Churrasco

About 8:00pm on Saturday night my husband received a phone call inviting us to lunch on Sunday at a coworker’s home. We accepted the offer and laughed about the short notice we have come to expect from Brazilians. Actually having about 15 hours notice was better than usual. We are often invited to things that start within two hours. We weren’t sure what to expect for the lunch and upon arriving at the house we realized we had been invited to a Brazilian barbecue. Churrasco is the appropriate term. My husband had already had the opportunity to attend such an event, but this was my first one.

If you’ve been to a Brazilian Restaurant, it is likely that you’ve enjoyed the meats of a churrasco. However, a churrasco at a person’s home will spoil you. You won’t enjoy the meats of a restaurant quite the same again.

First, it is good to be prepared for a long afternoon. The traditional time line is for guests to arrive before the cooking starts. The outdoor grill, which is a bricked oven/grill pit, is heated and the bread sticks are put on to begin toasting. Meanwhile, the men congregate outdoors at the grill preparing the meats. Most of the meats are marinated in a type of mixture that is still a secret to me. It is heavy on the salt and gives the meat a lot of flavor. There is definitely no BBQ sauce here. There was lombo (pork loin) cut into pieces and wrapped in bacon, skewed with fresh pineapple. Chicken hearts, lingüiça (sausage), filet, and the most popular cut of meat for Brazilians, picanha. After doing a little research, I have learned that picanha is a whole, untrimmed Tri-Tip of beef. It is usually cut into smaller pieces which have other names in the US.

As the meat is prepared, the women congregate in the kitchen to make salads. This usually includes a bowl of lettuce, a bowl of tomatoes with lime squeezed over them and a potato salad. Most people who know me, know that I don’t typically fit in with the traditions of the women duties and the men duties. Needless to say, I found it much more enjoyable to stand out at the grill and watch the meat preparation.

During the prep, drinks begin to flow. Of course there is beer, cerveja. We also got to try a really interesting drink concoction, - red wine, coconut fruit, coconut milk and condensed milk blended together. It was great, but way too sweet to have more than a small glass. This is likely a good thing since it isn’t one of the healthiest recipes around. The traditional caipirinha was made using limes, sugar and cachaça – a liquor made from sugarcane. We have had these before, but we found it interesting that at this event, one large one was made and everyone simply took drinks from this large glass. We passed on this. There were really only a few men who were drinking it anyway.

The meal starts with the salads. The meats are served as they come off the grill. They are cut into small pieces which are piled onto platters to be passed around. You simply grab a few pieces each time it circles. It is definitely hard to pace yourself. We were full before the filet was even put on the grill. It is an enjoyable eating process that takes several hours.

The afternoon goes on with lots of conversation and finally everyone helps clean up. The joke is apparently that since the men have done the grilling it is time for the women to work, cleaning the dishes.

This is definitely one of the unique cultural experiences we have taken part in during our time here. We are looking forward to many more.