Asado Argentino With Nativo Spices
One of the best representations of my country is Asado! This particular tradition and technique of cooking entire pieces of beef and other meats, low and slow on top of a wood charcoal fire, made my people fall in love with this ritual.
Traditional Argentine Asado takes a lot of practice and skill to perfect! Managing the heat of the fire, the timing of the meats, while ensuring everything is served hot and juicy can take years to learn. Here is my recipe - give it a try!
Enhance your culinary talent with Nativo Spices.
Ingredients:
Vacío (flank steak) - 4oz per person
Costilla (short ribs) - 8oz per person
Chorizo sausage - 1 per person
Morcilla (blood sausage) - ½ per person
Molleja (sweet breads) - 2oz per person (marinated in lemon, black pepper, and coarse salt)
Lemon for juice
Coarse salt to taste
Baguette (¼ per person)
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Other optional cuts:
Entraña o churrasco (Skirt steak)
Chicken (whole or quartered)
Chinchulines (intestines) marinated in lemon, pepper, and salt
Method:
Put all the meat on a cutting board and season it with coarse salt. Don’t be afraid of adding too much salt; the meat will absorb what it needs.
Keep the meat at room temperature for about half an hour before cooking (this will help to cook it evenly).
Start the fire, and place the charcoal on the grill.
Clean the grill with a brush and then with a newspaper to remove the excess grease.
When the charcoal is ready, spread it evenly on the grill. Place the grill as high as possible away from the fire.
Prepare your Chimichurri and/or Chimi Bravo by Nativo Spices while the grill is heating up.
Let’s start with the vacío, our thickest piece of meat. Cook it for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on your preferred doneness. Traditionally in Argentina, we eat everything well done, but here in the US, I prefer to make my asado medium.
Add the ribs to the grill, placing them bone-side down. Cook the bone first, then the meat, which will take 25 minutes.
Chorizo takes 10-15 minutes to cook. This will be the first item to come off the grill and will be our appetizer. Mollejas take the same amount of time, but depending on how tender you like the molleja, you can leave it on the grill until the end.
Last but not least is the Morcilla. This sausage is already cooked, but we like to give it a nice smoked flavor and a crunchy skin. Leave it on the grill for about 7 minutes just to warm it up.
Serving Method:
One of the most unique things about Argentine Asado is the serving method. Each item is served as it becomes ready, instead of everything all at once. The “asador,” the grill master, typically sits closest to the grill and eats, cooks, and serves at the same time. It is the most important role in the entire asado!
When the Chorizo is almost cooked, start preparing the ingredients for the Choripan. Place the bread on the grill, toast it lightly, and cut it for a small sandwich. Place the chorizo and Chimichurri inside the bread. That is our appetizer!
The ribs (or costilla) should be ready. Remove them from the grill, place them on a cutting board, and salt them again. Cut along each bone; one bone is one portion. Go around the table offering it.
The vacío should be ready next. Take it off the grill, place it on the cutting board, and slice it against the fibers. Slicing it this way increases the tenderness and makes it easier to eat. Add some Chimichurri on top and go around the table.
Finally, the morcilla and molleja! Remove the morcilla from the grill, slice it in half (the short way), and pass it around with more bread.
Remove the molleja from the grill and place it on a cutting board. Slice it into 1” thick slices and squeeze more lemon juice on top. Lightly salt and serve!
The best way to celebrate and say thanks is by cheering ‘Aplauso para el Asador’ - clap for the grill master! This is a nice tradition to keep.
¡SERVE AND ENJOY!
