The Espeto Grill started with a barrel in a Brazilian backyard.
I was walking through a neighborhood in Santa Catarina, Brazil in 2001 and noticed a family cooking in their yard. They did not have a traditional brick churrasqueira. What they had was a modified barrel with the front cut open, holes drilled in the back for airflow, and skewers running vertically up and down with coals at the bottom. The smell of fat and smoke rising in the afternoon air.
I tucked that image away and carried it home with me two years later.
Twenty Years in the Making
The road from that Brazilian backyard to a Saturday cook operation in Lehi, Utah was longer than I expected.
After returning home I built my first proof of concept from a barrel. It worked. The fat dripped onto the coals the same way, the smoke rose the same way, and the meat tasted the way I remembered it tasting in Santa Catarina. I kept cooking, kept refining, kept feeding friends and neighbors and theater groups and anyone who would show up to the backyard.
Around 2020 I started working toward what I hoped would become a production home grill that other people could purchase. I built a website, wrote about Brazilian barbecue, and started planning the manufacturing side. Then COVID arrived and the supply chain constraints made that path impossible to pursue.
So I kept cooking. For friends. For fishing trips. For cast parties at the theater. For anyone who asked.
Then a fishing buddy mentioned something called a Microenterprise Home Kitchen license. A relatively new program in Utah that allows licensed home cooks to sell food directly from their homes under specific guidelines. I looked into it, realized it was exactly the framework I had been waiting for, and started building what would become The Espeto Grill as it exists today.
This is the true launch. We have not had a Saturday cook yet. We are building toward it and we want you there from the beginning.
What We Cook and How We Cook It
The Espeto Grill is not a restaurant. There are no servers, no tablecloths, no all-you-can-eat rotation. What we are is a licensed home kitchen operation that cooks authentic Brazilian churrasco every Saturday over hardwood charcoal on a custom nine-zone churrasqueira, packages it hot, and gets it to you for Saturday dinner.
You order by Thursday at 10pm. You pick it up Saturday between 3pm and 7pm in Lehi, or we deliver within our preset delivery area for a small fee.
The menu rotates but the foundation stays the same. Picanha is always on the grill. Fraldinha, linguiça, grilled pineapple, and a rotating selection of other cuts round out the spread. Everything comes with the classic Brazilian sides: white rice, Brazilian black beans, farofa, and vinaigrette. Add pao de queijo, Brazilian limeade, or a selectable side and you have a complete meal.
Why Charcoal Changes Everything
Most people who try The Espeto Grill for the first time take a bite, go quiet for a second, and then their eyes roll back.
That reaction is the charcoal.
When you cook over hardwood charcoal, the heat renders the fat in the meat. That rendered fat drips onto the coals, vaporizes instantly, and returns as a fat-flavored puff of smoke that rises back through the meat. The meat flavors the coals. The coals flavor the meat. Back and forth, for the entire cook. It is a continuous exchange that deepens with every minute on the fire.
Gas cannot do this. Gas produces consistent, clean heat with no smoke interaction and no fat rendering cycle. The meat cooks but nothing else happens. The result is fine. It is not the same.
If you have been to a Brazilian restaurant in Utah County and enjoyed it, you have experienced the concept of churrasco. What we cook at The Espeto Grill is the same tradition cooked the way the gauchos originally cooked it: hardwood charcoal, open fire, skewers, patience.
The difference is in the first bite.
Licensed, Inspected, and Legal
The Espeto Grill operates under a Utah Microenterprise Home Kitchen license issued through the Utah County Health Department. This means our kitchen has been inspected, our food handling practices have been reviewed, and we operate within the specific guidelines set by the state for home kitchen food businesses.
We take that seriously. The license exists to protect you and we are proud to operate within its framework.
You will see our licensing information in the footer of every page on this site and on every order confirmation you receive.
Order This Saturday
If you are in Lehi, American Fork, or anywhere within our delivery area, we would love to cook for you this Saturday.
Pickup is free. Delivery is available within our preset delivery area for a small fee. Order by Thursday at 10pm at espetogrill.com.
If you have never tried authentic charcoal-fired Brazilian churrasco, this is the easiest way to find out what the difference tastes like. And if you have tried it before and are looking for the real thing in Utah County, we think you will find it here.
Frequently Asked Questions About The Espeto Grill
Where is The Espeto Grill located? The Espeto Grill is a licensed Microenterprise Home Kitchen located in Lehi, Utah. Pickup is at our home kitchen address provided at the time of your order. We also deliver within our preset delivery area.
When can I order from The Espeto Grill? Ordering opens Friday morning and closes Thursday at 10pm for the following Saturday cook. Visit espetogrill.com to see the current menu and place your order.
What makes The Espeto Grill different from a Brazilian restaurant? We cook over hardwood charcoal rather than gas, which creates a depth of flavor through a continuous smoke and fat rendering cycle that gas cooking cannot replicate. We are also a home kitchen operation rather than a restaurant, which means smaller batches, more personal attention to each cook, and food made the way it was originally intended: by one person who has spent 20 years studying the craft.
Is The Espeto Grill licensed and inspected? Yes. We operate under a Utah Microenterprise Home Kitchen license through the Utah County Health Department. Our kitchen has been inspected and we follow all state guidelines for home kitchen food businesses.
What is on the menu? The menu rotates weekly but always includes picanha, a classic Brazilian side package, and a selectable side option. Additional proteins, add-ons, and beverages vary by week. View the current menu at espetogrill.com.
Do you deliver? Yes, within our preset delivery area for a small delivery fee. Enter your address at checkout and the system will confirm whether you are within our delivery area.