barbecue in abundance

7/27/2019 Barbecue in Abundance

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Barbecue In Abundance

by Michael Jacobs

So, you think a cook out, an open-air barbecue is the tops? I seem to remember my

friends barbecue on one of my, latelyinfrequent, trips to the UK. Two lamb chops and a

bit of greenery? And the American attempt some burgers and sausage? Lots of ritual

and bonhomie but, as George the Elder was wont to say Wheres the beef?. Remember,

and compare.

For the first-time visitor to Brazil one of the initial gastronomical surprises is bound to

be the introduction to a rodzio barbecue. The word rodzio is one of those which I find

extremely difficult to translate. So much so that I wont even try. Actually, its not that

its difficult to translate; its impossible. At least it is if youre looking for just one word

to describe it. If it were just hard Id give it a try and hope for the best. But after living in

Brazil since 1967 I know I cant do it so I wont even attempt it.

Suffice to say that its an all-you-can-eat affair. Now, try to imagine all the prime cuts of

meat you can eat for a fixed price served sizzling, steaming and smoking on your plate

and you can just begin to imagine it for what it is, and what wonders youre in for when

you take your place.

For starters, take the meat itself. But when I say for starters I dont mean starters as in

appetizers, Im just starting to talk about the event. That kind of starter. And an event it

is. Its never just a meal. Comparing arodzio to a meal is like comparing a Ferrari to a

car my car. I invite you now to accompany me on a brief tour of a

typical rodziobarbecue. Well, perhaps not so typical, as Ive chosen as my guideline an

up-scale place not far from my home. Its good. Really good.

Beefcuts includepicanha (more about that in a minute), rump steak, filet steak, striploin, hump (Yes, hump from Zebu cattle. Its delicious, tender and tasty), ribs, spare ribs

(Ive honestlynever understood nor figured out why theyre spare or what they replace),

brisket, or bottom sirloin, top sirloin, tender sirloin (and the otherswerent?), and, well,

sirloin. Lamb, not reallya Brazilian favorite, but growing in popularity, is served with

the traditionallyBritish mint sauce. Lamb comes as shoulder, leg and short French

rack (nice touch that). For porklovers there is sirloin, rib, smoked tenderloin, suckling

pig with crispy crackling, sausage and hold it! wild boar.
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Chicken includes hearts and upper thighs with drumsticks. Fish is also available, eaten

as an appetizer or main dish, in the form of smoked salmon and fresh cod. Oh, by the

way, a word to those Americans who think chicken wings are the epitome of

conspicuous meat consumption. Yes, youll get some prime chicken served with

your rodzio, as I mentioned, but as for wings, just forget them. Ive never really figured

out why wings are considered such a delicacy in the US. I remember seeing a menu that

went something like this: 12 Wings U$ 6.00; 24 Wings U$ 10; 50 Wings U$ 12.00;

500 Wings U$ 20.00, and so on. I looked at the menu in amazement and remarked tomy American companions In Brazil we throw these things away. I may be

exaggerating, a little, and I know I am, but the wings seem to be one of the last things on

a lot of peoples minds when chicken is around.

The word rodzio means something that swivels, circles, rotates, gyrates, that comes or

goes round. In our case its the waiters who come round, and round, and round, and

Get the idea? They only stop coming round when you say enough or simply collapse,

prostrated through exhaustion brought on by SPS (Sudden Protein Shock). Quite often

youll see someone, normallya dad giving the familytheir Sundaytreat, just slide

wordlessly off his chair into blissful oblivion under the table until the family, ready to

leave, just scoop him up and shovel him into the car. But Im getting ahead of myself

(Im writing this on Sunday morning. Its about midday and I havent had lunch yet so

that explains why Im getting ahead of myself. I bet you would too if you were writing

about all this on an empty stomach).

Lets go back to the beginning.Rodzio barbecues began to catch on in the south of

Brazil in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state bordering on Argentina and

Uruguay. Gachos, the people of this state, famed machomen, have always been famous

for their barbecues.

The custom spread and has now turned into big business. Indeed, many of

therodzio restaurants have waiters dressed in the typical outfits, or costumes, from Rio

Grande do Sul. They represent imported labor as they very often do come from that

state. Gachos is pronounced as /gah-oo-shos/.

The larger restaurants will normallyseat hundreds of people at a time.

You mustremember however that my reference for this type of thing is always the city of

So Paulo. You wont get the same service, volume or meat in a small place like; lets

take the example of Cau. Cau is a town of about six thousand souls located in theinterior of Gois state. They probably dont have an eating-place such as the ones Im

referring to here. The logistics just wouldnt be applicable on that scale.

These emporiums of gluttony abound inSampa which is how So Paulo is sometimes

affectionately termed and custom reaches its zenith on Sunday lunchtime. These

steakhouses, for want of a better term, are easily identified.

First by the aroma of roasting meat which sometimes seems to waft over the place,

across streets and parks, drifting lazily along whole city blocks, until finallyhittingyou inthe nose and bringing more saliva to your mouth than Pavlovs dogs. But if youve a bad
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case of the flu or blocked sinuses that day, youll still perhaps be able to identify the

frenetic show.

Ive seen on occasion large colorful helium-filled balloons on sale at the door and even

a small band, sometimes made up of clowns, will be tooting merrilyaway to call

everybodys attention. Sort of a Roll up, roll up, and join the fun type thing.

Whole families emigrate there for a fewhours, and thenbingo! Theres your day gone, as

after eating out in this lavish style there isnt much else you can do except go home,

switch on the box, and crash for the rest of the Sabbath.You dont start with the main meat course however. First comes the salad with which

you serve yourself at the abundantly stocked salad bar. Here it may come as a bit of a

shock to some that you have to actuallyphysically do something for yourself. Thats the

bad news. The good news is that youre still fresh and have an empty stomach, kept that

way on purpose so that you can really stoke up with as much as possible. This is, mind

you, the only effort you will have to make. The rest is done for you from then on, unless

you want to waddle over and get more salad later on.

Ha! Ive just had a thought. The type of salad I remember from my days inEngland.

Watercress, cucumber, lettuce and a stick of celery spring to mind. Dont put too much

salt on the celery and the admonishment Its bad for you, also seems to ring a bell.

Once again, comparing that UK one with a Brazilianrodzio salad is like comparing a

hot day in England with temperatures in the sizzling seventies (that was actually a

newspaper headline England sizzles in the seventies some years back) and a

warm day in Brazil with temperatures up to the mid 30s (Celsius). You will find the

plain salad ingredients I just mentioned plus other pedestrian stuff but more exciting

treats can and do include, at least in the more upscale places, an avocado salad with

strawberry sauce, heart of palm souffl, sushi, sashimi, baby tomatoes and carrots,

asparagus, olives, quail eggs, Parma ham, shrimp, paella, squid stroganoff, sweet potato

in molasses, a selection of excellent cheeses, some pasta, tropical fruits and a whole host

of other goodies that depend on seasonal availability. So now youre ready to take a load

off, tuck in your napkin, rock and roll, or perhaps just roll. It rather depends on your

biotype.

The waiters, seeing you tucking in the napkin and into the food, will now start to

exercise their role in the pageant. They come at you, sometimes in droves, but normally

at something like 20-second intervals. OK. I may be exaggerating on timing, but they docome awfully quickly. They offer their respective cuts, mostly served on long espetos,

one after the other. (An espeto is a skewer in the shape of a fencing sword).

For the newcomer it is very hard to resist their blandishments and the temptation is to

say yes to everything. This doesnt mean you are greedy (youre not, are you?), it just

means you dont want to offend the charming attentive waiter by refusing his kind

offers.

But here a word to the wise. Dont! Dont accept everything that comes your way. Want

to know why?
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It spoils the fun and believe you me, the waiters wont be offended in the slightest. Plus

the fact it will almost certainly curtail the whole eating experience, even more so if you

try to keep up with the tempting offers by eating at a fast pace.

By the time your fellow trenchermen are just getting into gear, chewing slowly on their

carefully selected choice cuts, youll be looking round helplessly, stomach prematurely

distended, wondering what to do now while everyone else is still looking forward to

things to come. And you know its too early for coffee and liqueurs. This is a disaster. To

avoid it just curb your impatience and let things happen in their own sweet way and

time. Some of the places have a little stop and go thing on the table so you can signal

to the waiters when you want or dont want any more at that particular moment.

The best tip here is to take a little of everything that catches your fancy. If youre a bit

dubious about a certain cut, its readiness for your palate, your palates readiness for it, if

its too over or underdone, or any one of a dozen reasons, just echoing Nancy Reagan

say no (but with a thank you). And dont you dare feel guilty about it. The waiters

accept this with surprising grace and humbleness. I believe its part of the training

where apprentices are given the least appetizing (thats a misnomer actually. Its all

appetizing. The only difference really is that certain cuts are sometimes

less popular than others. Alligator meat, wild bore and frogs served by some places

falling neatly into this category. Sorry about the extensive parentheses) meats to

practice on so that they can learn to deal with rejection while keeping their chins up and

a stiff upper lip.

Now, one waiter who has worked his way up the cuts, so to speak, is the guy who brings

thepicanha.Picanhais considered the most noble cut ofbeef. More about noble in aminute (or half an hour if youre a slow reader). Back when I was in the meat packing

business we would refer topicanhaas cloak steak. I dont know if thats still true,

because it seems there wasnt a large demand for export, as to produce this cut the

butcher apparently has to more or less destroy three other prime beefcuts. So I believe

its not very well known outside of Brazil. (I could be wrong on this. Im often wrong on

many things, which my readers point out to me with unconcealed delight).

Picanha is normally served on the rare side and includes a capa (capa is a cover, or

cloak. Whence its name in English) of quite thick fat. Naturally yourpersonalphysicianwouldnt want you to eat this so my suggestion is not to take him

along with you. But Im not here to give you dietary guidelines. All I want to do is tell

you whats nice. Andpicanha is nice.Picanha tastes nice. (I know, I know, Im sounding

like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction here). With a little bit of fatty cloak it tends to taste

even nicer. So whatpicanha can do for you is a gustatory equivalent of a night spent in

bed with Cameron Diaz, to use a slightly sexual metaphor. I mentioned a little earlier the

term noble as applied to cuts of meat. Noble means prime really, but using it now will

help you get used to Brazilian barbecue terminology, and I would say the sooner the

better.
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