Known in Brazil as Fraldinha (known as Flank Steak in the US) was introduced in Brazil by Marcos Bassi. He is a Butcher and Restauranteur from São Paulo whom in 1967 introduced Fraldinha. One of his costumers was a French lady that always requested this particular cut until then unknown in Brazil. Over time, Bassi improved the cut while serving it on the counter in sliced grilled pieces, in a sandwich. Needless to say it was a success, and after a while the Fradinha became a habit among Brazilians. Today, it’s almost a staple of Churrasco throughout all Brazil.
The nickname comes from the position the meat is located, near the livestock’s groin. Fraldinha means “Little diaper” in Portuguese. The inventor became famous as in Brazil for his high-end restaurants, his YouTube Channel, and his Wikipedia Page as Marcos Guardabassi.
An useful hint for this cut of meat so dear to Brazilians, is to not grill this meat if it’s still cold. Let Fraldinha warm to room temperature. Then, cook the entire piece, don’t cut it in smaller pieces. This will help you to avoid letting the meat dry up which will make it less tasty. It will make it less tender.
A Garlic Paste Sauce For Your Fraldinha
If you want something quite simple to make than cover your Fraldinha with a garlic paste. Really simple to prepare it. 3 spoofuls of mayo, 100g of butter and 3 mashed garlic cloves is all you need. Mix all that in a bowl and beat all of it together until it’s consistent and mushy. This paste can also be used to make Pão de Alho. Add some cheese and oregano, and fill the middle of any piece of bread. Then just put it in the oven in low temperature or even a microwave will work. It will taste terrific.
Season your Fraldinha with rock salt to bring out the flavor. After that, spread your garlic paste all over the fraldinha with your hands and make sure you don’t miss any part. When you drill your Fraldinha with a churrasco skewer in order to grill it, make sure you compact your meat. You want a tight fit so the meat does not get loose over the grill. It’ll help it not to dry up during the cooking process.
Take it to your grill (make sure it is very hot) and cook it for 40 minutes. When the meat is done, let it cool for 5 minutes. Cut the fraldinha in a transversal way (parallel to the skewer).
That is all you need to know. I’m sure your Fraldinha will definitely be a success. The important thing to keep in mind always is that most of these hints are aimed at not drying the meat during the grilling. That’s maybe the most important thing to keep in mind when dealing with Fraldinha.