Argentine Food: A Typical Argentine Asado

 

All Argentine asados (barbecues) begin with the meat selection. The most authentic asados feature a varied selection of cuts, as well as different sausages, including short ribs, flank roast, skirt steak, pork sausages and blood sausages. About 1 pound (1/2 kg) of meat and sausages is the typical portion per adult.

 

Gaucho placing the cuts of meat on the grill
 

Simple metal grill racks placed over an open fire are popular, as are built-in cement or brick structures. Because controlling the heat in different areas is all-important, most people prefer to use a movable grill rack that allows easy access to the wood. The first step is choosing the proper wood for the fire. A lighter wood such as cypress or pine will produce a lot of flames, but the embers won’t last very long – perfect for a thinner piece of meat to be cooked rare. Denser, heavier hardwoods such as appel or oak take more time to light and have lower flames, but have longer-lasting embers for cooking larger cuts. If possible, a selection of both kinds of wood is best. The lighter woods will provide the first embers to begin the asado; the denser woods will provide longer-lasting embers for a nice finish. Calculate about 2 pounds ( 910 kg ) of wood for each pound of meat.

 

How to prepare the "fire" for the Barbecue

 

It’s important to always have a fire going off to the side of the grill – a “feeder fire” in a smaller barbecue grill – so you always have embers available to place under the grill and maintain the proper temperature. The best way to measure the temperature is to hold your hand 6 inches (15 cm) above the grill. If you can keep your hand there for 6 to 8 seconds, the fire is just right.

Once the fire is started, it´s time to clean the grill grids. The grinds should be left with the grease from the last cooking still on them- this ensures that they don´t rust. Placing the grill rack over the flames of the lit fire will melt all the grease. After about the 5 minutes, just wipe the grids clean with newspaper or a grill brush.

 

Typical Argentine "Parrilla" or Grill
 

Now, it´s time to season the meat. For a true Argentine barbecue, salt is the only necessary seasoning. It´s important to use a medium-to large- grained sea salt or kosher salt. The larges grains absorb less liquid from the meat and keep it from drying out. In Argentina, it is said that using sal gruesa (coarse salt) perfectly salts each cut; the excess salt just falls of as you move the meat to the grill!

 

Asado Argentino - Chorizos, Morcillas, Chinchulines, Mollejas, Costillar

Place the cuts that take longest to grill- the short ribs and flank roast-on the grill rack. The short ribs should go on bone side down, and the flank roast should by placed fast side down”

 

Add embers as necessary to keep the temperature at the proper level. Once you see a bit of juice coming out of the top of the meats, it’s time to flip them over. At this time, put the skirt steak and chorizos on the grill; these only take about half the time to cook.  Blood sausages, which are already cooked, go on last – you’re just warming them up on the grill ( be sure to turn them a time or two ). Continue to cook for about 30 minutes for medium-rare meat, 35 minutes for medium and 40 minutes for medium-well.

 

Choripan - Chorizo - Chimichurri sauce and French Bread

 

A typical Argentine Asado · An extract from Laura Catena’s book «Vino Argentino».

 

Here are some of our favorite restaurants in Buenos Aires:

For a Typical Asado:

 

San Telmo: La Brigada; El Desnivel.

Puerto Madero: Cabana las Lilas.

Palermo: La Dorita, Don Julio.

Palermo Soho: La Cabrera.

Villa Crespo: Don Zoilo.

Recoleta: El Mirasol and Nuestro Secreto ( Four Seasons Hotel ).

 

Bifes de Lomo en La Cabrera - Palermo Soho