Churrasco

Brazilian Barbeque

Like many South Americans, Brazilians love their grilled meat. This passion is best illustrated by the churrascaria, a Brazilian-style steakhouse that provides an all-you-can-eat, pants-splitting, artery-clogging, orgy of barbecue goodness. We ate churrasco several times in Brazil and even attempted to reproduce it at our rental home. The results were passable, but I couldn’t wait to get back to Santa Fe so I could rig up a churrasco set-up in my oh-so-versatile (is it a smoker? an oven?) Weber grill.

To me, the defining features of proper Brazilian churrasco are that the meat is (1) minimally seasoned and (2) cooked over wood or natural charcoal rotisserie style. Now, I was not about to go out and buy a fancy rotisserie unit when I knew that with a little bit of ingenuity my amazingly adaptable Weber would lead me to a solution. I tinkered around by stacking some bricks (the same bricks I use to occasionally transform the grill into a wood fired pizza oven) and created two walls on opposite sides of the grill, stacked about 14 inches from the bottom grate. Finding a sturdy skewer was the next challenge (one that would span the grill from one brick wall to the other without buckling under the weight of the meat). The secret is to start the coals, get the heat just right and patiently brown the meat. Check for doneness with a thermometer, rest the meat… slice… and enjoy the glorious (over)eating!

Ingredients:

· 2-3 lb. beef (tri-tip is most often used, but I have also used beef tenderloin)

· 2 cloves minced garlic

· Salt

· Webber or other (inferior) charcoal grill

· 6-12 bricks

· 1-5 very sturdy skewers

Directions:

1. Create a rotisserie set-up as described above using bricks stacked to create supports for rotisserie skewers and with space for coals underneath. The brick walls should be at least 14 inches apart and rise at least 14 inches from the grill’s bottom grate. If necessary, use some flat stones to shim the structure and make it stable.

2. Cut beef to fit on skewers. When using tenderloin I use whole filet mignons (cut nice and thick). When using tri-tip I slice into strips that are as wide as the thickness of the cut (around 2-3 inches) and as long as you can get them.

3. Smash the garlic and rub it on all sides of the meat. Sprinkle with salt.

4. Rake the coals into an even bed between the bricks. Check the heat. You should be able to hold your hand at the level of the top of the bricks for a good 6 seconds without worrying about getting seriously burned. Add more coals to increase heat or remove some to the other side of the bricks if you need to cool it down.

5. Skewer the meat and place the skewers onto your rotisserie supports. Rotate every minute, ideally all sides should receive equal heat.

6. Add more coals if necessary to maintain heat.

7. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. The time that it takes will vary considerably depending on the type of meat, its thickness, the heat of the coals, the distance from the coals etc. It may take as little as 10 minutes and as much as 30 minutes.*

8. When the meat is done, put it on a platter, but let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. (Letting the meat cool slightly allows the juices to be reabsorbed into the muscle fibers.)

9. You can grill all types of meat using this method, and in fact, a true churrasco feast demands it. Grill chicken, sausages, pork—try some bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin or filet mignons. Serve with rice and black beans and a little sprig of parsley (no sauce, please).

* The thick cuts of meat that are often used in churrascarias demand that the cooks slice off the outer layers as they cook, leaving the raw inner meat on the skewer to cook some more. This should not be an issue with the smaller cuts of meat that can be supported on this rig.