The gauchos of the South American pampas—the open grasslands of Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and southern Brazil—were the itinerant “cowboys” of the region, with all the romance and bravado attached to their legend.

“In the olden days, the gauchos lived off the land, cooking whatever animals they could catch or kill over open fires,” says Kari Glebe, manager of the new Wiley Dining Court at Purdue University, which is scheduled to open in mid-2008. Glebe has been researching South American-style barbecued meats for a signature station in the food court.

The pampas is still one of the world’s major suppliers of beef, and its people still eat a lot of grilled and barbecued meats, called asado in Argentina and churrasco in Brazil. Traditional South American barbecue usually consists of some cut of steak—from fancy tenderloin or sirloin to flavorful flank—but it may also include pork, lamb, chicken, turkey and/or sausages. These proteins are usually seasoned with a spice rub or marinade. They may be served with a sauce such as chimichurri, the pesto-like blend of chopped fresh parsley, oregano, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and paprika mixed with olive oil and perhaps vinegar, which is as ubiquitous in parts of South America as ketchup is in the U.S.

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Long after the gauchos essentially had passed into history, cities became home to restaurants specializing in grilled meats, called rodizio or churrascarias. These Brazilian-style steakhouses have since come to the United States, with chains such as Fogo de Chão, Rodizio Grill and Texas de Brazil, where waiters circle the dining room with skewers of different meats, carving them tableside in an all-you-can eat parade of protein.

It was this aspect of abundance and variety that appealed to Glebe, who had seen a churrasco grill in use several years ago at the Rialto Dining Center at the University of Northern Iowa. She researched the concept, visiting a Rodizio Grill in Indianapolis, which, like many of its competitors, also offers an extensive salad bar featuring salad components and prepared salads.

Christened Churrascaria, the grill at Purdue will feature a multi-level gas-fired grill with 18 motorized spits containing different meats, as well as a selection of serve-yourself prepared salads and side dishes. Positioned behind a glass wall, so that customers can see the cooks carving various meats onto platters, Churrascaria will be the centerpiece of the new 500-seat Wiley Dining Court, which will also feature a stone hearth pizza oven, salad station, made-to-order quesadillas and other foods, a grill area with barbecue and smoker, and the usual classic foods and deli venues.

“We’re calling it Churrascaria because we felt this was an educational opportunity,” says Glebe, adding that members of the student advisory committee who’ve been told about the concept are really excited about the possibilities. “Years ago, when we added a Mongolian grill, we didn’t call it that, and when the trend really heated up we couldn’t capitalize on it. I think the churrasco concept is going to really hit big, and we want to be there when it does.”

At the University of Northern Iowa, where a 24-spit churrasco grill has been in place for three years, Rialto Dining Center General Manager Lisa Krausman is “having a lot of fun” experimenting with foods on the grill.

“You get such a great quality of roasted meat, and it tastes and smells delicious,” says Krausman. “We may not have been completely authentic with it, but the technique works well.” In Iowa, beef and pork tenderloin are always popular, but a surprise favorite has been pineapple with cinnamon and sugar, especially at breakfast and brunch.

“We tend to use the grill only on weekends when we have smaller meal counts,” adds Krausman, “because it’s too popular for us to be able to meet demand on busy weeknights. The grill is part of the facility’s Cornucopia homestyle cooking station, where there is always an oven-roasted carved meat in addition to sandwiches, casseroles and other comfort foods. “The churrasco grill is a great way to extend the popularity of a carved meat program,” she notes.

But you don’t have to have a churrasco grill to tap into the appeal of South American foods and flavors. The Olin Dining Hall menu at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Mass., features a number of Latin-style specials on its cycle menu, including Brazilian pork ribs and Brazilian chicken with chimichurri sauce.

Indeed, chimichurri might well become the next “it” sauce. “It’s very versatile and flavorful,” says Willie Sng, executive chef at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Sng used the sauce to marinate chicken breast and grilled flank steak for sandwiches offered in box lunches at this spring’s undergraduate commencement.

Marinated in the sauce for four to six hours, the meats were then grilled and served on sundried tomato bread with baby Bibb lettuce, sliced tomatoes, roasted red and yellow peppers, caramelized onions, and creamy Asiago mayonnaise—an altogether cross-cultural combination of flavors and ingredients.

“It was a big hit, and I plan to add chimichurri meats to the new cycle menu,” says Sng. “Students are very interested in those flavors.”