The Smell of Charcoal and the Sound of Sizzling Juices: This Is Where Churrasco Begins
The vast pampas (grasslands) of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil. Cattle brought by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century went wild and multiplied into millions, and on this land the gauchos (cowboys) cooked their daily meals over open fires. They skewered large chunks of meat on bamboo spits (taquara), stuck them into the ground at an angle, and slowly roasted them beside the fire. The only seasoning was rock salt. That is the origin of churrasco.
In modern Brazil, churrasco is a national event enjoyed on weekends when families and friends gather at a churrascaria (a churrasco restaurant) or in the backyard at home. The "rodízio" style, in which garçons (servers) circle the tables carrying huge skewers and carve meat in front of the guests, has spread beyond Brazil, and there are churrascarias in cities such as Tokyo and Osaka as well.
The appeal of churrasco lies in subtraction, not addition. There are no complex marinades and no sweet sauces. Thick meat, coarse salt, the heat of charcoal. There is little to protect, but get the timing of the salt or the distance from the fire wrong and it suddenly becomes just tough grilled meat.
This recipe takes beef that is easy to buy at an ordinary supermarket and rebuilds the southern Brazilian way of grilling for home cooks. It belongs to the same Brazilian table as feijoada, but what matters at home is not making everything authentic. I keep four points: the thickness of the meat, coarse salt, resting time, and an acidic side.
In Portuguese it is pronounced "shoo-HAHS-koo," but in Japan the spelling "shurasuko" has become established. This article uses the form common in Japan. The restaurant name "churrascaria" means "a place that serves churrasco."
The Story of the Dish: Charcoal-Fire Culture Raised by the Gauchos
From the cowboys of the pampas to a national barbecue
The history of churrasco is deeply tied to the pampas grasslands of South America. In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors brought cattle and horses to the River Plate basin. When the Jesuit mission villages (reducciones) collapsed in the 18th century, the managed livestock went wild and scattered across the pampas of Argentina, Uruguay, and southern Brazil.
The cowboys who drove cattle and rode horses across this vast grassland were the gauchos. The gauchos, of mixed Indigenous, Portuguese settler, and Spanish descent, built a distinct culture. Their meals were extremely simple: beef on skewers roasted over a campfire, with mate tea (chimarrão) passed around. This campfire meal is the origin of churrasco.
The gauchos' way of grilling had its own character. It is the "fogo de chão (fire on the ground)" method, in which a bamboo spit (taquara) is stuck at an angle into the ground and the meat is cooked at a distance from the heat. Cooking slowly by radiant heat rather than direct flame leaves a large piece of meat crisp on the outside and moist and juicy inside. This technique is carried on unchanged in today's churrascarias.
The explosive spread of the churrascaria
In the 1950s and 60s, Brazil saw a rush of highway construction and the development of long-distance trucking. Along the highways of Rio Grande do Sul, churrasco restaurants for truck drivers, "churrascarias," appeared one after another.
In the 1980s, gaucho-style "rodízio" (all-you-can-eat) churrascarias spread to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and by the end of the 1990s they had expanded abroad to the United States, Australia, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Today chains such as "Fogo de Chão" and "Texas de Brazil" operate around the world, and churrasco has gained international recognition as a representative food culture of Brazil.
In Rio Grande do Sul, the "Farroupilha Revolution anniversary" is celebrated every year on September 20, when people in traditional gaucho dress parade and grill churrasco in the squares. It is more than a cooking method; it is the very identity of southern Brazil.
Guide to Cuts: The Stars of Churrasco
The pleasure of churrasco lies in tasting several cuts side by side. As also mentioned in the overview of South American cuisine (in Japanese), South American meat cooking has a deep devotion to cuts, and at a churrascaria 10 to 15 kinds of meat are brought out one after another. For a home version, 4 or 5 kinds are enough to give a party feel.
Picanha: the undisputed star of churrasco
Picanha is the unchallenged star of churrasco. It is the top of the rump, the part of the beef's hindquarter. In English-speaking countries it is called "top sirloin cap" or "rump cap."
Picanha's greatest feature is the thick layer of fat (the fat cap) covering one side. Grilling with this fat left on lets the fat melt and carry savor through the whole piece of meat, finishing crisp outside and juicy inside. According to the Brazilian barbecue site Craftbeering, picanha with the fat removed "cannot be called picanha," and grilling it with the fat cap is an absolute rule.
Fraldinha: a cut whose flavor grows as you chew
Fraldinha is the lower part of the beef plate, near the flank. The name means "little diaper" in Portuguese, from where it comes, near the beef's hip joint. It is a lean cut with fine marbling whose savor spreads the more you chew. Gaucho cooks slice this meat across the grain to bring out the most tenderness.
Costela: bone-in meat that takes time
Costela is beef ribs (rib meat with bones). Just as Colombia's bandeja paisa (in Japanese) includes grilled beef, South America has a deep-rooted culture of grilling bone-in meat boldly. Skewered with the bone and slowly grilled for 4 to 6 hours, it is the most time-consuming cut of churrasco. It is often too long for a home meal, so the main recipe in this article does not cover it, but if you have a barbecue grill it is well worth trying.
Linguiça: the sausage grilled first
Linguiça is a pork sausage from Portugal, flavored with garlic, paprika, and oregano. It is milder than chorizo, and at churrasco it plays the role of an "appetizer," grilled first as a snack to go with beer. A coarse-ground sausage can substitute for it.
Gathering Ingredients and Substitutes
Picanha is a cut hard to find in an ordinary supermarket. You can get it from a butcher or by mail order, but if you want to make it more easily, the following substitutes will still turn out delicious.
Guide to meat substitutes
| Authentic cut | Where to find it | Substitute (available at a supermarket) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Picanha (rump cap) | Butcher or mail order | Rump block / round block | They have little fat, so brushing the surface with olive oil gets close |
| Fraldinha (bottom sirloin flap) | Some supermarkets | Beef short plate block / skirt steak | Skirt steak is well marbled and has the closest texture |
| Costela (ribs) | Butcher | Beef short rib block (bone-in) | Short ribs cut for grilling at a supermarket also work |
| Linguiça | Brazilian grocer | Coarse-ground sausage | Adding garlic and paprika brings the flavor closer |
Ask a butcher or look for mail-order blocks under names such as "picanha," "rump cap," or "top sirloin cap"; blocks of 500g to 1kg are commonly sold. Choose one with the fat cap attached. Avoid "trimmed" pieces with the fat removed. It is this fat that decides the flavor of churrasco.
Choosing rock salt
The seasoning for churrasco is rock salt alone. That is exactly why the quality of the salt directly affects the taste.
In Brazil, a coarse sea salt from the northeast called "sal grosso" is used. Outside Brazil, you have these options.
| Type of salt | Characteristics | Ease of use |
|---|---|---|
| Large-grain rock salt (such as Himalayan) | Large grains that can be knocked off after grilling | Suitable |
| Coarse salt | Easy to find at a supermarket | Second best |
| Refined table salt | Grains so fine that it penetrates easily and tends to make the meat too salty | Not recommended |
What matters is the size of the grains. In churrasco, a generous amount of coarse salt is applied to the surface of the meat, and after grilling the skewer is tapped to knock off the excess salt. Large grains stay on the surface and do not penetrate too deeply into the meat, so the outside has the savoriness of the salt and the inside has a gentle flavor.
Ingredients (serves 4)
This dish contains beef, pork (sausage and bacon), wheat (breadcrumbs and some sausages), and dairy (butter). Allergens differ by sausage product, so always check the package label.
Method
Preparation (30 minutes)
Charcoal grilling (40–60 minutes)
At churrasco restaurants, medium-rare to medium, with pink left in, is preferred. To lean toward the safe side at home, use as the standard the method of taking beef steaks and roasts to a center temperature of 63 degrees C and then resting for 3 minutes. Ground meat and raw sausages need 71 degrees C at the center. When children, older adults, pregnant people, or those with weak immune systems will eat it, use a thermometer rather than judging only by the spring of a finger.
Side Dishes: Supporting Players That Catch the Meat's Fat
Churrasco is delicious with meat alone, but sides give changes of flavor and keep you eating without getting tired to the end. At a proper churrascaria these three are always present.
Vinagrete (Brazilian salsa)
Vinagrete is a Brazilian staple salsa resembling Mexico's pico de gallo. But it uses no lime juice and is finished with white wine vinegar and olive oil. It has no heat, and the acidity and the crunch of the vegetables refresh the palate from greasy meat.
First, dice 3 tomatoes into 5 mm cubes (there's no need to remove the seeds). Chop 1 onion into 5 mm pieces too and soak in water for 5 minutes to take out the sharpness. Cut 2 bell peppers into 5 mm pieces and chop the Italian parsley.
Combine everything in a bowl and mix in 4 tbsp white wine vinegar, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, and a little black pepper. Rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or more and the flavor comes together. The key point is soaking the onion in water. Skip it and the sharpness is too strong and gets in the way of the meat.
Farofa (crunchy meal)
Farofa is traditionally cassava flour (manioc flour) toasted in butter, a national side served with almost every Brazilian meal. Cassava flour can be hard to find, so breadcrumbs are used as a substitute. If you find farinha de mandioca (cassava flour), compare it with the breadcrumb version and the difference will be clear. In feijoada too, farofa is an essential side.
In a frying pan, cook the bacon (chopped into 5 mm dice) over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes until crisp. Add 3 tbsp butter, then the chopped garlic and onion, and cook for 2 minutes.
Add 100g breadcrumbs all at once and stir constantly over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes. It is done when the crumbs are light brown and flow loosely when you tilt the pan. Season with a pinch of salt.
Stirring constantly is an absolute condition for farofa. Stop your hand and it burns in 5 seconds. Turn off the heat at the line between light brown and brown. The color keeps progressing from residual heat, so the trick is to take it off the heat a little on the pale side.
Pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread)
A chewy cheese bread that is always served at a proper churrascaria. Because it uses tapioca starch (cassava starch), it is gluten-free, crisp outside and chewy inside. To make it at home, the following ingredients yield about 15 pieces.
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tapioca starch | 200g | Available in the baking section |
| Grated cheese (Parmesan) | 50g | More is tastier |
| Egg | 1 | |
| Milk | 100ml | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp |
Method: Bring the milk and olive oil to a boil in a pot, pour it all at once over the tapioca starch, and knead. When it has cooled a little, add the egg and cheese and knead further, shape into balls the size of ping-pong balls, and bake in a 180 degrees C oven for 20 to 25 minutes. It is done when the surface cracks and takes on a light color.
Recreating It at Home: Charcoal, Gas, or a Broiler
Churrasco is originally cooked over charcoal, but with some adaptation to your home environment you can reproduce it well.
Method 1: Charcoal grill (first choice)
If you have a charcoal grill you can use in the yard or on a balcony, you get the finish closest to the original. Binchotan or compressed sawdust charcoal gives stable heat, and mangrove charcoal has large temperature swings, so it is safer to avoid.
The trick is "distance from the fire." Churrasco is cooked not over direct flame but by radiant heat from 10 to 15 cm away. Ideal is a grill whose rack height can be adjusted, or the style of laying skewers across stacked bricks.
Method 2: Gas grill or portable stove (second best)
With a gas grill, use the "two-zone" method with one side on high heat and the other off. Brown the surface on the high side, then move it to the off side to cook through slowly on residual heat. You don't get as much smokiness as with charcoal, but temperature control is easier.
Putting a grill plate on a portable stove is also handy. But it smokes, so be sure to do it under a range hood or outdoors.
Method 3: Broiler plus oven (for indoors)
A trick for apartment living where charcoal can't be used. First brown the surface of the meat under the high heat of a broiler (3 to 4 minutes per side), then move it to a 200 degrees C oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. It is a two-stage method in which the high heat of the broiler creates the "Maillard reaction" (the savor of browning) and the even heat of the oven cooks it through.
Method 4: Frying pan plus oven (easiest)
Heat a cast iron skillet or frying pan over high heat until smoking, and put the meat in without oil. Brown the surface 2 to 3 minutes per side, then put it in a 200 degrees C oven as is for 8 to 12 minutes. It is done when the center temperature is 55 to 60 degrees C. It becomes a steak-style method without skewers, but the flavor is quite churrasco.
Don't cut the meat right after it comes off the heat; wrap in aluminum foil and rest 5 to 10 minutes. The juices that gathered in the center during cooking redistribute through the whole piece as it rests. Cut without resting, and the juices run out onto the cutting board.
Variations Beyond Meat
Pineapple and banana fruit skewers
At Brazilian churrascarias, fruit skewers also appear between meats. Cut pineapple into 2 cm rings, thread on skewers, sprinkle the surface with cinnamon sugar, and grill over charcoal. The caramelized sweetness and acidity neutralize the greasiness of the meat as a natural palate cleanser. Skewered ripe banana is also a classic, and with vanilla ice cream on the melted flesh it makes a proper dessert.
Grilled cheese in the style of queijo coalho
Brazil's "queijo coalho" is a special cheese that does not melt easily when heated, and when skewered and grilled it is crisp outside and chewy inside. Halloumi (a Cypriot cheese that doesn't melt when grilled) is a close substitute. Cut it 2 cm thick, thread it on skewers, and grill over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Frango com bacon
Cut chicken thighs into bite-size pieces, wrap them in bacon, and thread on skewers. "Frango com bacon (bacon-wrapped chicken)" is one of the popular items at churrascarias. Season the chicken with salt, garlic, and paprika, and grill slowly over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes until the center of the chicken reaches 75 degrees C or higher.
A Japanese-leaning churrasco with miso marinade
Brazil has many Japanese immigrants, and Japanese-Brazilian churrasco sometimes incorporates Japanese elements. Marinate beef for 2 hours in 2 tbsp white miso, 1 tbsp mirin, and 1 clove of garlic before grilling, and the fermented savor of miso goes surprisingly well with the toasty aroma of charcoal. Serve with grated daikon and ponzu, and you have a "Japanese-style churrasco" that fits a Japanese table. With an idea similar to the spice marinade of Jamaica's jerk chicken, the technique of "marinate, then grill" is common to barbecue cultures around the world.
Vegetable skewers to make a breather between fires
Vegetable churrasco, with bell pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, and corn on skewers, makes a refreshing plate between meats. Coat with olive oil and coarse salt and grill over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes. For vegetable churrasco, chimichurri (an Argentinian herb sauce mixing parsley, garlic, oregano, vinegar, and olive oil) adds acidity. Combining churrasco with the dishes of neighboring countries, such as Argentina's locro (in Japanese) and Uruguay's chivito, makes it easy to broaden into a South American table.
Tips for Cooking: Don't Miss the Gaucho Way at Home
If you salt more than 30 minutes ahead, osmotic pressure draws moisture out of the meat and the surface turns soggy. It is easier to handle if you apply salt 5 to 10 minutes before grilling. At a proper churrascaria the flow is "skewer the meat, sprinkle salt, and immediately hold it to the fire," so the surface is seared before the salt penetrates.
It is tempting to remove the fat, but in churrasco the fat supports the result. During grilling the fat melts out and coats the surface of the meat with an oil film that prevents moisture from evaporating. Further, when melted fat drips onto the charcoal it makes smoke, and that smoke adds a smoky flavor to the meat. If you don't like fat when eating, taking it off on the plate is enough.
A common failure at home barbecues is grilling all the meat at once, piling it on a plate, and eating cooled meat in the second half. Churrasco is the repetition of "slice off the cooked outside thinly and serve it, and return the rest to the fire." Slicing off a single piece in 3 to 4 rounds keeps freshly grilled meat coming to the table. This is the essence of the churrascaria's "rodízio."
If you spread charcoal evenly across the whole surface, you have no place to move meat that is about to burn. Pushing the charcoal to one side to make a "high-heat zone" and a "low-heat zone" lets you use them separately: high heat for the color on the surface, low heat for cooking through. When meat is about to burn, retreat to the low-heat side. This two-zone method is known in American barbecue culture as "indirect grilling," a basic technique.
Background of the Dish: The Role of Gathering Around Fire, and Its Change
The culture of "men grill" and how it is changing
In Brazil, "churrasco is a man's job" has traditionally been said. At home barbecue parties, a division of roles has long continued in which the husband or father stands at the grill and the wife or mother prepares salads and side dishes.
This culture comes from the cattle-herding culture of the gauchos. For men to grill meat over a campfire while herding cattle on the ranch was a daily task, and churrasco was an extension of it.
But in modern times changes are also seen. Women churrasqueiras (women churrasco grillers) are increasing, and women influencers who share churrasco recipes on social media are also gaining popularity. While respecting tradition, it is an age in which anyone can enjoy churrasco.
Why churrasco and football gather on the same day
In Brazil, churrasco is liveliest on days with football matches. Especially during the World Cup, churrasco parties are held in homes and bars all over the country. They set up the grill in front of the television, grill meat while watching the match, and cheer every time a goal is scored. Churrasco and football are the "two great elements of the weekend" for Brazilians and cannot be separated.
What to keep and what to let go of in your own kitchen
Making churrasco outside Brazil, the first difficulty is that "you don't have the same equipment as the original." Few homes can put a large charcoal grill in the yard, and in an apartment smoke is a big problem. Moreover, picanha is often found only at butchers or by mail order, and sometimes you substitute rump or round block from the supermarket.
That is why protecting the skeleton of the flavor is more realistic than making everything identical to the original. Don't slice thick meat too thin, don't trim the fat too much before grilling, apply coarse salt right before and knock off the excess, and rest the grilled meat. If you keep these four, even without skewers, and even with a two-stage broiler and oven method, you get close to the aroma of churrasco meat.
On the other hand, there are things you can let go of. The long grilling of costela is too heavy for a home meal, so first narrow it to rump in the manner of picanha and skirt steak. If you can't use charcoal, brown it first over high heat and then cook through in the oven. If you have no cassava flour, build the texture with breadcrumb farofa. Respecting the local table while putting it in a form that can be continued in your own kitchen makes it easier to cook again next weekend.
Churrasco culture spreading around the world
With Brazilian emigrants, churrasco spread across the world. In the United States it has evolved its own way as the "Brazilian steakhouse," and at the high-end churrascarias of New York and Miami you can enjoy more than 15 kinds of meat in a set course. In Japan too, churrascarias have opened in Tokyo and Osaka, where you can experience local churrasco in the rodízio style.
As also introduced in the overview of South American cuisine (in Japanese), South American food culture is attracting worldwide attention. Alongside Argentina's empanada, Peru's ceviche (in Japanese) and lomo saltado, churrasco continues to grow in presence as an international face of South American cuisine.
More Dishes to Cook Together
- How to make papa a la huancaína - Uses ingredients and aromas of the same region.
- How to make acarajé (in Japanese) - Lets you keep going with the table of the same country.
- How to make baião de dois - A home flavor of the northeast that serves rice and beans on one plate. Can also be the staple on a grilled-meat day.
- How to make farofa (in Japanese) - Lets you keep going with the table of the same country.
- How to make casado - Uses ingredients and aromas of the same region.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I can't get picanha, what is an easy substitute?
A rump block is the closest choice. Picanha is the cut at the top of the rump, so flavor and texture are similar. Choose one sold as "rump" or "round block" at the supermarket meat counter. If there is little fat, brushing the surface with olive oil before grilling gives a moisturizing effect in place of the fat. In American barbecue communities, "tri-tip" is also a popular substitute, but it is a cut hard to find in some countries.
Can I make it without skewers?
Yes, you can reproduce the flavor of churrasco without skewers. Grill "steak style," directly on a frying pan or grill rack. Cut the meat thick (4 to 5 cm), coat with coarse salt, brown the surface over high heat, and then cook through slowly over low heat. But the fun of the "rodízio (repeat grilling)" is easier to get with skewers, so having some inexpensive metal skewers makes it easier to carve.
How can I make churrasco indoors without smoke?
The two-stage method with a broiler and oven produces the least smoke. A broiler has a smoke-venting function, so it limits the spread of smoke better than a frying pan. After browning the surface you move it to the oven, so smoke is produced only in the first 5 to 6 minutes. Set the range hood to "high" and open a window slightly to create airflow to keep smoke from filling the room.
What drinks go with churrasco?
In Brazil, the "caipirinha" (a cocktail of cachaça, a sugarcane spirit, with lime and sugar) is the standard, but where it's hard to find, beer is easy to pair. Pilsner types especially go well with fatty meat, and the carbonation refreshes the mouth. For red wine, South American ones such as Argentine Malbec or Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon come together well. For non-alcoholic choices, guaraná (a Brazilian soda) or mate tea bring the atmosphere of the table closer. Just as Peruvian wine goes with Peru's lomo saltado, pairing South American dishes with drinks of their own region feels natural.
How do I store leftover meat and reuse it?
Cool grilled meat, wrap it in plastic wrap, and keep it up to 3 days in the refrigerator. In the freezer, 1 month. An easy way to reuse it is to slice it thin and use it as a sandwich filling. Put sliced meat, vinagrete, and lettuce in a baguette for a "churrasco sandwich." Chopped and mixed into fried rice or used as a salad topping, leftover churrasco is useful at the next day's table. It also goes well in a salad dressed with onion and vinegar, like Ecuador's encebollado (in Japanese).
Dishes of Latin America and the Caribbean to Enjoy with Churrasco
At a party with churrasco as the main, lining up dishes from Latin America and the Caribbean adds variety to the number of plates. The following are combinations whose richness does not overlap.
For a starter, Peru's ceviche (in Japanese) (marinated seafood) goes well. Its clean acidity whets the appetite for the meat to come. Argentina's empanada (meat pie) is also easy to serve as a starter you can eat by hand.
Alongside the churrasco, if you prepare feijoada in a big pot, you have a full Brazilian course. The sight of feijoada simmering while meat is grilled is just like a weekend in Brazil.
For dessert, a salad of tropical fruit enjoyed in the Caribbean is perfect. Cut pineapple, mango, and papaya into cubes and squeeze lime over them, and you have a refreshing dessert that suits the end of a meat meal.
Sources
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