Tag: Brazilian
Picanha Steaks
Picanha Steaks
Picanha is slowly growing in popularity due to restaurants like Fogo de Chao and other Brazilian steakhouses. Picanha is from the culotte muscle, which is the top flap of the whole top butt sirloin. That entire muscle is peeled off with the fat cap left untrimmed. The culotte muscle is cut with the grain into 3 large steaks.Traditionally, the culotte steaks are marinated in Brazilian sofrito(onion/garlic/olive oil purée) and placed on large skewers and grilled upright on an open flame. While that might be an issue for most people to replicate, there are other ways to duplicate the picanha. You can simply grill them, broil them, and even pan fry in a cast iron skillet like I did in this recipe.
Equipment
- food processor
- cast iron pan
Ingredients
- 1 whole culotte about 2.5lbs; untrimmed
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 head garlic peeled
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- coarse sea salt
- cracked black pepper
- 2 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Purée the onion, garlic, and olive oil in a food processor.
- Cut the culotte with the grain into 3 steaks.
- Marinate the steaks with the Brazilian sofrito in a gallon sized storage bag for 24 hours. Make sure to squeeze out the excess air.
- Melt the butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Place the steaks on a meat/fat side. Sear for 4 minutes.
- Flip the steaks to the other meat/fat side. Sear for 4 minutes.
- Flip the meat to the fat side facing down. Cook for 5 minutes to render out some of the fat.
- Flip the steaks to fat side up. Sear for 2 minutes.
- Remove the steaks from the skillet. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Thinly slice the steaks against the grain.
Brazilian Style Collard Greens
Brazilian Style Collard Greens
When you think of collard greens, you think of how they are prepared down south: stewed with ham hocks or smoked turkey, cut with a little bit of vinegar. If you go further south, like South America, you will find that collard greens are sautéed with a ton of garlic. The Brazilian way is to cook them with diced bacon. This way of preparation only takes 10 minutes opposed to multiple hours of stewing. Collard greens pair great with any meat, especially feijoada.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 5 strips bacon chopped
- 2 bunches collard greens washed and chopped
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Cook the bacon until 3/4 of the way through.
- Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Toss in the collard greens and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Ensopado de Camarao (Brazilian Shrimp Stew)
Ensopado de Camarao (Brazilian Shrimp Stew)
Shrimp stew is a popular Brazilian dish eaten during holidays and celebrations. The stew base is of shrimp stock, coconut milk, and sautéed onions, peppers, garlic, and tomatoes; all puréed smooth. Sautéed shrimp are added to the stew along with lime juice and cilantro. The shrimp stew is always served over rice.
Servings: 8
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
Shrimp Stock
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups shrimp shells
Shrimp Stew
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lbs 21/25 ct. shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 medium white onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 10 garlic cloves
- 2 roma tomatoes chopped
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 lime juiced
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil with the shrimp shells. Reduce to half the amount; about 1 1/2 cups.
- Strain and set aside.
- In the same pot, heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté the shrimp for 3 minutes.
- Set aside.
- In the same pot again, heat up the rest of the olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté the onions and peppers for 5 minutes.
- Toss in the whole garlic cloves. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add in the tomatoes and sauté for 3 more minutes.
- Add the sautéed vegetables to a blender along with the shrimp stock and coconut milk. Purée until smooth.
- Pour the purée back into the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes over medium heat.
- Stir in the shrimp. Cook for 2 more minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Squeeze in the lime juice. Garnish with cilantro.
