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 a flame – varies a lot depending on where you are in the world.
Two of the most common “foreign” barbecues to make their way to the United States are Brazilian BBQ and Korean BBQ. Despite the names, they are quite a bit different, but how do they compare? Let’s talk about it!
Table of Contents
How Brazilian BBQ Works
If you’re here on our site, chances are you’re at least somewhat familiar with the way Brazilian barbecue works, but we’ll toss in a refresher just to make sure everyone’s on the same page.
Brazilian barbecue, also known as churrasco, is a method of cooking meat with minimal adulteration. Delectable cuts of meat, like the Brazilian favorite Picanha, are skewered and placed over an open flame. Most of the time, the meat is seasoned with coarse salt and not much else, though some forms of churrasco use a spice rub to add a variety of flavors to the meat.
In traditional churrasco, wooden fuel is burned into embers, and the meat is cooked slowly over this heat. More recent “fast” Brazilian BBQ uses a higher and more direct heat for meat that is maybe slightly less delectable but much faster and more reliably available in a restaurant setting.
The end result is a well-seared, salt-crusted meat with no added butter or oil, or even other flavorings to get in the way of enjoying a delicious cut of meat.
Note: Churrasco is not necessarily Rodizio
Many Americans think of Brazilian barbecue as a whole experience. This is because their experiences come from places like Texas de Brazil, which serve churrasco in the Rodizio style.
The Rodizio style is, indeed, an experience. It’s performed by gauchos, the trained Brazilian cowboys of history, who pick up skewers of meat from the kitchen and bring them through the dining room. Anyone who wants a cut of a particular skewer can, usually using a table card, signal the gaucho to visit and cut a slice or two.
This rotation – rodizio literally means rotation – allows diners to enjoy a wide variety of meats without being locked into a single choice. It’s designed to be a communal experience and an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of delicious meats, supplemented by hot dish items and salad area snacks to give the meats some breathing room.
Churrasco doesn’t have to be served this way, but it’s a fantastic way to experience both Brazilian barbecue and Brazilian culture in a restaurant setting, which is why it has been brought to America by restaurants like Texas de Brazil.
How Korean BBQ Works
Now that you have some idea of how Brazilian barbecue works, let’s talk about Korean barbecue.
Korean BBQ is a very different kind of experience than Brazilian BBQ. The core of the culinary experience is, of course, the meat and the heat. But that’s just about where the similarity ends.
With Korean BBQ, there’s no central kitchen that prepares the food. Instead, your table has a grill in the center. But, unlike a hotpot or a hot stone grill, you aren’t expected to do your own cooking. Instead, a member of the restaurant staff will stick by your table to cook what you ask for as the meal progresses.
One interesting fact is that in Korea, the Korean barbecue isn’t usually staffed by an attendant. This is largely an American invention and seems to be most common in restaurants that expect first-timers who might not be comfortable handling a grill themselves. Others leave you to handle it on your own and trust you not to hurt yourself.
Korean barbecue is a delightful spread of different meats – beef, pork, and chicken primarily, but others may show up – and a wide range of different sides, called banchans. Banchans are simply side dishes and can include a wide range of different foods, including options such as:
- Roasted seaweed
- Potstickers
- Acorn jelly
- Cucumber salad
- Kimchi
- Pickled radish
- Pickled onions
- Soybean sprouts
- Spinach salad
- Braised potatoes
Alongside all of these will be a handful of different kinds of wraps, like lettuce leaves, cabbage leaves, perilla leaves, or whole peppers.
The process for Korean barbecue is also a unique experience. You start by taking small bites of meat, and flavor them. Traditionally, you start with either unflavored meat or meat dredged lightly in sesame oil and salt. This allows you to try out and appreciate the flavors and textures of the meats on their own.
Then, you start to assemble the ssams. The ssam, or wrap, is a piece of the lettuce or other wrap material, with a piece of meat, and a bit of one of the banchans, all wrapped up. These are grilled (by a professional attendant) and are meant to be eaten in a single bite. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes first-timers tend to make, and a bit of a cultural faux pas, is to make a wrap that’s too big to eat in a bite.
As you go, you explore different flavor combinations. There are a variety of meats, ranging from unflavored to deeply marinated meats, all of which have their own unique flavor profiles. These, combined with the variety of banchans available, mean you have hundreds of possible combinations to try out throughout your meal. That’s why small ssams are important! You want to get the most out of your meal.
Note: banchans are not appetizers, which is a common mistake many people make when trying Korean barbecue for the first time. You might also make your way through all of what you’re offered; it’s fine to request more, but make sure you aren’t leaving any leftovers, which can be considered rude.
One of the biggest traditions surrounding Korean barbecue is the shared nature of the meal and the relationships you have with the people you’re eating with. While you can make and eat ssams all by yourself, it’s a meal best enjoyed with company, and especially loved ones. In fact, it’s traditional to give the best bites you make to a loved one instead of keeping them all to yourself.
The Differences Between Brazilian and Korean BBQs
Now that you know the basics of how these two kinds of BBQs work, what are some of the more specific differences between them?
The Choice of Meats
One of the biggest differences is the meats available to you at your choice of BBQ.
With churrasco, you’re getting a fine selection of Brazilian meats. The majority of these meats are different cuts of beef, but you can also find some cuts of pork, some chicken, and even some lamb. Some cuts are also wrapped in bacon for a double-whammy of meaty flavors.
With Korean barbecue, the meats you have available are very different.
For one thing, Korean BBQ cuts the meats into much smaller portions, meant for individual bite-size experiences. Churrasco keeps cuts large while they’re cooked, and cuts serving portions for you at your table.
Korean BBQ involves beef, of course, but they’re also fairly heavy on pork, with pork belly being one of the most common and delectable cuts available. Chicken is on the menu as well, but you’re a lot less likely to see things like bacon or lamb on the table.
On the other hand, some unique meats available in a Korean barbecue are rarities in America. Tripe, intestines, beef tongue, and other forms of offal are almost always available. Many Americans hesitate when presented with these options, and the textures can certainly be an acquired taste, but they’re genuinely delicious and relatively rare to find outside of specialty restaurants. While you won’t see them in a churrasco roster, trust us when we say you should definitely give them a try if you’re given the opportunity.
The other major difference is something we have already touched on, which is portion sizes. Churrasco isn’t going to give you a whole chunk of filet or picanha when the gaucho stops by, but they also aren’t going to limit you to just a single bite at a time. Korean barbecue traditionally asks you to take it a bite at a time.
The Spices and Flavors
Another big difference between Brazilian and Korean barbecues is the array of flavors and spices available for your meats.
With the basic churrasco, the meat is cooked with nothing but heat and salt, so the flavor is entirely what you get from the meat itself and the Maillard reaction caused by the heat.
Of course, that’s not to say that’s all you get. Our menu, for example, includes a variety of meats with a bit more to them than just the heat and the salt. For example:
- Spicy picanha, which has a spicy rub packed on it before it’s cooked, so the meat’s juices hydrate and infuse the meat with the flavors.
- Parmesan-crusted wings, adding that pungent parmesan cheese flavor and a bit of breading to traditional wings.
- Bacon-wrapped filet, combining the smokey saltiness and fattiness of the pork with the leaner, tender flavors of the beef.
- Garlic picanha, a cut of picanha slathered in delicious garlic sauce to give it that incredible kick.
Despite all of that, you might think churrasco is simple when you see the spices and flavors available in Korean barbecue meats.
Korean barbecue gives you options like:
- Marinated beef, usually marinated in a soy mixture that gives you a sweet and salty combination.
- Spicy pork, usually mixed or marinated in a gochujang sauce, which gives it a hot kick of flavor with a mild sweetness.
- Sesame oil, a very flavorful oil that combines well with a lot of other flavors.
- Ssamjang (yes, with two Ss; it comes from the ssam word for each bite), which is a thick, spicy sauce made from miso, chili, sesame, garlic, onion, and sugar.
- Cho ganjang, which is a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar, for a pungent tanginess alongside the salty-sweet of soy.
All of these combine with the wide range of banchan options to make every single bite a unique experience.
The Cooking Method
This one is pretty obvious.
Churrasco is cooked in the kitchen over hot coals or embers (or a gas grill in a restaurant environment), while Korean BBQ is cooked at the table over a small grill, usually fueled with butane.
The Serving Method
With Korean barbecue, you’re either letting your server cook your bites for you or you’re managing the surface of a grill on your own. It’s usually a hotplate-style grill surface, so nothing drips onto the fire source itself, unlike churrasco being cooked directly over embers. Incidentally, this is another reason why leaving marinated meats for last is ideal; the marinate chars on the grill and can smoke up the area or leave an unpleasant residue on subsequent bites.
Churrasco, as mentioned above, is often served rodizio-style by gauchos bringing cuts around to your table. If you’re open for more, you use a pair of tongs to receive the cuts the gaucho slices for you, transferring them to your plate while keeping the tongs free from contamination.
Which is Healthier?
This is a hard question to answer because there’s so much variation between both kinds of BBQ. Churrasco is largely pure meat and can often be considered healthier because there are no added oils or fats for most cuts. On the other hand, a lot of what you eat alongside each ssam in Korean barbecue is a vegetable-based side, which can be healthier overall.
At the end of the day, though, you’re not going to one of these barbecues to be healthy. You’re going because it’s delicious and you want to experience the barbecue tradition of another culture. While we’re obviously biased towards Brazilian barbecue, Korean is still a great option!
If you want to try out churrasco for yourself, why not find your nearest Texas de Brazil location and stop on by? We’d love to have you!
