Churrasco

(Brazilian Barbecue)

  The meat was originally cooked over coals, usually in a pit dug in the ground, skewered in metal spits. The only seasoning was coarse salt and each ga·cho had his own churrasco knife which he used to cut pieces of meat from the spit. People in southern Brazil have churrasco pits built in their backyards with bricks or incorporated into a wall with decorative tiles around the edges. (In the US, we use a gas grill!)

  Almost any occasion can be celebrated with a churrasco: birthdays, christenings, political rallies, or it can be a simple get-together with your family and friends on the weekend. It has evolved into an elaborate meal, with different salads, sauces and farofa accompanying the meats. We start with caipirinhas, served with nuggets of sausage skewered on toothpicks and end with pudim de leite (Brazilian Style Flan) or torta de banana (Brazilian Style Banana Pie).

  The meats used most often are Brazilian sausages, different cuts of beef, pork tenderloin and chicken. In the US, we use chouriτo or a good spicy pork sausage in place of Brazilian sausages, t-bone steaks and sirloin strips, chicken thighs and drumsticks, and the pork tenderloin or pork chops.

   I serve a potato salad with carrots and chayote, tomato salad with hearts of palm, onion salad, fried manioc or yuca, farofa and molho α campanha (Brazilian Style Hot Sauce) with the meats.

   White meats are marinated overnight in a mixture of garlic, salt and lime juice. The red meats are seasoned with sea salt only. There are two traditional methods for doing this (we use the first one): press a good amount of salt into the sides of the meat and once the meat is cooked knock it off with the side of a large knife, or baste the meat with salt water using a bunch of parsley or bay leaves as a brush.

 You may want to try a recipe for pork short ribs marinated in red wine and barbecued with farinha de mandioca to our menu. Given to us by our cousins in Brazil!