Category: Blog Posts

Different cuts of beef have different characteristics. That much is obvious. What’s less obvious is what those characteristics are, how they affect the flavor and texture of the meat, and how they respond to different methods of cooking. The Brazilian favorite cut, picanha, is prized throughout Brazil and is growing in popularity in the United […]

If you’ve looked into a menu for a Brazilian restaurant, or even if you’ve explored Brazil yourself, you might have noticed that rice and beans are everywhere. Whether it’s a bed of rice as the base for a meal, a bean-based dish like feijoada making National Dish status, or just heaping piles of both as […]

At Texas de Brazil, we see diners on just about every diet you can imagine. From low FODMAP to carnivore to even vegan, anyone can find something suitable for their needs on our menu. If you’re at all familiar with churrasco, the Brazilian method of barbecue, you may have heard it described as salt-crusted meat. […]

If you’ve ever visited a Brazilian steakhouse before, you might have noticed something a little odd. Often, we serve a bit of pineapple at the start and periodically throughout the meal. It might be cut into logs and grilled. It might be grilled whole and sliced just like our meats. It might be sliced into […]

Is a meal with a lot of delectable meat, in an all-you-can-eat continuous dining experience, better for lunch or for dinner? Some of you are saying, “Well, that’s obvious!” And some of you are saying that while having the opposite opinion as the others saying it. There are actually a few different answers to this […]

If you’ve ever been to a Brazilian steakhouse, you’ve definitely tried some very, very good beef. The cuts we offer at Texas de Brazil stand out from the usual fare you’ll find in the grocery store, the butcher shop, or even other restaurants. There’s no hiding it; it’s just great beef. But why? What makes […]

South American cuisine, especially in the areas around southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina, heavily centers around beef. Though the names of the cooking methods vary – churrasco versus asado, for example – the concept, and the food we enjoy, is strikingly similar. This even goes all the way to the sauces and other accoutrements […]

Authentic Brazilian churrasco, the historical stuff you would find on the open plains of southern Brazil, used whatever fuel was available to cook their meat. In the southern Pampas plains, that meant dry grasses, cow chips, and wooden fuel that the gauchos carried with them from other areas. Further afield, away from the treeless plains, […]

In America, tipping is a matter of course, as a way to reward or punish servers for doing a good or bad job. Servers are generally paid a substandard wage and subsist largely on tips, meaning that a good server on a busy night can make bank, while a poor server on a slow night […]

If you’ve done much reading about restaurants like Texas de Brazil, one thing you’ve likely noticed is that our servers, the people who bring skewers of delicious meat from our grills to your tables, are known as gauchos. What you might not know, though, is what it means to be called a gaucho, why we’ve […]

If you’ve ever tried to get a large group together and find something to eat, you know it can be a pretty big hassle. Finding a place that suits the tastes of everyone is already hard enough, but it’s distressingly common to find that the place you’ve chosen doesn’t have space or tables to suit […]

The star of the show when you visit a Brazilian steakhouse is the dinner menu, where everything – the meats, the hot items, the salad area – is on full display. But we all know you aren’t always going to make it down for dinner. Sometimes, it’s great to stop by for lunch instead. Whether […]

The rodizio style of continuous dining found in Brazilian churrascarias is a novel experience for many Americans, and it’s part of why we decided to bring our traditional BBQ culture to the States in the first place. Since it’s something different, something most of our guests have never experienced before, you likely have a lot […]

If you’ve never been to a Brazilian barbecue before, you might be in for a small bit of culture shock. Don’t worry; it’s nothing major, it’s really easy to learn and enjoy. Just in case, though, we’ve put together this guide to make sure you know what’s what, and of course, our friendly gauchos will […]

Different people have different outlooks towards words they don’t know. Some just say whatever they think it should sound like and often get things comically wrong. Others do their best with the knowledge they have of other languages and may or may not be close to the mark. Some do their research and learn how […]

There are many different diets you can follow to adjust your health and your lifestyle to meet your goals. One of the diets that gained popularity over the last decade is the ketogenic diet, also known as keto. It’s an extension of the low-carb diet concept, taking things to greater extremes of focusing on protein […]

Summer is here, and barbecue is very much on the menu, but that doesn’t make it any easier to wrangle your energetic and excited children, especially if you’re trying something new and entertaining like Brazilian churrasco. What can you do to make sure they – and you – have the best time possible when you’re […]

Caipirinhas are one of the most famous and tasty cocktails from Brazil and with good reason. Making use of our native-made spirit, cachaca, it’s a unique and flavorful drink that goes great with all manner of different meals. But did you know there are a lot of different variations to the recipe to make altogether […]

Brazilian churrasco is incredibly delicious, but it’s also surprisingly unforgiving. Unlike other regional variations of barbecue, churrasco does not rely on spices and sauces to bring flavor to the meal. Instead, it’s all about the meat, cooked to perfection, sliced, and served. That means there’s no real room for error. If you overcook the meat, […]

Depending on who you ask, the idea of a sauce with Brazilian cuisine might be commonplace, or it might be near-blasphemous. The truth is, there are quite a few different sauces that are popular in Brazil, but opinions can vary on whether or not they’re traditional or even what foods they go with. In our […]

There are three ways you can enjoy churrasco. The first is to travel to Brazil, find a churrascaria, or join in on a beach party where someone has a barbecue pit up and running. Churrasco isn’t our national dish, but it’s close, and we love a good cut of beef with that touch of flame […]

Brazilian food is incredible and has a lot of variety, owing to both a long and varied culinary history and the simple reality of being a massive and geographically disparate country with dozens of distinct regions with their own food cultures. So, if you want to explore Brazilian food, you have two ways you can […]

Cattle are bred, raised, and used as meat all around the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s all the same everywhere you go. For one thing, there are over a thousand different breeds of cattle, and while many of them are not meat animals, that still leaves hundreds of distinct species bred for their meat. […]

A huge part of the food culture in Brazil is centered not just around the food but around the people. Meals are a chance to get together with family and friends, enjoy the company and conversation, and have some good food while we’re all at it. If you’re interested in replicating the experience and want […]

In Brazil, barbecue is a wonderful tradition of socialization, sharing, and great food. Up here in America, there are similar traditions, usually centered around a grill and a game, as the meats are cooked, the spread is laid out, and the TVs start to play whatever football, basketball, or other game is on that day. […]

In our recent blog post about the differences between Brazilian barbecue and the American BBQ you’re likely more familiar with, we talked a lot about things like cuts of meat, cooking methods, and terminology. One of the critical differences, though, is that churrasco typically doesn’t use spices or spice rubs. In Brazil, we love the […]

Not everyone drinks, but those who do often recognize that the flavor profiles of different alcoholic beverages complement and augment certain kinds of meals. Wine, in particular, is often paired in different ways with different meals or even different courses to great effect. The question is, if you’re enjoying a nice Brazilian meal, what wines […]

Imagine it. You’re strolling down a market street in Brazil, enjoying the sights and sounds, watching vendors and buskers doing their thing. You’re headed on the way to the beach, or home from the beach, or just on break at work, and you’re feeling a little hungry. Suddenly, you catch the scent of something delicious. […]

Pretty much anywhere in the world where a lot of people spend a lot of time on their feet outdoors, there are going to be food vendors lining the streets, offering them a bite to sate their appetite. Whether it’s snacks for lounging on the beach, a quick bite while on a lunch break, or […]

Brazil is a huge country spanning a wide range of distinct climates and environments, which means all sorts of plants have flourished here for millennia. The biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest in particular is astonishing, and there are still new species being discovered every year. It’s no surprise that the land is teeming with exotic […]

In Brazil, we love our beef. The entire concept of churrasco was made so we could enjoy beef flavors with as little getting in the way as possible. Forget the sauces, leave off the rubs; all we need is some salt, some fire, and some delicious meat. One interesting element of Brazilian beef is the […]

We are all products of where we were raised, and that applies equally to individuals and to entire nations. Brazil is, of course, no exception, and you can see it reflected in our food culture. Whenever you’re settling down for a meal, whether it’s a bit of street food, a home-cooked meal, or a trip […]

Brazil is a huge and vibrant country with hundreds of millions of people. It stands to reason that our food culture is hugely varied, right? There’s a ton to learn and uncover, and you can easily spend a lifetime just exploring Brazil’s food if you want. Despite all of this, many people don’t know the […]

Burgers are a staple of nearly every American grill, whether it’s home cooks, restaurants, caterers, or something special. What might be surprising, though, is that in the beef-loving Brazil, burgers didn’t actually hit the menus until 1952. In 1952, the American tennis player Robert Falkeburg opened the first hamburger store in Copacabana. His store, Bob’s […]

If you’ve been reading our blog for any length of time, or if you’ve examined a Brazilian menu, or if you’re wondering what this grainy, breadcrumb-like stuff in our salad area is, what you want to know is all about farofa. Farofa is a traditional side dish served in Brazil, and it’s an all-star staple […]

Brazil is a huge country with individual states that are the size of other countries. As such, the food culture throughout Brazil can be wildly different depending on where you are. Brazil’s northeastern region, Bahia, is known for its spicy cuisine; by contrast, other regions dial back on the spices (and seasonings), and the southern […]

Brazilian BBQ is simultaneously a familiar concept to many Americans and something unique to imported Brazilian culture. The concept of cooking meat over an open flame has existed more or less as long as both meat and flame have existed, and it’s something that pretty much every food culture around the world has developed. Different […]

If you’re interested in visiting a Brazilian steakhouse like Texas de Brazil, you’ll want to come prepared. Not in terms of dress or anything like that – our dress code is quite flexible – but more in terms of expectations. If you’re used to the American steakhouse experience, you might find the Brazilian version a […]

We are, all of us, a product of what came before us.  We are built on the influences of the people who raise us, the people we associate with, the people we’re surrounded by, and the collective culture that encompasses us all. Few elements of that culture are as important, or as iconic, as food […]

If you’ve ever visited a churrascaria like Texas de Brazil, you’ve probably noticed something important: all of the meats we bring out and circulate through the dining room are carried on skewers. It’s a key part of the Churrasco and Rodizio experience, but you may have wondered about it. Is it a Brazilian tradition or […]

If you’re interested in visiting a Brazilian steakhouse, a Brazilian restaurant, or even Brazil itself, you might be curious what foods you may find familiar, versus which foods are going to be unusual or interesting to you.  Of course, there’s a huge amount of variation, both within Brazilian food culture and with different regions you […]

As a Brazilian steakhouse, here at Texas de Brazil, we love to educate our visitors and help ensure that you’re getting the most you can out of a trip to our restaurant.  What are you getting into when you visit a Brazilian steakhouse?  Most likely, you’ll experience a rodizio.  The question is, what does that […]

When you’re visiting a churrascaria and partaking in some delicious Brazilian BBQ, there’s more than enough delectable meat to enjoy. But we highly recommend breaking it up so you can enjoy more of what Brazil has to offer and let each bite of meat live on its own rather than in the shadow of the […]

If you’ve been invited to a Brazilian barbecue restaurant or steakhouse, you might be wondering what to expect. Or, maybe you’ve made some assumptions, and you’ve been surprised when they don’t seem to bear out. The truth is, despite being called BBQ, the Brazilian form of barbecue is very different from what we’re used to […]

For many people, looking at cuisine from Central and South America means thinking about spice and heat levels. Scoville units, hot sauces, chilis; they’re part and parcel of a lot of cuisine throughout these geographic regions. It might come as a surprise, then, that most of Brazil is actually fairly spice-averse. Spicy foods aren’t the […]

Traditional Brazilian barbecue is done by skewering cuts of meat and roasting them over an open fire or the embers of wood chips or charcoal that have burned low and hot. The standard skewer is just that; a simple metal stick with a sharp end and a wooden handle. It’s generally meant to be simple; […]

Here on the Texas de Brazil blog, we’ve talked a lot about the meats you can find in a Brazilian steakhouse, like the cultural favorite Picanha and the ever-delectable sirloin. We’ve also talked a lot about Brazilian cultural foods, like feijoada, farofa, and pao de queijo. What we haven’t talked much about yet is the […]

When talking about Brazilian cuisine, it’s important to consider every aspect of a meal. We’ve talked a lot about the meats here for obvious reasons – we are a steakhouse, after all. We’ve also covered a few other topics, like sweets (and we do so love our sweets) and sauces. Last week, we also covered […]

Christmas time is approaching, so we thought we’d take some time to talk about the international holiday and how it’s celebrated in Brazil. Americans reading this are likely to be surprised at a few quirks of our Brazilian celebrations, but when you’re done, you’ll have a fine appreciation of our view of the holiday, and […]

Since the discovery of fire, humankind has been using heat to prepare meat. As cultures around the world diverge and evolve, different traditions surrounding both the kind of heat and the kind of meat have developed, leading to a vast array of different culinary traditions and processes. Barbecue – the act of cooking meat over […]

Cuisines around the world carry with them the influences of thousands of years of history, culture, and development, and the unique sets of dishes and customs they encompass can be a wonderful exploration of cultural and culinary anthropology. The trouble arises if you as an individual are choosing to follow a specific kind of diet […]

Trying to distill all of Brazilian food culture into one article is a lot like trying to do the same thing for the United States. Brazil is massive country with thousands of years of history and a fusion of many different cultures, all of which have brought their culinary contributions to the melting pot. It’s […]

For decades, people have been concerned with the fat content of their food.  There’s a reason for this – and to a certain extent, it’s a good one – and while the actual repercussions of that number might not be as strong as you think, it’s still information worth having, so it’s information we provide. […]

Brazil is a massive country with a historic food culture made up of a fusion of native foods and influences from northern Africa, Portugal, and later influences from Germany, Japan, Italy, Syria, and Lebanon, among others. What this means is that distilling the entire food culture of the nation down into a blog post is […]

Brazil has a lot of unique foods across the country.  Whether it’s foods made with their local cassava starch, or foods originating from the unique fusion of national cultures that settled Brazil centuries ago, there are many unique culinary experiences to be found there. Few foods are so nationally famous and beloved as feijoada.  This […]

Brazilians love their sweets, possibly even more than Americans, so there is a very vibrant and immensely varied array of desserts, treats, and snacks available anywhere you look in Brazil.  Dedicated as we are to bringing Brazilian dining to American audiences through the fusion of churrasco and steakhouse dining, we at Texas de Brazil don’t […]

If you’re a frequent enjoyer of the humble steak, you’ve likely experienced it all.  You’ve had tough, dry, over-salted steaks.  You’ve had succulent, tender, and juicy steaks full of flavor.  You may have even had the unique and delectable experience of a slice of real Wagyu.  You’ve probably tried steaks cooked in many different ways, […]

What’s that delicious green stuff in the salad area? We get this question a lot, and the answer may surprise you. The simple answer is, usually, chimichurri, but there are actually a bunch of similar green sauces you can find in different restaurants and churrascarias around the world. Three of the best are chimichurri, pesto, […]

Many people have questions when they’re given the opportunity to visit a Brazilian steakhouse. Whether it’s questions about the meats we offer, the vegetarian options in our salad area, or the atmosphere itself, there’s always something new to learn. Our managers are more than happy to explain anything to you when you arrive, whether it’s […]

The life of a vegetarian (or vegan) isn’t always simple. When you’ve cut meat out of your diet, you have to carefully control what you eat to avoid it, and the ways you do that can vary depending on both where you’re eating and why you’re vegetarian. So, if your friends have invited you out […]

Brazilian food and food culture is unlike anything else in the world. Local cuisine is an incredible mix of everything from exotic fruits and vegetables from the Amazon forests, seafood dishes influenced by the Mediterranean, indigenous foods and traditional recipes, and both Portuguese and African-influenced foodstuffs. This truly global fusion presents a mouth-watering culinary experience […]

When you think of healthy diets, what comes to mind? Mediterranean food is always near the top, of course. Fad diets like Keto and Atkins always come up. You might have heard of things like “Low FODMAP” before or similar terms. One that you don’t often hear is Brazilian cuisine. Why is that? Well, some […]

Here in America, beef is a common food, but in Brazil, it’s a way of life! Brazilians love steak, so when we bring the Brazilian culture around steak to our restaurants, it’s all about the churrasco or barbecue style. But what makes Brazilian meats so delicious? Is it the cut, the preparation, the cattle itself? […]

Alcatra is a specialty sirloin cut that we bring back seasonally at Texas de Brazil so you can revisit a delicious churrasco staple. But what, exactly, is alcatra? How is it different from top sirloin?  What Cut of Meat Is the Alcatra? Alcatra is a long, lean cut derived from the top sirloin area of […]

What is the best cut of steak? The answer to that question is a long-standing debate, even among professionals. Perhaps it is because taste is subjective, and the end flavor and texture of steak depend very largely on how it is cooked. That being said, two cuts of meat always seem to make it into […]

Traditional Brazilian churrasco centers around beef: prime cuts spit-roasted over open coals make for some of the most succulent, flavorful meat you will ever taste. Most of us are familiar with picanha, which is by far Brazil’s favorite cut of meat. But a close second is the fraldinha,  or sirloin flap steak. Bursting with beefy […]

Filet mignon has earned a reputation among carnivores as one of the tenderest cuts of beef. The words “buttery” and “melt-in-your mouth” often coincide with a bite of perfectly cooked mignon. If you can believe it, bone in filet mignon is even more tender than its boneless counterpart. Today, we’ll teach you how to grill […]

The Best Cut of Beef You’ve Probably Never Heard Of If you’re a steak enthusiast, you’ve likely savored a variety of cuts ranging from ribeye to filet mignon. But have you ever heard of the Denver steak? This lesser-known cut is a hidden gem in the world of beef, offering a delectable combination of tenderness […]

The history behind the gaucho knife is intertwined in the culture and history of the gauchos themselves. The image of the lone horseman hunting and foraging on the pampas, selling animal hides and ostrich plumes and sleeping under the stars sounds like a character from a novel rather than history. But the day-to-day existence of the […]

The tomahawk ribeye is an impressive cut of meat. It is instantly recognizable by the extended, handle-like bone, which gives the cut its name. Cooking tomahawk steaks on a charcoal grill at home is relatively easy and makes for a delicious and eye-catching meal. What Are Tomahawk Steaks? The tomahawk is technically the same cut […]