Asado
The Argentine Sunday ritual: a generous spread of cuts cooked over real wood fire, chorizo and morcilla to start, provoleta bubbling in its dish, chimichurri over everything.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Asado, in 5 ideas
- Asado is a sequence, not a pile. Sausages and sweetbreads first, then the big cuts, eaten in rounds as they come off the fire.
- Salt is the only seasoning the meat needs before the grill. Chimichurri does the talking afterwards.
- Wood or lump charcoal only. Briquettes and gas cannot give the clean smoke the tradition is built on.
- The parrilla runs cooler than an American grill. Patience and a low, even ember bed beat a fierce flame.
- Provoleta, grilled provolone with oregano and chile. Is the beloved opening act and the first thing to disappear.
What you need
Ingredients
- 2 lb beef short ribs (asado cut), flanken style
- 1 lb skirt or flank steak
- 4 fresh chorizo sausages
- 4 morcilla (blood sausages)
- 1 round provolone cheese, about 8 oz
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- Coarse sea salt
- 1 cup chimichurri
- Crusty bread
- A simple green salad, to serve
How to make it
Method
Build a wood or lump charcoal fire and let it burn down to a bed of even, glowing embers. Salt all the meats generously and leave them at room temperature while the fire settles.
Start the chorizo and morcilla at the cooler edge of the grill. Cook slowly, turning, until the chorizo is firm and bronzed and the morcilla crisp-skinned, about 25 minutes. Serve these first, with bread.
Set the short ribs bone side down over medium embers. Cook mostly on the bone, 30 to 40 minutes, turning once, until deeply browned and tender at the edges.
Sear the skirt steak hot and fast, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium rare. Rest 10 minutes and slice across the grain.
Grill the provolone in a small cast-iron dish until bubbling and golden at the edges, sprinkled with oregano and a pinch of chile flakes. Serve instantly with bread.
Carve the ribs between the bones, arrange everything on a warm platter, and pass the chimichurri and salad. The cook eats standing up, by tradition.
Keep a bottle of salty water by the grill, the salmuera old asadores splash on the meat: it seasons and tames flare-ups at once.