Barbacoa Brazil!

The food of Brazil is as diverse as its population and landscape. 220 million people, descendants of Indigenous tribes, Portuguese colonists, African slaves and European and Japanese migrants all share this massive country. But the cuisine is shaped not only by the history of the people but the land itself.        

Say Brazil and many people think of golden beaches and rainforests. But the reality is that Brazil has a diversity of climates – from arid highlands to great swathes of pampas grassland in the southwest. And it’s from here comes one of Brazil’s national dishes – churrasco, a delicious collection of meats and sausages, seasoned, marinated and cooked over charcoal or a wood fire.

The Brazilians refined this concept into what we know today as churrasco. Visually and aromatically overwhelming quantities of meat are skewered, layered in slots and then cooked over charcoal.

The number one meat is the picanha – a beef rump cap with the fat left on. Pierced with two skewers, it’s turned regularly as it cooks slowly over the coal. As the fat renders onto the coals, aromatic smoke envelops the meat.

Above ths, you’ll find sizzling pieces of chicken that have been marinated in garlic, lemon, brown sugar, paprika and a little piri-piri sauce. Next to them, pork ribs that were soaked in a tangy marinade of ginger, garlic, lime juice and vinegar – with a little red chilli. As the ribs turn golden brown over the coals, they are occasionally brushed with honey as a glaze. Alongside these are little coracao de galinha (chicken hearts). Well-seasoned with salt, they’re skewered and barbecued until tender and then served with a glass of red wine.

The crowning glory resting above all this will be row after row of succulent sausages. Brazilians love layering flavours, blending minced pork shoulder, garlic, salt, pepper and a touch of chilli flakes to make their linguica sausage. Some chefs add fennel seeds and a little panela sugar to the mix to make the linguica calabrese.

It may seem like a lot of meat, but a churrasco is not designed to be dinner for two. Instead, it’s a shared meal, feeding family and friends at a special gathering.

It’s also the centrepiece of the churrascaria: great Brazilian churrasco restaurants where huge platters of barbecued meat are brought to the table along with farofa – a dish of toasted cassava flour with beans and spices and baskets of pao de queijo (light balls of baked cheesy dough made with tapioca flour).

Then there is the jewel in the churrasco crown, chimichurri. A fresh and lively sauce made with chopped parsley, oregano, garlic, chilli and red wine vinegar. It adds a lovely fresh note to the grilled meat – with enough sharpness from the vinegar to cut through the fat.

Served with red wine or the traditional caprioska, churrasco is not just a meal, it’s a way of life. As they say in Brazil, “Bom apetite!”