Asado

What it is

The fuel is wood or charcoal, burned down to embers, which are raked under the grill. The heat is gentle and the cooking slow. Seasoning is coarse salt and little else. A typical asado begins with sausages and offal, called achuras: pork sausage, blood sausage, sweetbreads and intestines, along with a round of grilled provolone cheese. Then come the beef cuts, such as short ribs cut across the bone and flank. Bread, a simple salad and chimichurri sauce are the only sides.

Where it comes from

The asado comes from the gauchos, the horsemen of the pampas, the vast grasslands where cattle ran in huge numbers from colonial times. They roasted whole sides of beef on iron crosses angled over a fire. That method, asado a la cruz, is still used in the countryside and at festivals, and in Patagonia for whole lamb. In the cities the grill moved to the back garden, the roof terrace and the restaurant, called a parrilla after the grill.

How it works

The asador lights the fire well before the guests are hungry and does not hand the job to anyone else. Guests bring wine, bread or dessert. The first sausages are often eaten standing by the grill, in a bread roll, as choripán. The meat is carved and sent to the table on a board, cut by cut, as it is ready. At some point someone calls for applause for the asador, and everyone claps.

How to do it

1. Arrive at midday and expect to eat an hour or two later.
2. Start with a choripán and the offal when they come off the grill.
3. Say how you like your beef. Juicy is jugoso, well done is bien cocido.
4. Spoon chimichurri on the meat, not on the bread.
5. Join the applause for the asador.

Good manners

• Do not touch the grill or advise the asador.
• Bring something: wine, salad, bread or dessert.
• Do not rush off. The talk after the meal is part of the asado.

What is eaten

ChorizoA seasoned pork sausage from the Iberian Peninsula, made in many regional stylesBlood sausageA sausage made with animal blood, fillers and spices, cooked or dried until firmProvoletaArgentine pulled-curd cheese grilled and served at barbecuesChimichurriHerb and garlic sauce served with grilled meats in Argentina and UruguayChoripánGrilled chorizo sausage in crusty bread, often topped with sauceSweetbreadTender thymus or pancreas from young animals, prized in French and Persian cookingChunchulloBraided and roasted small intestine, a grill favorite in Latin AmericaEmpanadaPastry turnovers filled with meat, cheese, or vegetables, baked or fried

Also part of it, and being written: Matambre.

Sources and further reading

• Asado on Wikipedia
• Visit Argentina: official tourism site