National Dish Argentina: Asado (Recipe)
In this article
Asado is not a recipe so much as an afternoon. Beef goes on a grill over wood coals, cooks slowly for well over an hour, and comes off in stages while everyone stands around the fire. The seasoning is coarse salt. That is the whole method, and getting it right is entirely about heat and patience.
About Asado
Asado is the national dish of Argentina and the country’s central social ritual. The asador builds a wood fire, waits for it to burn down to embers, and rakes those embers under a grill set well above them. Nothing is rushed. A full asado runs to three hours and moves through several courses: sausages and offal first, then the large cuts.
The heat is low, roughly what you can hold your hand over for five seconds. Argentine beef is grass-fed and lean, and high heat ruins it.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 500 g beef, in one piece (sirloin, flank or short rib)
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt
- 1 chorizo sausage, optional
- For the chimichurri: 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Shopping for the ingredients
Ask the butcher for tira de asado, short ribs cut across the bone in a strip, if you want the most Argentine cut. Flank and sirloin both work. What matters is that the meat is at least 3 cm thick, because thin steak cooks through before it takes on any smoke. Coarse salt only, and more of it than feels right.
Preparing the dish
Take the meat out of the fridge an hour ahead. Cold meat on a slow grill cooks unevenly. Build the fire from hardwood, let it burn down for 30 to 40 minutes until the flames are gone and the coals are grey, then spread them under the grill. Mix the chimichurri now and let it sit; it needs at least half an hour for the garlic to soften.
Step-by-step instructions
- Burn hardwood down to grey embers, then rake them into an even bed under the grill.
- Set the grill about 15 cm above the coals; you should be able to hold a hand at grill height for five seconds.
- Salt the beef generously on both sides.
- Lay the meat on the grill fat side down and leave it alone for 25–30 minutes.
- Turn it once and cook the second side for a further 20–30 minutes.
- Grill the chorizo alongside for the last 15 minutes.
- Mix the parsley, garlic, oregano, chilli, oil and vinegar into a chimichurri.
- Rest the meat for 10 minutes, slice against the grain and serve with the chimichurri.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Grilled beef, salt and chimichurri contain neither gluten nor lactose. The only thing worth checking is the chorizo, which sometimes carries wheat as a binder. Ask the butcher or read the label.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
An asado without meat is a different event, but the fire is the interesting part. Whole aubergines, peppers, corn and provolone in a cast-iron dish all take well to the same slow coals. Argentines grill provoleta as a matter of course, and the chimichurri is vegan as written.
More tips and tricks
Do not move the meat. The single most common mistake is turning it repeatedly, which stops a crust forming. Turn once. Keep a small side fire burning so you can add fresh embers as the bed cools, which is what the professionals do. And salt heavily; most of it falls off.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Vacío, the flank cut, is the everyday choice and takes longer, about two hours. Sweetbreads and blood sausage go on first as the opening course. Chimichurri varies by household, and arguing about the correct ratio of vinegar to oil is part of the tradition.
Ingredient substitutions
A charcoal barbecue works if you bank the coals to one side and cook over indirect heat. Lump charcoal beats briquettes. Lamb and pork ribs are both grilled the same way in the south of the country.
Drink pairing ideas
Malbec from Mendoza is the pairing, and it is not a cliché: the tannins handle the fat and the fruit stands up to the char. Quilmes lager is what most people actually drink at the fire. Mate cocido follows the meal.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve it in rounds, straight from the grill onto a board, cut as people are ready to eat. There is no plating and no starter course in any formal sense. Bread, ensalada criolla and the chimichurri bowl stay on the table throughout.
A bit of history
Asado comes from the gaucho tradition of the pampas, where cattle were plentiful and the equipment was a fire and an iron stake. The asado al asador, meat splayed on a cross-shaped stake angled over the embers, is still done for large gatherings. It is the centre of Argentine cuisine, and Sunday asado remains the fixed point of the week for a great many households.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Asado
Asado is beef grilled slowly over wood embers, salted coarsely and served with chimichurri. Burn the wood down properly, keep the heat low, turn the meat once, and give it three hours.
