The Simple Yet Elevated Seasoning You'll Find At Most Brazilian Steakhouses

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Barbecue in the U.S. generally features meats seasoned with spice rubs or slathered with sauce, leading to distinct regional styles like Texas, Carolina, Kansas City, and Memphis. Brazilian-style barbecue, or churrasco, on the other hand, keeps things far more basic.

Brazilian grill master and private chef Silvio Correa explained that the meat at Brazilian steakhouses is typically seasoned with just one simple, traditional ingredient. "In true Brazilian [barbecue] tradition, rock salt (sal grosso) is the essential seasoning. It enhances the natural flavor of the meat without masking it," Correa told Food Republic. Brazilians want to taste the smoky barbecue flavor as well, which they believe more seasonings can easily overpower.

Sal grosso is a large-grained sea salt harvested from the waters off Brazil's coast. It's made by allowing seawater to evaporate in the sun, leaving behind salt crystals that carry extra flavor from trace minerals like magnesium and calcium.

Correa emphasized that the timing of the salting is crucial: "Absolutely right before the steak hits the grill. If you salt it too early, it can start pulling out moisture. But when you do it just before grilling, it forms a beautiful crust and keeps the steak juicy inside." He also shared a personal technique: "I use beer in a spray bottle, usually a pilsner or lager, and lightly spray the meat while it cooks. It keeps the meat juicy and adds a subtle depth of flavor."

Barbecue is served rodízio style at Brazilian steakhouses, where waiters walk around with large skewers of barbecued meat to slice tableside. Patrons leave cards green side up to keep more meat coming, or red to stop. Meats including beef, lamb, chicken, and sausage are offered, but the most classic is picanha, a top sirloin cut with a fat cap that's skewered in a folded "C" shape for barbecuing over flames. Some of the sal grosso liberally sprinkled on the meats melts as it grills, and the bigger chunks are scraped off once it's done.

You don't necessarily need sal grosso to make Brazilian-style barbecue yourself. "All you need is good coarse salt and quality meat. That's the foundation," Grill master Silvio Correa shared. He recommends the Del Destino brand of coarse Mediterranean sea salt for a crust that "locks in the juices and gives the steak that signature churrasco texture." You could also try other varieties, like sel gris, a sea foam salt that softly elevates dishes.

Correa noted he will sometimes serve the steak with chimichurri sauce. "In Brazil, sal de parrilla with herbs and flavors is getting more popular, but I prefer the original way," he said. "Salt, fire, and flavor from the grill."