once.
Modern adaptation — A full cozido has more cuts than a home kitchen usually handles: pig's ear and trotter, salted ribs, farinheira, sometimes salpicão and beef tongue. This version keeps beef, pork belly, chicken, chouriço and morcela, which carry most of the flavour. Add the others if your butcher has them.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Cozido à portuguesa take?
3 hr 40 min all in — 30 min prep, 3 hr 10 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 8 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Nut-free.
What does it cost to cook?
Treat yourself — about $28+ USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
6 more questionsFewer questions
What equipment do I need?
Stockpot, Saucepan, Chef's knife, Cutting board, Oven.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tbsp.
What can I use instead?
Portuguese morcela → Spanish morcilla or black pudding. Morcilla is closest. Black pudding is softer and more oaty; poach it gently and briefly.
Any tips from this recipe?
Keep the leftover broth. It is the base of the next day's soup, with pasta or rice and shredded meat. Salting the pork belly overnight with a handful of coarse salt, then rinsing it, gives the broth more depth. Farinheira, a smoked sausage of flour and pork fat, is traditional. If you find it, poach it with the morcela.
Can I prepare this ahead?
Keep the leftover broth. It is the base of the next day's soup, with pasta or rice and shredded meat. Salting the pork belly overnight with a handful of coarse salt, then rinsing it, gives the broth more depth.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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