World Cup of Churrasco Flavors
We are now a few months away from the Brazilian Soccer World Cup, all protests and #Iwillorwillnotgotothecupforthisandthat aside, several of the teams are already setting up their training spaces here. Both the Urugaian and the Argentinian teams have asked for churrasco in their time here. What we still are to see, is if they will barbecue Brazilian style or in their own ways.
So, in the spirit of multiculturalism, I will walk you through a trinational Churrasco:
Argentinian Churrasco, or asado, has a few basic differences from Brazilian churrasco. They prefer to use fine salt to season the meat, grill it instead of skewering it, and always have chimichurri around ready to dip the meat after it is done. Uruguayan barbecues starts completely different from both Brazilian and Argentinian, with a special sauce, which you should let sit for 4-5 hours before using it to coat the meat on the grill.
As always, let’s start with the meats..
For the Brazilian portion we’ll go with the beloved classic picanha (rump cap) and chicken hearts, the Argentinian favorites are asado de ti ra (ribs), vacío (flank steak), and chorizos (pork sausages), and last but not least the Uruguayan delicacies lomo (sirloin steak) and colita de cuadril (Tri tip).
Now for the World Cup of Churrasco seasonings, the picanha will need only a little coarse salt and the chicken hearts go very well with a mix of fine salt and crushed garlic, season right before barbecuing. The ribs, flank and chorizos should be seasoned with fine salt half an hour before going to the grill. The sirloin steak and tri pi should be drizzled with the Uruguayan sauce while cooking.
The Brazilian meats should be skewered, the picanha in the way the photo shows and the chicken hearts in whatever direction you prefer (for a bit of a chic touch you can use Rosemary branches on the hearts). Both the Uruguaian and the Argentinian meats should be on a grill. The World Cup of Churrasco Flavors is all about grilling so choose a grill in the marketplace that you like and is easy to clean. Here’s a link to one we make that fits right on top of a typical, round weber charcoal grill.
The recipes for chimichurri and Uruguayan sauce is below:
Uruguayan Sauce
1 tablespoon of dried calabresa chili pepper (Capsicum baccatum)
2 tablespoons of oregano
½tablespoon of fine salt
1 teacup olive oil
2 garlic bulbs
1 coffee cup green lime juice
1 liter of apple vinegar
Basil
Coriander
2 onions
Chop together the basil, coriander, garlic, and onions. Mix this in a bowl with the other ingredients. You can also blend them, but not to the point where they become a puree. Let the sauce sit for 4-5 hours so the flavor has enough time to really come together.
Chimichurri
Finely chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano, and white or red wine vinegar.
You can include additional flavorings such paprika, cumin, thyme, lemon, basil, cilantro and bay leaves. In its red version, tomato and red bell pepper may also be added.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimichurri
What now? Well, enjoy your barbecue, mix it up however you like, and have a great time!
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