Liquid Meat + GHOST CHILI PEPPER and King of Crackling! Food Tour in Belo Horizonte, Brazil!

- Hello everyone. I hope you're having an amazing day. It's Mark Wiens. I am in Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. This is a state well known for its

food

throughout Brazil. But today we will do a traditional and market

tour

of Belo Horizonte. Let's eat some traditional

food

. It's going to be an amazing day and I'll share all the food with you in this video. We started at the market, which is right in front, for breakfast. (upbeat music) I immediately entered the market and noticed that there were many artisanal food shops. And we just took a few steps into the market and were greeted with an amazing

chili

shop.

There are at least 20 different varieties, all of different shapes and sizes. It has Bhut jolokia. It has the Trinidad scorpion. He has the Carolina Reaper. (the woman speaks in a foreign language)-(she speaks in a foreign language) We have only one, a jolokia from Bhut. The market is fantastic. It is clean and spacious. There are vegetables just sprouting. There is garlic. You get the aroma of garlic. (speaks in a foreign language) Here you can smell the onion, the cheeses, a lot of artisanal food and very special and high-quality ingredients. (upbeat music) - Let's call the King of Sizzle, which in Portuguese is called Rei Do Torresmo.. - Awesome. - Yes. (Guilherme speaks in a foreign language) - Okay. (Guilherme speaks in foreign language) This place is called the Crackling King.

It's just a bar counter standing in the market. He has a cupboard full of crispy, ultra-browned pork. And then he will also prepare a liver dish, which is very, very essential in Belo Horizonte. King Do Torresmo. - King of Torresmo. - King of Torresmo. - Yes. - King of the pork rinds. - Yes. (laughs) - What a name. - What name. - (laughs) Like a whole piece of completely crispy pork belly. He squeezed some lemon and then literally like they didn't cut it or anything. They just hand it to you, you just take the whole piece and take a bite.

Choose if you want the skin part, the

meat

part, the fat part, the layers, the layers, and drip in that lemon juice. It is as crunchy and as salty as it is fried and dehydrated. But that lemon juice really adds to it because it really likes to reduce its richness. Now that is a delicious

meat

at eight in the morning. Oh, the crispy skin and the fat. Oh, wow. By the way, Belo Horizonte is known for its pork. And then these are just the

crackling

s, maybe the skin. Again, he squeezes the lemon. (woman speaks in foreign language) And then I'm going to, mmm.

Oh, that's completely crunchy from start to finish. And then for my next bite, I'll try some Ronaldao. Oh yeah, this looks great. Man, that looks like a little fireball. Not too spicy, but the flavor is. Oh, cow liver? - Yes Yes. - Another of the typical dishes that we are ordering here and that is very common in the state is liver. I think it's beef liver, sautéed with onion and something called scarlet eggplant. And that's why he's fixing it now while we grind out the crunch. OMG, that smells incredibly good. The vapors coming out of the liver, the onions, that eggplant that I really want to try, the scarlet eggplant. (Gerardo speaks in a foreign language) It smells very good.

They give you chopsticks to eat it. I'm going to get some of everything. I have to have a good piece of that scarlet eggplant because that's what I'm really interested in trying. Oh, there's a nice piece of curly liver and some onion. Well. (Joel laughs) Hmm. It's so fresh. The liver is incredibly creamy and smooth. Scarlet eggplant has a slightly bitter taste. It's almost like a cucumber. That's liver and onion on the next level. Gerardo, he is the owner. He is the chef. He's been coo

king

. He has owned this place for 24 years. He said that's the hottest hot sauce, so we'll put that in and then dip some liver in it with some scarlet eggplant.

Oh, wow. Is there something cachaca in this? (Gerardo speaks in a foreign language) - What's inside? - A little cachaça. - Oh. (laughs) No way! - There is, there is. - There is! Gerardo added the hot sauce. Yes, that's good, very good. Well, now we just have to try some cachaça because cachaça is one of the most famous things in this region, Minas Gerais, in Brazil. Yes, that's strong. You can feel the vapors and you can taste something similar, its sweetness for sure. (upbeat music) Oh, the drip. Part of the reason it's so good is because he's cooked it perfectly, not overcooked, so the liver is very juicy. (Mark speaks in foreign language) (Gerardo speaks in foreign language) Incredible.

Right across the aisle, across the lane is the next meal we're going to eat. - It's called pao de queijo. - Ah, because it's bread with cheese. - Yes, but we have the simple pao de queijo. But here in this place, we're going to eat stuffed turkey and Canastra cheese, it's... - Impressive. - Which is one of the local cheeses from the state of Minas Gerais called Canastra. - And that cheese is known in the state. - Ah, well known. - But then cheese bread, is it in all of Brazil? Or is it mainly also the State? - Well, about Brazil, but I would say that only the state of Minas Gerais knows how to do what is real as well as what is legitimate. - Ah, the real one, the authentic one. - Exactly. - You can see that crispy caramelized edge plus a slice of turkey and then toasted on a hot griddle.

It's like cheese bread on top of cheese. Wow. It's like any cheese lover's dream. The bread is very soft and cheesy. You've got the crunchy caramelized cheese there. The turkey was like separated strings. Wow, that's delicious. And Guilherme was explaining to me that this is really representative of the state of Minas Gerais. They are famous for cheese. They are famous for bread and meat. Give this a jolokia. I had to drink an espresso to wash it down. I love the standing room, quick, take out, grab a bite to eat and just the atmosphere of the market.

It's fantastic. It was a wonderful way to start this food

tour

in Belo Horizonte today. That was a breakfast of champions. (upbeat music) Now we head to a legendary place that serves cow hoof stew soup. We will find out. We met the owner here. He lets us go to the back of the kitchen to see the cow hoof stew and eat at the bar counter. What is the dish called? -Mocoto. -Mocoto. -Mocoto. - And that is the cow hoof stew, right? - Cow hoof stew. - It's thick. - And it's 24 hours. - And it's open 24 hours a day. - It is open 24 hours a day. - If you are hungry, if you get a craving at 3 in the morning, you know where to go.

He drips the marrow. - That's a lot. -He broke a couple of quail eggs, just raw quail eggs. Then he approaches that stew. He takes a couple of bones. He cuts off some of that collagen, pieces of gelatin from the joints, empties the marrow, places it in his cup over the egg yolks, the quail egg yolks, and then fills it with the stew, which is as pure as a

liquid

. meat. And then he tops it with some green onions. That's fascinating. I love that spoonful of green onions on top. And then you can feel that there is no flour here.

There are no additives, just cow gelatin sauce. Then you can call it melted cow. And here there are pieces of gelatin that are already mixing with the egg because, yes, with the quail egg. Oh man. That's rich. Oh, wow. That's literally like a melting cow. Oh man. It's like a gelatin sauce, like the gelatinous unions of the cow with the marrow. That's tasty. That's muscular. Yes, do you mix that sauce? Oh, all the yolk is there. - (laughs) Yes. - And Guilherme just dipped my spoon in some of that spicy sauce they have. Is there cachacá, cachacá? (the cook laughs) (the cook speaks in a foreign language) It's cachaca, cachaca.

Yes, that's pretty spicy too, but you can immediately taste the sugar cane liquor in it. That's intense. Oh man. (laughs) wow. - You have the spices, but you immediately know something special is happening. - That is a wonderful sauce. That is an addictive sauce. It is spicy and has a touch of liquor. Wow. (the man speaks in a foreign language) Oh, that's amazing. That immediately makes you sweat. Is this a beer? - It's a beer. Well the quantity, the recipe is going to be about three glasses. (the cook speaks in a foreign language) Chocolate powder. Cinnamon, cinnamon. -(he speaks in a foreign language) Catuaba. - (murmurs) Catuaba?

Oh man. (Guilherme speaks in foreign language) Well, this might be one of the strangest, most unique and almost crazy drinks called (murmurs) de Caracu. Caracu is the dark beer that resembles a stout. But before adding the dark beer, he added six, six quail eggs. Oh, and he got into the shells. (laughs) I almost forgot. An intense drink. Let's just try a little. - Health. - Oh. In fact, it tastes very good. - Delicious. -Rafaela, how are you? - Delicious. - It's really amazing. He tastes like dulce de leche with chocolate but with extra foam. Incredible, like the ingredients in this and then what it produces.

Straight like a chocolate shake but with more foam and richness and definitely a kick. (speaks in foreign language) (cook speaks in foreign language) This place is called Nono and it is absolutely exceptional, the service, the friendliness of the owner, the staff. It's a community. The boys are hanging out, chatting. That sauce is a life-changing sauce. And that dish, it's so filling. It's really hot. That was delicious. It's great that Belo Horizonte is such a mountainous city so we can work and walk while going to the next place to eat. It is a fairly important city. And in the middle of the day everything is very lively.

The buses just turn the corners. There are people wal

king

through the streets. You get the breeze from the hills. Yes, a pretty amazing city. Fast intermediate. I'm very excited to tell you about a new collaboration. Oh yeah. (upbeat music) They're so good, the banana chips themselves, but this is the larb flavor. And we are going to launch with the larb flavor, but we are working on many more flavors. Plus, durian chips are coming soon. But for now, larb is available. I will have the link in the description box. You can go get a box of Banana Joe x Mark Wiens potato chips.

Again, I will have the link in the description box. Thank you and have some banana chips. Hmm. (upbeat music) The next step of this gastronomic tour of Belo Horizonte, we will go to a restaurant. It's a cafeteria. It has been around since 1938 and is a legendary restaurant, famous for its unique dish. -Created in the 50s by the owner of the house, Mr. Joao Ferreira, who was his father. The K is for cachaca. Cachaça, rice, ovo, linguica. - They have a variety of different foods, but the real main dish, the dish that they coined the name for, but that you will now find all over the city and all over the state, is a dish called KAOL.

That's an acronym. KAOL. Wow very nice. This is the classic. The sausage is on top. There is rice at the bottom. It looks almost like a poached egg, but it's definitely a runny egg. There's kale around here. I think these are some of the beans with cassava powder. And finally, without forgetting the chicharrón, which is like one of the characteristic ingredients of many (murmurs). Everything you could want in comfort on a plate. And I love that they also serve it on a metal tray. That's great. Well. Wow, this is a very dense and very firm sausage.

In fact, you need a knife for it. Oh, that almost looks like a steak inside, like real meat. And then I'm going to get that egg. You touch that yolk. Oh yes yes. In fact, it is a

liquid

yolk. Put some sauce there. Well, this will be fine for a first bite. Hmm. Oh, that's a thick sausage. The egg yolk, rice and sausage are a bit tomato-y. - I also got the finish, so it has a lot of texture, crunchy, crispy at the end and then juicy, very meaty. - It's like a steak wrapped in the shape of a sausage.

Hmm. Is it cassava powder? - That? - Is that cassava powder? - Yes, cassava. - Cassava powder. I love how everywhere it's like Brazilian food isn't typically spicy, but they always have hot sauce. In fact, I want to try kale, the vegetable. The hot sauces in Brazil are amazing. That's like vinegary. It just adds to the plate. The vegetable is excellent, kale. And that sausage has an incredibly good steak. - OK dude. - We got the Bhut jolokia that we bought in the market. It is one of the hottest

chili

pepper

s in the world. It just looks scary.

I think we should have some food and then take a bite of this chili. Oh, it's sweet at first. - Actually, yes, that is very delicious, wow. - Oh, it tastes amazing. - Yes, it's like fruity. - Oh, it's not even that spicy. Maybe still. - Yeah, just... - It's pretty spicy, but it starts slow and starts sweet, right? - Yes. Yes, if you chew it a little, you can tell that it is spicy. - Yes. Although it is spicy. It's spicy when you keep chewing it and when you let it marinate on your tongue. However, we will just cut that Bhut jolokia and then sprinkle it.

Yes, it is definitely powerful. It's definitely powerful, especially when you get to the body section. And it's kind of a slow build because it's sweet at first. Your initial thought is that it's sweet. The flavor is incredible. (upbeat music) Mmm. However, the flavor is starting to increase. - Mm-hmm. - You can almost feel that like it's going up your gums a little bit. Canned chilies are really good. They are wonderful. Preserved, slightly acidic, a little spicy. It's very, very tight here now, just coming out. Oh, man, and there are people waitingoutside, waiting for stools, standing in line.

That was delicious. - The owner is very friendly. What a complete and surprising plate of food. And that Bhut jolokia, yes, it's starting to burn my gums a little. That is wonderful. It was delicious. That was a wonderful, wonderful plate of food. So after lunch we decided to drive a little bit to a place called Mangabeiras, which is a kind of viewpoint, a kind of park. But from there we will have excellent views of the city. (upbeat music) You immediately come out. It's so green. It's so lush. You can smell the aroma of the eucalyptus trees.

It's lovely. We will simply walk to reach the city viewpoint. And Belo Horizonte actually means beautiful horizon because of the horizon, because of the sky, because of the sunset. (upbeat music) This afternoon we rested a little. It's already night. We are going to have dinner at a restaurant called Bar Do Careca. And Careca, if I'm not mistaken, means bald. It is an old restaurant in the neighborhood, on the corner. It is known for its traditional dishes. It just seems like an incredibly cool little place. - Antonio. -Anthony Bourdain, fantastic. Very cool. Antonio, we miss you. (the man speaks in a foreign language) (Mark speaks in a foreign language) I love the scenery here, the green walls, the decorations, the antiques on the walls.

On the shelf above is the owner's collection of cachaca, the sugar cane liquor. There must be like hundreds of bottles up there. An incredibly cool place. It's a bar, but they have a full menu. It's like a restaurant where you normally order drinks, but the food is top notch. They especially have food from this region of Brazil. The aromas from the kitchen smell delicious. She is going to prepare one of the main dishes, which is feijao tropeiro. Feijao tropeiro? - Feijao tropeiro. - Feijao tropeiro, which is one of the main dishes of this state of Brazil.

You just have to eat this dish when you are in the state. (the cook speaks in a foreign language) And they know exactly what they are doing. It's like you're at home here. (upbeat music) wow. - Something like Brazilian (mumbles) (speaks in a foreign language) - They are experts in cooking. They are so good. You can feel the motherly love in her kitchen. They are surprising. And I'm like running from stove to stove trying to even keep up with them. Tropeiro? - Feijao tropeiro. - Feijao tropeiro (happy music) Wow. Then all the food is ready. It looks incredibly good.

The owner is amazing. The chefs, the aunts who are in the kitchen, are like that, they know each dish by heart. I could barely follow them on the camera because they move so fast and know every step of the dishes. It's a frying pan. It's not even a plate. It's a frying pan. There are at least four different types of meat here, plus beans, vegetables, kale, and egg. This is a wonderful dish. (man speaks in foreign language) Mmm, is that pork or beef? - That's beef. - Oh, it's so cute. That's meat, right? We all spread everything on our plates.

Feijao has so many components. Wow, kale underneath. Hmm. Oh, wow. That's a masterpiece, like the creaminess of the beans, the starch of the cassava flour, then you have the meat, you have the egg, the silken egg, the salty sausage, the kale, the cilantro, kind of like breaking it down. Oh, that's extraordinary. And the onions that simply dissolve in your mouth. The owner hooked us up with this entire bottle. Look how delicious this is, homemade canned chilies. Wow, we need to add some of this to the next bite. And I want, I really want to delve into that.

Oh yes, the whole piece of pork belly. (Mark laughs) That pork rind is huge. You can feel the rubbery skin or the rubbery fat, the crunchy skin. Wow, that's a bite of crispy pork. Well, next I'll try the scarlet eggplant, which is what we had this morning with the liver. Is incredible. It is something like zucchini but with a bitter undertone, as if it had a more complex flavor. And then the final dish is yuca with roast, but actually, fried meat. And it is also incredibly tender, with garlic and onion. And he sprinkled that ghee. You can see their threads.

Simple, meaty, tender and delicious. What I have learned is that in the chili sauces here in Belo Horizonte they use a lot of cachaça instead of vinegar or oil to preserve things. Oh, wow. That was not a light meal. It's heavy, incredibly comforting, delicious, amazing food, amazing place, amazing guy who just runs the place. Yes, that was extraordinary. One more thing I wanted to quickly mention before finishing this video is that the chefs, the cooks from all over Brazil, are known in the state of Minas Gerais. So even Guilherme told me, in Sao Paulo for example or in Rio de Janeiro, the best cooks, the most well-known cooks and chefs, all come from this state.

If you haven't seen this entire Brazilian food series yet, we're traveling around Brazil, learning about Brazilian culture, eating incredibly delicious Brazilian food, and we just like learning about the diversity of Brazil. It's been amazing. I'll have the link in the description box

belo

w, but you can watch all the videos in the entire series. Thanks to Guilherme and Rafaela from Rio4Fun. They tour, but they also vlog. They are making videos. And I want to say a huge thank you for watching this video. Remember to like it if you enjoyed it. Leave a comment

belo

w. I would love to hear from you.

And if you're not already subscribed, click subscribe. And also, click that little bell icon to get notified of the next video I post. Thanks again for watching. See you in the next video. Good evening from Belo Horizonte.