Grill Like an Argentine

The golden rules for grilling like an Argentine according to my “porteño” friends from Buenos Aires. 

My “porteño” friends from Buenos Aires packed their flat in London and moved to Barcelona recently. It was bittersweet to say goodbye to good friends, and even harder for Lady Yeya to say adidos to her favourite nursery friend. Our friends left us with their gorgeous Rubber Plant, although neither of us have a green thumb. In our friend’s honour, we affectionately named the rubber plant “Ramblas” after the bustling promenade in the heart of Barcelona. They also left us a written list of golden rules titled ‘Walk Grill Like an Egyptian Argentine” when we told them we were hosting a traditional Argentine asados for their last supper. 

Grilling Argentine Style: An All Day Affair

Besides football, Argentines have a love affair with its meats and the asado (BBQ) culture is a way of life. It is an all-day event with plenty of food, drinks, and friends. The pit master works the grill with a dazzling array of different cuts of beef, all washed down with a glass of Malbec. According to my friends, these are the golden rules for grilling like an Argentine:

1. High Quality Beef: Argentine grilling is all about high quality beef, ideally large cuts of beef such as rump, sirloin, and rib-eye, around 1.5-2 kilos with a generous top layer of fat for flavour. 
2. Grilling Over Wood: Argentine grilling is always over wood instead of gas. Using natural wood enhances the natural flavour of the beef. It is a sin to use ‘fire-lighter’ products. Go for dried hardwood like hickory, ash, beech or oak. The Big Green Egg uses lump coal, which lights quick, burns hotter, produces minimal ash, and is all natural. 
3. Go Slow and Low: Argentine grilling is all about slow and low over indirect heat from the glowing embers. The traditional Argentine grill is called a parrilla, a simple iron grill with adjustable height to help regulate the temperature of the meat. 
4. Simple Rock Salt: Argentine grilling is simple, using only salt to bring out the natural flavours. When you use high quality beef, all you need is a generous coat of simple rock salt right before grilling. 
5. Chimichurri: Argentine grilling is all about high quality meats with just salt. See Rule #2. However, if you want to round out the asado experience with a nice condiment, chimichurri is a good option. It is easy to make with a few simple ingredients: parsley, vinegar, garlic, olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. 
6. Malbec, and More Malbec: A classic Malbec goes perfectly well with an Argentine-style asado. And don’t forget to raise a glass to the pitmaster!

¡Salud! Here’s to Grilling Like an Argentine!