Brazilian (not so instant) delights - A step-by-step guide to a real Brazilian barbecue: The Churrasco

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Greetings, Steemians! Today I'll bring you a not-so-instant guide on how to make that world renowned Churrasco, or Barbecue. This recipe is a bit more complex that the others I presented before mostly because of the amount of ingredients and dishes I'll post here. I'll divide this guide into two parts: meats and side dishes, due to the amount of things we'll put into it.

Side Dishes

A real deal Brazilian barbecue has the following side dishes: white rice, farofa, mayonnaise salad, vinagrete sauce, not to be confused with Vinagretchen and garlic bread. I'll start with the side dishes because these are the ones that make the whole thing a bit time-intensive, and need some attention, otherwise it'll be a mess.

Here's what you'll need for each side dish.

White rice (double the amounts if you want to double the size)

• 3 cups of tea of white rice
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Water
• Oil
• Salt at your taste

Peel and slice the garlic cloves in small pieces. The smaller, the easier to blend within the grains. Add the rice into a strainer bowl and wash it a little, so some of the white paraffin comes out. Add oil to a deep pan until the surface is barely covered and drop the garlic. Fry it in low fire until it goldens a tad. When you can smell the wonderful aroma of the fried garlic, drop the rice and stir it a bit with a wooden spoon - I prefer wood because it won't scratch the bottom of the bowl, releasing teflon into the food.

Add some salt - two teaspoons is more than enough - and stir it for a short while and then add water until the rice is covered by about one inch of water overhead. Let it cook until the once hard rice grains are now soft. Be careful to not let it burn. Use a fork to dig into the rice and look at the bottom of the pan. If there's no more water boiling at the bottom, then it's time to put out the fire. I recommend closing the pan cover and letting it cook on it's own steam so the upper grains will be as soft as the bottom ones.

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_{That's a yummy side dish that goes well not only with barbecue, but with almost anything! Image source}

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Farofa (simple recipe)

• 3 cups of tea of manioc / cassava flour
• 4 spoons of butter
• 1 entire onion
• 1 pound of bacon
• Salt

This side dish is far more simple to do but the results are astonishing. It's a very common and loved side dish around here and it goes very well with rice and beans. It can be used to accompany any variety of steaks. This is a simple version of the dish, but you can add other ingredients at your taste, like some spices, cooked eggs and even slices of banana! - trust me, it's a whole different thing and makes the dish special.

First, chop the onion and the bacon. The onion pieces don't need to be too small, neither the bacon's. Mix them together. Light the stove in medium fire, then add the butter, onion and bacon pieces. Let it fry until the onions are almost blacked out. The smell by this time must be wonderful. When the butter is tinted with a dark tone of yellow, drop the flour and stir. Mix well and let the farofa golden a bit and put out the fire. It's ready to go!

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_{It tastes wonderfully and just adds up to the fray! Totally worth it! Image source}

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Mayonnaise salad

• about 12 oz. of mayo
• 4 potatoes
• 1 carrot
• 3 cooked eggs
• seedless green olives

This is a side dish to help avoiding making the dish too dry, while adding up more flavour to the whole thing. This one is pretty simple too and the results are great! First peel both the potatoes and carrots. Cut them into smaller pieces and get them to cook on water for a while. In the meantime use another pan to boil the eggs.

When the potatoes and carrots are softer, put out the fire and add them to a bowl. Mix with the olives. Check the eggs and if they're cooked, peel them and chop them in large pieces. Then add the mayo to the mix and stir until it gets into next picture's look.

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_{Just like that...hooah! Image source}

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Vinagrete sauce

• 300 ml of vinegar
• 1 red tomato
• 1 onion
• half a green pimento

A very simple, but highly effective sauce, the Vinagrete gives a slightly acid taste to the dish. It goes very well with the meal and is ridiculously simple to do. Find a bowl, chop the tomato, onion and the pimento in very small pieces. Add the vinegar and you're done! Leave it to rest for sometime so the vinegar will blend with the flavour of the vegetables!

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_{Colorful and tasty. This will give a nice look to your dish! Image source}

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Garlic bread

• 6 breads - preferably baguettes
• 12 oz of mayo
• 5 cloves of garlic

A very simple recipe, that will serve as a great filler while the steaks aren't ready. Peel the garlic cloves and chop them in very small pieces. In a blender, mix both the mayo and the chopped garlic cloves. Butter up the breads with the paste and put it on the grill until it goldens. Voilà!

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_{Is the BBQ taking a bit too long to get done? Buy yourself some time with these filthy easy garlic breads! Image source}

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We're now done with the side dishes! Now it's time to go for the meat! What kind of pieces should we pick for the churrasco? The Brazilian churrasco favours softer meats, that make chewing the food a pleasant thing. There's a variety of these, ranging from bovines to pork and chicken. There are even some people that like to put fish into the thing, but this is not the case around here.

Meats

Use this following guide to understand the "doneness" of beef steaks in barbecue.

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_{This is pretty much straightforward. The "doneness" the steak is is directly proportional to how long you leave it on the fire. Image source}

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Top sirloin cap - Picanha

One of the most valued meats around here, juicy and tender! The price can be hefty, but there's no better meat than this one, in my opinion. This is the real deal when it comes down to pick the best of the best. It should be your #1 pick for a Brazilian barbecue! As for the seasoning, just add some coarse salt and let it cook!

It's served better as Rare or Medium Rare.

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_{Aren't you watering just by looking at this? The cap of fats over the meat tastes as wonderfully as the piece itself. A good barbecue has this beauty here. Image source}

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Rump steak - Alcatra / Maminha

A cut from the back of the bull, joyfully referred to as "trousers" or "pants". This is a good alternative if you can't afford the top sirloin cap at the time or if you want to diversify the types of meats. It's also a great pick, due to it's tenderness.

Best served as Medium Rare.

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_{This is a good one to serve in thicker steaks or in smaller chops, called iscas - raw translated to "baits". Image source}

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Ribs - Costelas

Separated or as a single piece, ribs are a must in any barbecue, no matter if it's the American, Uruguayan or the Brazilian one. It's a good practise to drop a generous layer of Barbecue sauce over it. No hard feelings, no sadness. Just tasty stuff!

Best served as Medium Rare.

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_{Yeah...spread that sauce, motherf...oh, sorry. This is just too nasty. I just can't control myself. Image source}

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Pork sausage - Linguiça de porco or linguiça toscana

Pork sausage is a good pick to vary the flavours. You can pick both the regular ones and the spicy ones. These are usually cooked in one piece and then sliced by the barbecue master. Chorizo is another alternative, although it's not a personal favourite. This goes with each one's taste.

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_{This should be illegal. My God... Image source}

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Chicken wings and thigs

To further diversify the menu, you can pick chicken wings and chicken thighs to put on the grill. Paint them with some barbecue sauce or leave them with coarse salt and you're done! Chicken breast is also adviseable for people who are lazy enough to take out the bones out of the meat.

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_{Mmmmmmmmmmm...that's it. I'm coooking BBQ tonight! Image source}

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Well, lads and ladies, this ends this huge article! I hope you people liked it! Please upvote me for my effort to write down all of this dreaming of eating of each dish but currently not being able to and try these recipes at home! This is a great opportunity to gather friends and family to eat some good food and promote union!

Thank you in advance, bon appetit, and Steem on!

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