Churrascaria Fogo de Chão
We inherit the way we barbecue in Southern Brazil through the rangers that roamed around this area in the 18th Century. And they learned their skills with the indigenous peoples who also roamed around there long before they arrived. The tradition that has survived the best, and least altered, has to be the Fogo de Chão. To the point where even gaucho doctors will just say “hey vitamin D (for dirt) is good for you”. If, by any chance, their rib roast falls back to the ground during the churrasco, they’ll prop it up again. And happily eat it later.
We saw it last week. Just when we don’t want to go through the trouble of throwing a house barbecue, Brazilians go out to churrascarias. And one of the greatest is called Churrascaria Fogo de Chão.
The great news is they are opening up branches in the US! You can find all about the locations here: https://www.fogodechao.com/locations/. Please stop by later and leave us a comment on your experience there!
Look! How nice of them. They have even made available their history in English on their website.
So here goes a bit of it:
Our History: The Gaucho Way of Preparing Meat®
The story of Churrascaria Fogo De Chão® began in the mountainous countryside of Rio Grande do Sul in Southern Brazil, where its founders were born. Growing up, the brothers were immersed in the centuries-old Gaucho culture, a rich blend of traditions from European immigrants and Brazilian natives.
An important element of this culture is churrasco, the Gaucho way of roasting meats over pits of open fire for delicious barbecues, which is always present at every festive occasion, especially family gatherings.
The young boys would learn how to grill the meats the Gaucho way from their fathers, becoming the caretakers of a culinary tradition passed down from generation to generation for over three centuries.
Check out the whole thing on https://www.fogodechao.com/home/our-history/
Happy barbecuing either at home or at the Churrascaria Fogo De Chão!
