Brazilian Barbecue

A big surprise in Brazil was churrasco or Brazilian barbecue. The churrascaria we went to had a poured concrete floor set with long tables and chairs, a corrugated metal roof and no walls so it had the feeling of a picnic pavilion. The food was served rodizio style which means it was one price for all we could  eat and the featured meats of the day were brought to the table where they were sliced into slabs and plated in front of our eyes! 

Believe me this was no sissy dining experience. Rather than just piling off a bus with 40 other shuffling tourists from 10 different countries it was if we had just dismounted our cowboy ponies after a long morning of South American style wrangling. We sprinkled ourselves around the pavilion tables in groups of two or three and waited for the tour guide to tell us what to expect.

After a short wait the Passadores or meat waiters appeared looking muscled and like they had chaps under their smokey barbecue aprons. They brought whole legs of pork, beef and lamb seasoned only with salt and skewered on 3.5 foot rods hot off the churrasco grill. With a flourish they cheerfully hefted the speared meat and wielded carving knives like television heroes from the American wild west slicing up gaucho sized portions for every plate. There were fewer white meats like chicken and turkey breast which are traditionally marinated in garlic, salt and lime juice so my eyes began to wander around the open air dining room that was wafting with the aromas of charcoal fires and grilling meats.

I noticed the decor included some leather horse saddles, spurs and old blankets. I hadn't realized at the time but feeling like I was part of a trail ride made sense. Churrasco has evolved from the cooking styles of South American cowboys called gauchos who wrangled cattle in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the Pampas Region, in the south of Brazil for generations during the 18th and 19th centuries. They are thought to have been noble, brave and generous but unruly fellas…and they ate a lot of meat.

Not a completely enthusiastic carnivore myself I checked out the buffet that had promised salads, vegetables and other hot dishes. There I found the traditional churrasco side dishes of potato salad, and chayote salad made with tomatoes, hearts of palm and onion. On the steam table there were fried potatoes, fried bananas, collard greens, black beans and rice. This was comfort food for a one-meal-a-day working man, not pudgy tourists, but I did my part.

Churrasco is a celebration meal in Brazil and has evolved into an elaborate and enjoyable way to eat outdoors. After our hearty celebration the buckeroo, erm, tour guide hollered, “Round em up and head em out” or something like that and we knew it was time to go.  I wondered how to sing, “Happy Trails to You” in Portuguese as we waved goodbye and waddled onto the bus.

Copyright © 2017 Gayle Madison