The BBQ Report

Churrasco is the Brazilian form of barbecue made from the picanha — an unadorned sirloin cut of beef. Seasoned simply with garlic and sea salt, the delicious steak is gaining popularity throughout the U.S. Brazilian-style barbecue restaurants have opened in Little Rock, Arkansas, Beverly Hills, California and even in the U.S. barbecue stronghold of Memphis, Tennessee. The ban has forced these Brazilian steakhouses to grill only American meat, but their presence may pave the way for Brazilian beef in the U.S. meat market, the world’s largest. As a recent article from Reuters discuses, Brazilian barbecue is introducing Americans to Brazilian culture and attempting to reverse current U.S. bans on Brazilian beef.

“The number of Brazilian barbecue restaurants shows that there is a growing interest in the Brazilian culture,” said Marcus Vinicius Pratini de Moraes, president of the nation’s beef exporters association and a former agriculture minister. “This is the best way to promote our products.”