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; a way to hold meat that is easy to use and control, without all the added bells and whistles that get in the way of service later on.
There are some variations on these skewers, too. You might see:
- Flat, almost blade-like skewers that rest more easily than round skewers on a mount, which work better for cuts that need more attention paid to the angle of the heat.
- Triple skewers that look like an extended sai, meant for holding meat perfectly flat when it might not hold together otherwise, like sausages.
- Extra-large skewers meant for lining up a bunch of pieces of meat to roast them all at once, ideal for large parties and gatherings.
- Skewers with adjustable prongs that can help hold larger cuts of meat in place while you rotate them, almost like a rotisserie.
These also tend to come in a variety of sizes, from large to small, depending on your needs. At-home churrasco enthusiasts might only want a couple of small skewers, while large catering groups, party-throwers, and restaurants like us will have larger skewers to suit our needs.
For at-home cooks, you might already have some grilling equipment, and you may be wondering: is something like the Joetisserie from Kamado Joe usable for churrasco, or should you go with more traditional skewers?
As fans of all things meat, and experts in churrasco, we wanted to talk about it and see what the truth is.
Table of Contents
What is Kamado Joe?
To answer this question, we need to go all the way back to the far-off year of, oh, around 400 AD. The stretch of time between 300 AD and 538 AD across the seas in Japan was known as the Kofun period. At some time during this span of nearly two and a half centuries, contact and immigration between Japan and Korea took place. The Korean Yayoi immigrants brought with them various culinary traditions, including a style of grill/stove/oven known as the kamado.
The kamado was usually stationary, a cylindrical oven built into a larger counter that would enclose the fuel and transfer heat to what was a lot like a big, heavy Dutch Oven on top of the heat. More portable versions, known as mushikamados, were also common.
Fast forward a few years – okay, well, about 1,500 years – and we come to World War II. This was a period of immense change for pretty much everyone in the world, but setting aside all of the violence, a huge number of Americans experienced some elements of Japanese culture through their air bases, occupations, and other actions. One of the more tertiary elements of Japanese culture that caught the attention of the Americans was the kamado style of oven.
Over the intervening near-century, numerous businesses have taken the design and concepts behind the kamado-style oven and have turned them into grills. Brands like Kamado Joe, the Big Green Egg, the Dragon Kamado, the Komodo Kamado, and others have all brought these egg-shaped grills to the forefront of American grilling culture.
Koreans also immigrated to Brazil, albeit many centuries later than they did to Japan, but by then, a lot of culinary culture was more entrenched. While you can certainly find Kamado-style grills in Brazil, they didn’t catch on as a major form of cooking, and churrasco is still done over more traditional Brazilian-style grills.
What Are the Benefits of a Kamado Grill?
Kamado grills are increasingly popular among certain subsets of the American (and even Brazilian) population, particularly the grill enthusiasts who want as much flexibility and power as they can get in a small package. But what makes them popular, and why might you consider one?
They’re relatively portable. A Kamado Joe or similar Kamado-style grill isn’t much larger than a standard charcoal grill, though it extends more vertically, and it’s usually significantly heavier due to its construction. The smaller kamados can be lifted and carried around, while the larger ones come on wheels or even mounted on a grilling table or cart. Since they’re relatively small compared to something like a big gas grill, they can be easily stored away when you aren’t using them.
They have excellent heat retention. Many grills are made of relatively thin metal, possibly with some insulation, but they generally rely on shorter cooking times or a steady fuel source (in the case of gas) to maintain their heat. Kamado grills are usually made of ceramic, which is both very insulating and heavy-duty, so they work very well at keeping all of the heat generated by your fuel where it needs to be. Heat the meat, not your feet!
They’re fuel-efficient. For the same reason, less waste heat means more heat from the fuel goes into the food. On average, you use less fuel cooking the same amount of food in a kamado than you would in a traditional charcoal or gas grill. Additionally, since the ceramic holds heat and radiates it steadily, it’s a very even use of heat, rather than with peaks and valleys as charcoal is stirred or as lids are opened and removed.
They can get very, very hot. A traditional gas grill pretty much can’t get over 500 degrees F, though they can be pushed closer to 600 F if you set things up right. A charcoal grill on its own can get around 600-700 F if you know what you’re doing, and with the right set up of chimneys and airflow, they can be pushed to 800 F or more, though it risks damaging parts of the grill itself and can be very dangerous. Meanwhile, a Kamado can reach and maintain 750 F easily and can be pushed to as much as 1,000 F!
While you might not think that’s terribly important, very high heat is very useful for achieving certain flavors and cooking styles that you simply can’t get with lower heat. Some of the best restaurant-style barbecue uses extremely high heat to present unique meals that, quite literally, cannot be done at home without significant investment.
A kamado helps you get around that by being a specialized piece of equipment capable of reaching and maintaining those temperatures in a less dangerous way. There are still some dangers – a kamado needs to be “burped” before opening to prevent a high-heat flashback that can be dangerous – but they’re still a lot safer than the people who attach a leaf blower to a charcoal chimney to a Weber and tell you that no really it’s perfectly safe just, uh, stand back a ways.
They’re also very flexible. You can get them very hot, but you can also keep them low and slow for smoking and anywhere in between, with very precise controls. They’re usable for everything from smoking to rotisserie and much more.
The Kamado Joe specifically also has a two-tiered system where one half of the grill has the charcoal raised to a higher level, closer to the food, so you can cook multiple things at different heat levels simultaneously.
What is a Joetisserie?
Now that you know what a kamado is and why people might want to use them, let’s talk a bit about what a Joetisserie is. Though, you can probably guess just from the name, right?
A Joetisserie is just the branded name of the Kamado Joe’s rotisserie feature. The actual Joetisserie is a $300 accessory for a Kamado Joe, which consists of a ring that sits on the rim of the Kamado Joe and holds a single skewer, which has rotisserie prongs and a control box. The control box is a motor that rotates the meat on the skewer, and it all ties into the Kamado Joe digital controls.
Note that you don’t actually need a Kamado Joe to use the Joetisserie; it’s compatible with any 18″ round Kamado grills, including other brands like the Big Green Egg.
Can You Cook Brazilian BBQ on a Joetisserie?
Sure, why not?
When you’re cooking churrasco, it’s all about three things: the meat, the heat, and the salt.
You can get the meat anywhere that sells it, up to and including our own shop if you can’t find it locally. Many people report Costco selling picanha under the label “top sirloin cap” if you want to try your luck. Of course, just about any cut of meat can be cooked churrasco-style – our menu is proof – but for the most authentically Brazilian experience, you need at least a few cuts of picanha.
The salt is also pretty easy. Traditional Brazilian BBQ doesn’t use complex flavor mixtures or seasonings or rubs; all we usually do is coat the meat with a coarse rock salt. Specialties like our spicy picanha have a rub, of course, but that’s a little outside of the true traditional Brazilian BBQ.
The heat is where things get tricky. Truly traditional churrasco is done over a pretty hot grill, which is why it’s not reasonable for most people to do it at home without the right equipment. In fact, often, a churrasco is done at 500 F or higher, and rather than adjusting the heat, gauchos adjust how high the meat is held away from the flame for optimal cooking.
So, can you use a Joetisserie for all of this? Sure! It serves as a skewer, it has the requisite heat, and you can get the meat and the salt on your own.
The Drawbacks of Joetisserie for Churrasco
There are, however, a few drawbacks to using a Joetisserie for Brazilian BBQ.
The first is that it’s a pretty small grill and only a single skewer. That’s fine if you just want to line up a few picanha for the family, but if you’re grilling for a party or you want to try a bunch of different cuts of Brazilian meats, the lack of flexibility is going to be a roadblock.
The second is that it’s slightly inconvenient to use the rotisserie machine, especially for a single skewer for a single meal. It’s not difficult, it’s just a step above holding and moving a skewer on your own. That’s as much a matter of personal taste as it is anything else.
A third, if you’re considering a Joetisserie, is the cost. A set of churrasco skewers won’t cost you more than $50 from a reputable source, and you can find them even cheaper if you shop around or use deals. Meanwhile, just the Joetisserie itself is $300, and the grill is even more expensive. It’s fine if you already own one or were planning to get one for other reasons, and you just wanted to know if you can use it (you can!), but if you’re looking for a way to do churrasco, there are cheaper methods.
Finally – and we know this will only matter to some of you – the Joetisserie just isn’t traditional. A real Brazilian churrasco is as much about the act of managing the meat directly, being able to see how it cooks and adjusting on the fly, and even taking the skewer, cutting a few slices, and putting it back to keep cooking. While you can do that with a Joetisserie, you lose out on some of the traditional feel of the churrasco.
- Can you make churrasco on a Joetisserie? Sure, there’s nothing stopping you from a delicious cut of meat if you have the equipment.
- Are there better ways to get churrasco? Of course! Swing by your local Texas de Brazil and let our gauchos immerse you in the full experience.
If you prefer tradition and presentation, you’re going to need to invest in a more traditional oven, or come to Texas de Brazil. If you’re just in it for delicious meat – and who can blame you? – feel free to use a Kamado Joe, a Big Green Egg, or any other grill you have that gets hot enough to do it.
At the end of the day, we’re all friends here, and we all love churrasco, picanha, and all of the delicious traditions from Brazil. How you get it matters less than the people you share it with, and that’s what it’s really all about.
