Butelo com Casulas (Trás-os-Montes Smoked Pork and Bean Stew)

Every January, my grandmother’s kitchen in Trás-os-Montes smelled like woodsmoke for weeks. That’s when the pig was slaughtered and the smokehouse filled with butelo, fat little sausages of smoked pork stomach stuffed with rice, meat, and bone, waiting to be pulled down for Carnival season stews.

Butelo com casulas (butelo with dried beans) is the dish that follows, a thick, smoky stew built to warm you through the coldest weeks of the year. It sits right alongside chanfana and posta à mirandesa (recipe on the site) as one of the dishes that defines Trás-os-Montes cooking to me: slow, smoky, and completely unfussy.

I can’t get real butelo here in the States, so I’ve built this version around a smoked ham hock and a good garlicky sausage, which gets remarkably close. Lucas, my self-appointed savory quality control officer, calls it smoky bean soup and asks for seconds every time. Max sits by the stove the entire two hours it simmers, which tells you everything about how the house smells.

Butelo com Casulas Recipe

Prep time: 25 minutes (plus overnight soak) · Cook time: 2 hours 30 minutes · Total: 2 hours 55 minutes · Servings: 6 · Calories: ~620 per serving

Ingredients

• For the beans:
• 1 pound dried large white beans, soaked overnight
• 1 bay leaf
• For the smoked meats:
• 1 smoked ham hock (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 pound smoked kielbasa or Portuguese linguica, cut into thick rounds
• 8 ounces slab bacon, cut into large chunks
• 1 small piece salt pork (optional, if you can find it)
• For the stew:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 medium head cabbage or 1 bunch collard greens, roughly chopped
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. The night before, soak the dried beans in a large bowl of cold water; drain and rinse before cooking.
2. Put the soaked beans in a large pot with a bay leaf, cover with fresh water by 2 inches, and simmer, uncovered, about 45 minutes, until just tender but not falling apart. Drain and set aside.
3. In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, cover the ham hock, bacon, and salt pork (if using) with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook 1 hour, skimming off any foam.
4. Add the kielbasa or linguica rounds and simmer 20 more minutes, until the meats are tender and the broth is deeply flavored.
5. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and golden, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, smoked paprika, and black pepper; cook 1 minute more.
6. Transfer the onion mixture into the pot with the meats. Add the cooked beans, potatoes, and enough reserved bean liquid or water to keep everything just covered.
7. Simmer uncovered 30 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the broth has thickened slightly.
8. Stir in the cabbage or collard greens during the last 10 minutes, just until wilted but still bright.
9. Remove the bay leaves, taste and adjust salt, and serve hot in deep bowls with crusty bread.

Recipe Notes

• Real butelo, my grandmother’s stuffed smoked pork stomach sausage, is nearly impossible to find outside Trás-os-Montes. A smoked ham hock plus a garlicky smoked sausage gets you shockingly close, which is the substitution I use here in the States.
• Portuguese grocery stores, especially the ones clustered around New England and New Jersey, sometimes carry frozen butelo and alheira around Carnival season. Worth a special trip if you have one nearby.
• This stew improves overnight in the fridge, so don’t hesitate to make it a day ahead. Reheat gently over low heat.
• Make sure smoked pork products reach a safe internal temperature before serving; the simmering times above are enough, but always check if you’ve swapped in a different cut.