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Churrasco
Churrasco is a Portuguese and Spanish term referring to beef or grilled meat more generally, differing across Latin America and Europe, but a principal ingredient in the cuisines of Argentina, Brazil, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries. The related term churrascaria (or churrasqueria) is mostly understood to be a steakhouse.
A Churrascaria is a restaurant serving grilled meat, many offering as much as you can eat: the waiters move around the restaurant with the skewers, slicing meat onto the client's plate. This serving style is called Espeto Corrido or Rodizio.
In Latin America
In Argentina, Uruguay and in the South of Brazil a churrasco refers to any boneless cut of beef that is sliced slightly thin as a steak and grilled over hot coals or on a very hot skillet. Gauchos would have grilled churrasco as part of their asado, now the national dish of both countries, served with chimichurri, salad and fried or mashed potatoes, and sometimes a fried egg.
In Guatemala, churrasco is regarded as a typical dish, often eaten in familiar gatherings and festive occasions. It is usually served topped with chirmol, a red sauce containing chopped tomatoes and onions, and accompanied by corn, guacamole, grilled potatoes , stewed black beans, rice and tortillas.
In Puerto Rico, churrasco is skirt steak, which is grilled or stewed with peppers and onions and frequently treated with adobo, a garlic and salt containing spice mix.
In Chile, churrasco refers to a thin cut of steak which varies depending on the desired quality of the sandwich. The slices are grilled and served on a toasted bun, usually accompanied with tomato, avocado and mayonnaise, in the case of a churrasco italiano. Another popular dish, churrasco a lo pobre ("poor man's churrasco"), consists of a churrasco served with french fries, fried egg, and caramelized onions.
In Brazil, churrasco is the term for a barbecue which originated in southern Brazil. Brazilian churrasco contains a variety of meats which may be cooked on a purpose-built "churrasqueira", a grill or barbecue, often with supports for spits or skewers. Portable "churrasqueiras" are similar to those used to prepare the Argentine and Uruguayan asado, with a grill support, but many Brazilian "churrasqueiras" do not have grills, only the skewers above the embers. The meat may alternatively be cooked on large metal or wood skewers resting on a support or stuck into the ground and roasted with the embers of charcoal
In Europe
In Portugal, Frango de Churrasco with piri piri is very popular and appreciated. Portuguese churrasco and chicken dishes are very popular in countries with Portuguese communities, such as Canada, Australia, United State, Venezuela and South Africa. Popular for its all-you-can-eat buffets, the Chopperia chain of churrasco restaurants may be found throughout Lisbon and in other large cities.
The term churrasco is used in former Portuguese colonies—a Churrasco Mocambicano is a grilled meat dish from Mozambique, for instance.
In Galicia, churrasco refers almost exclusively to grilled pork or beef spare-ribs. Galicians who emigrated to America in the 20th century took the recipe for churrasco. Nowadays many Galicians of all social classes prepare a churrascada.
See also
List of Brazilian dishes
Brazilian cuisine
Argentine cuisine
Cuisine of Nicaragua
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Churrasco
