Churascaria on the Egg?

Cornbread Willy · March 2003

Question for Atlantans and others who might have been to the restaurant Fogo de Chao or similar churascaria (Brazilian barbeque). Awesome place where the gauchos bring out skewers of 18 or so different kinds of meat cooked over an open flame and slice it for you until you are stuffed. You then go home and curl up to digest like a snake for about 24 hours. Killer place - if for whatever reason you can't get to your Egg, I would highly recommend it.[p]If you've been there then you know that their house special is a garlicky rump roast which is just out of sight. Does anyone know what I'm talking about and have any idea how we might go about preparing something like that on the Egg? It's been awhile since I've been to the restaurant (moved to Richmond about 18 months ago), but my sister was there recently and reminded me about how good it was.[p]Thanks - 'Bread

J Appledog · March 2003

Cornbread Willy, [p]Steve Raichlen's The Barbecue Bible has qiuite a bit to offer on the subject. [p]What exactly are you looking for? Methods, marinades, sauces?[p]JCA

Cornbread Willy · March 2003

J Appledog,
Really all of the above. Have you tried it?

J Appledog · March 2003

Cornbread Willy, I have tried the recipes from The Barbecue Bible with great results. (Raichlen is one of my heroes...). It's a great book and worth owning. JCA

Wise One · March 2003

Cornbread Willy, did a little checking and found that the word "Churrascaria" apparently means Barbeque and can apply to lots of meats and cuts of meats. Here's one recipe I found (have never tried) that might start to emulate the flavor:
Pampas Churrascaria Beef Short Ribs
Short ribs marinated in a vinegar-onion blend and spit-roasted.

Marinade:
3 large spanish onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
1/4 cup garlic, minced
3 tbs coarse salt
3 tbs black pepper, freshly ground
18 lbs Beef Short Plate, Short Ribs, trimmed, cut into 1 pound pieces

Procedure:
1 Combine onion, vinegar, garlic, salt and black pepper; mix well. Reserve.
2 Pour marinade over ribs, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate 12 to 24 hours, turning occasionally.
Cooking:
1 Remove ribs from marinade; discard marinade.
2 Place ribs on spit and rotisserie; or place ribs on grid.
3 Cook, over low coals 12 to 15 minutes per pound, turning every 5 to 6 minutes.

Servings: 24
[p]

JSlot · March 2003

Cornbread Willy,[p]I think the dish you are talking about at Fogo de Chao is called Picanha. I enjoyed it, too. In fact, I have an e-mail request in for the recipe. That place is a meat lover's paradise![p]Jim

mad max beyond eggdome · March 2003

Cornbread Willy,
i was in atlanta last year on business and had the pleasure of going to fogo de chao (or chow in my case). . .unbelievable food. . .after stuffing my face for two hours (and oh btw, i did go to the salad bar, but nothing green hit my plate. . .stuck with the meets and smoked salmon from the salad bar. . .as i like to say about salad and veggies. . ."they're not food, they're what food eats"). . .its been my experience that hot-lanta never had much to offer other than coca cola and the varsity grill (love those chili dogs and hot pies with a frozen orange to chase them), but now i have two more reasons to go there. . .fogo de chao, and the fact that bge is there. . . .

mad max beyond eggdome · March 2003

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]forgot to add that after we ate, i actually got invited into the kitchen, after seeing over a hundred of those spits full of meet sitting in a rack about 40 feet long over an open fire pit. . .. i must admit to having tears in my eyes, and i got down on my knees in front of the cooks and bowed to them while chanting "i'm not worthy, i'm not worthy". . .

TRex · March 2003

Cornbread Willy,[p]I've been to the Fogo in Atlanta and Houston. It's one of my wife's and my favorite restaurants. The rump roast (house specialty) is surely a favorite. I talked to one of the managers there, and he told me that, #1, they don't cook the meat on those big rotisseries like you see in that glass display case in the front of the place. Rather, they cook on a grill over some type of mesquite charcoal. They also marinate many of their meats in heavy kosher salt and garlic.[p]I asked the guy what they did with those huge pieces of meat turning in the display case - he said they throw them in the trash. Can you believe that?[p]Anyway, I bought a rump roast once and tried to duplicate Fogo's efforts, but my results were crappy at best. First of all, the roast was very lean, so after cooking at 350 until 140 internal, it was still pretty tough, and not too flavorful. I ended up slicing it thin and using it for roast beef. Maybe I had a bad roast, or maybe I cooked it wrong, but I remember at the time trying to get some good feedback from the forum on cooking methods for a rump roast, and I don't think I got very many suggestions. [p]So, I'm not really sure how to do them like Fogo. Maybe a lot of marinade (which I didn't do), and hot and fast. [p]Surely someone else will chime in on this one.[p]TRex

Unknown · March 2003

TRex,[p]The Arizona BBQ Association has some info on this:
http://www.azbbqa.com/Articles/churrasco.shtml

Cornbread Willy · March 2003

JSlot,
Picanha - that's exactly right. Wonder if they'll honor your request for the recipe...

Cornbread Willy · March 2003

Wise One,
Marinade looks pretty good - Might have to give it a whirl.

Unknown · March 2003

Cornbread Willy,[p]I was curious, so I went searching around the net. I found a recipe that sounded the way you described but the method seems as if you would have a pot roast when done. I have no idea whether the dish you had was smoky and/or crispy around the edges or what, so I'm guessing here.[p]If you want a smokier flavor, you could first hit the beef with smoke for an hour or two at a low temp, then wrap in foil until tender (I'd go with an internal temp of 195, as you would cook a brisket), then grill it off over high heat to crisp up the edges.[p]Here's the recipe I found. Seems easy - I'll try it. What's not to like about using a whole head of garlic? :-) Chimchurri sauce is wonderful - great on steak, too![p]Lee[p]Cupim com Alho (Barbecued Hump Roast with Garlic)
By Manuel Avila-Chytil [p]Ingredients: 1 piece of hump roast (whole hump is ball shaped) 1 garlic head, crushed 1 tbsp of olive oil, Salt, to taste [p]Cooking instructions: Mix crushed garlic with olive oil. Brush the hump with the mixture. You can make some holes in the meat and insert the olive oil/garlic mixture inside the meat for more flavor. Wrap the hump in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Cook the hump roast in the grill until done. If preferred, at the end of cooking, remove foil and let the meat cook for a short period of time without the foil. Slice into thin slices and serve with rice, farofa (toasted seasoned manioc flour) and vinaigrette or chimichurri sauce.

djm5x9 · March 2003

TRex:[p]I think you cooked the meat too long. Cook to an internal of 118º and slice off until it becomes beyond acceptable rare for those eating. Then put back on the grill to cook a bit more . . .
[/b]

djm5x9 · March 2003

Cornbread Willy:[p]Great place for meat eaters with out a doubt. I think the sleeper is the salad bar.

Churascaria on the Egg?

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