Cozido das Furnas (Azorean Volcanic Earth-Oven Stew)

My avó on my mother’s side was born and raised in São Miguel, in a village not far from Furnas, and every summer of her childhood meant the smell of sulfur and the sight of steam rising out of the ground like the island itself was breathing.

Furnas is a volcanic caldera, all bubbling mud pools and hot springs, and the locals figured out centuries ago that if the earth was already hot enough to boil water, it was hot enough to cook dinner.

So they dug holes near the Lagoa das Furnas, lowered in pots wrapped in cloth sacks, covered them with dirt, and let geothermal steam do the work for six or seven hours while everyone went to church, or the beach, or both.

That dish is cozido das Furnas, and it is easily one of the most theatrical meals in all of Portuguese cooking, not because of any fancy technique but because of where it comes from.

Underneath the spectacle it is a very honest pot of beef, pork, chicken, chouriço, and whatever root vegetables were in season, all simmered together until the meat falls apart and the broth turns into something you want to drink straight from the bowl. My grandmother used to say you could tell a good cozido by whether the cabbage still had a little bite left in it, because everything else was supposed to surrender completely.

You do not need a volcano to make this at home, thankfully, since most kitchens are not built on geothermal vents. A low, slow oven or a big slow cooker gets you shockingly close to the same result, and my kids do not care how the pot got hot, they just care that Sunday dinner smells like Furnas.

If you have already made my sopas do Espírito Santo (recipe on the site), you will recognize the same instinct here: cook everything together, low and slow, and let the broth become its own reward.

Cozido das Furnas Recipe

Prep time: 40 minutes · Cook time: 6 hours · Total: 6 hours 40 minutes · Servings: 8 · Calories: ~640 per serving

Ingredients

• For the Meats:
• 2 lbs beef chuck roast, cut into large chunks
• 1 1/2 lbs pork shoulder, cut into large chunks
• 1 lb Portuguese chouriço, sliced into thick rounds
• 8 oz morcela (Portuguese blood sausage), optional (see Notes)
• 1 1/2 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 8 oz slab bacon, cut into thick pieces
• 1 lb pork ribs, cut into 2-3 rib sections
• For the Vegetables:
• 2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and halved
• 2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into thick batons
• 1 white cabbage, cut into 6-8 wedges, core intact
• 1 bunch kale or collard greens, tough stems removed
• 2 white turnips, peeled and quartered
• For the Broth:
• 8 cups water, plus more as needed
• 6 cloves garlic, smashed
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Season the beef, pork shoulder, and ribs generously with salt and pepper the night before if you can, or at least an hour before cooking.
2. Preheat oven to 300°F. In your largest Dutch oven or stockpot, layer the beef, pork shoulder, and ribs on the bottom, since they take the longest to break down.
3. Add the garlic, bay leaves, wine, and enough water to cover the meat by about an inch. Bring to a simmer on the stovetop, skimming off any foam.
4. Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 hours.
5. Add the chicken thighs, bacon, and chouriço (and morcela if using). Cover and cook for another 1 1/2 hours.
6. Add the potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and turnips. Cover and cook for 1 more hour, or until the vegetables are just tender.
7. Add the cabbage wedges and kale on top for the final 30-40 minutes, pushing them down into the broth so they cook through without turning to mush.
8. Taste the broth and adjust salt. Ladle some broth into bowls with cooked rice or small pasta for a first-course soup, Azorean style, then serve the meats and vegetables on a large platter as the main course.

Recipe Notes

• Morcela (Portuguese blood sausage) can be hard to find outside Portuguese or Brazilian markets. If you cannot get it, skip it entirely rather than substituting a different blood sausage; the dish is still excellent without it. Portuguese specialty grocers online or a local Luso-American market often carry frozen morcela and chouriço if you are not near a Portuguese community.
• This recipe is forgiving on timing. If the vegetables need more time, give them more time; if the meat is falling apart before the vegetables are ready, pull it out and keep it warm while the rest finishes.
• Leftovers make an incredible soup the next day. Shred any remaining meat, chop the vegetables smaller, and simmer everything in the leftover broth with a handful of rice.
• A slow cooker works well if you do not want to run your oven for six hours: brown the meats first in a skillet, then layer everything in the same order as above and cook on low for 8-9 hours.