From a Professional Chef at a recognized churrascaria, I will give you some tips to enjoy a Brazilian Style BBQ in your backyard. An important first lesson, if we do not want the vegetables to burn we can not let the flames be very strong. Do not turn the flam up to ‘Hi’ as your first impulse. Let the fire be at a medium setting. That way the vegetables are cooked and not burned.
The same rule applies for the meats. Chefs learn patience and the taste that comes from slow cooking your food. Only if you and your guest request medium rare orders. Then the flame should be very high and only leave the meat on the grill for about 2 minutes. Then remove from the fire. The medium rare meat will be golden on the outside and half raw inside. If you do like your meat this way, as I do, then you know that the flavor is awesome.
Maybe you and your guests don’t like it medium rare. You can really enjoy the meat in other ways and enjoy all the flavor. You have to taste it by yourself. That is the only way to know what works and learn.
You can skewer just about anything
If you own your own set of skewers for your backyard then you have already noticed that you can skewer almost anything you can imagine. The beauty of cooking is that you can be creative and still impress your friends and family. You can try and try millions of times until you get the desired flavor. All the great Chefs try and try again and again until they hit on what they are aiming for. A good Brazilian Style BBQ at home will require a lot of very hungry friends that you can invite over.
In my own backyard, I am going to make skewers of chicken breast, pineapple and marshmallows, and my kids love it. For the adults, I will make skewers of dates wrapped in bacon. Other skewers of chicken breast marinated in fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. I leave them marinating the night before. I also will do skewers of rib eye, which I will accompany with a homemade sauce of, “ali i oli”. The recipe of the “ all i oli“ you have in an earlier post. This picture is from my homemade, “ all i oli “, I just made it with my hand blender, look awesome and taste real good.
It is my hope that you have liked these ideas. Spend some time in your backyard this summer. I wish you a happy weekend of July 4th and happy holidays.
Daniel Miller
Head Chef At Fogo De Chao