Twelve Days of Grilling: Day Two

On the second day of grilling, we grilled up two Dry-Aged Tomahawk Ribeye Steaks all the way from Chicago (Merry Christmas to us!) We made sure to get the v grooves nice and hot for a quality sear!

Don't forget the melted compound butter (with rosemary and garlic) on top toward the end of grilling for additional flavor.

Twelve Days of Grilling: Day One

On the first day of Christmas, we used the @stargazercastiron skillet on our Supremo to make this mouthwatering Filet Mignon with homemade Bearnaise Sauce served on Potato and Green Onion Pancakes!

The cast iron skillet gave a good sear on the exterior of the filets and retained the compound butter that we basted them with for added flavor! Finished with a Bearnaise sauce recipe curtesy of @nytimes and garnished with green onions!

Don't Forget your Veggies!

We love colors, especially when they are on one of our grills! Fall is in the air but that doesn’t mean that the grilling season is over. It just means that you will want to stand by the grill to stay warm. The colors and aromas are and added benefit to the heat you will feel from the grill.

These vegetable kabobs are a great way to grill your veggies and keep them all together! Season them up or eat them as they are, either way the taste will be amazing. Plus it makes for an awesome grill pic for Instagram!

It's the Holiday Season!

Tired of turkey? Fire up the Grande Básico with Brasero or the infamous Gaucho Grill Clásico insert, and throw some juicy lobster and steak on! We aim to please, not only your imagination, but your bellies.

We hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving Day feast last week, but now its time to get back to making your dream a reality.

Check out the different styles we have and get your cook books ready, because this Holiday season is about to be fired up!

Asparagus on the Grill!

Serious lump charcoal heat burning up in the brasero, while the asparagus finishes up. Lump crab meat and shrimp in herbed butter getting cooked up in the back. Perfect topper for the grilled salmon and ny strips that went on next.

Bannock - Traditional Campfire Bread

Try out this tasty and fun traditional campfire bread, just in time for the holidays! 

Bannock- Campfire Bread
Serves 8 to 10

3 cups all-purpose flour
⅓ cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground all spice
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 cup water; more as needed

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Work in the oil until well combined. Slowly add the water until a thick, sticky dough forms, adding more water as needed 1 Tbsp. at a time.
Roll the dough into a ball and pat down until 1 inch thick and about 6 inches in diameter. Place on oiled griddle pan. Cook, flipping occasionally, until a thick crust forms all over and there are dark spots on the surface, about 20 minutes. 

Basting Meat with Salmuera in Argentine Cooking

When we talk about Argentine cooking on this blog, we often make the point that there isn’t a lot of seasoning in play in many of the recipes we share.

Often, the only spice at work in these dishes is the most basic and essential one there is: salt.

Today, we’re going to look at a new element of Argentine cooking called salmuera. Salmuera simply means “brine,” or a highly-concentrated solution of salt in water. Unlike regular salt, this brine won’t toughen your meats.

Argentine Salmuera

You can use salmuera as a marinade before you cook, or as a condiment when your meat comes off the grill. Best of all, you can whip up a batch in just a few minutes. You’ll need:

5 ounces virgin olive oil
5 ounces white vinegar
1 fresh garlic, all cloves peeled and sliced
2 bay leaves
2 sliced green hot peppers
1 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
½ sliced white onion
When you’ve gathered and prepared these ingredients, put them in a blender or food processor and process until completely blended.

Almond Salmuera

If you’d like to take salmuera to another level, you can try this Food & Wine recipe for grilled pork chops with an almond salmuera. You’ll need:

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup (plus 2 tsp. sherry vinegar)
1 minced shallot
1 minced garlic clove
Kosher salt
Pepper
¼ cup chopped marcona almonds
1 tsp. minced chives
1 tsp. minced parsley
1 tsp. minced mint
1 tsp. minced cilantro
Canola oil for brushing
Four 8-ounce bone-in pork chops, cut one inch thick
Sea salt for finishing
To prepare:

Whisk ¼ cup of olive oil and two tablespoons of vinegar with the shallot, garlic, a tablespoon of kosher salt, a teaspoon of pepper and a cup of water. Stir in the almonds, parsley, chives, mint and cilantro.
Use a small bowl to whisk the remaining olive oil and vinegar with two tablespoons of pepper and ¼ cup of water. You now have two bowls of salmuera: regular and almond.
Grill the pork on your Gaucho Grill, basting frequently with the first bowl of salmuera until the meat is brown. You should grill the pork six to seven minutes on each side.
Remove the pork from the grill and baste it with the almond salmuera.
Ready to add salmuera to your Argentine cooking repertoire? The best way to do that is a Gaucho Grill. Visit our website today to find a grill model that works for you. Enjoy!

Tips for Grilling Fish on Your Gaucho Grill

Compared to sausage, steaks and chicken, fish can seem like a minor league player trying to compete against a team of all-stars.

And yes, flounder cooked in a pan in your kitchen is no match for a nice thick steak at a backyard barbecue. But put fish on your Gaucho Grill, and all bets are off. Grilling brings out the best in fish. Here are a few tips to get started.

1. Choose the right fish

Not every fish is great for grilling. Tender varieties, such as catfish, flounder and tilapia, are too flaky, and can fall apart.  You can cook them on the grill them using foil or a wire basket, but you’d be better off saving them for your kitchen.

Instead, look for thicker steaks: swordfish, tuna, salmon or mahi-mahi. If you’re feeling adventurous, try whole fish such as snapper, trout or bass.

2. Should I marinate?

It depends on the fish. Thick cuts like tuna and swordfish really come alive when marinated. All you’ll need is a blend of oil, vinegar and spices to turn these fishes from dry to juicy.

When you’re cooking an oily fish such as salmon or bluefish, dry thoroughly with paper towels, then sear or grill them with just a little butter or oil. Add sauce or other condiments just before or after the fish is finished on the grill.

3. How can I tell it’s done?

If you’re cooking a whole fish, the rule of thumb is to cook it 10 minutes for each inch of thickness. For a smaller piece of fish, go with eight minutes per inch of thickness.

Check the fish two minutes before you expect it to be done, and remember that fish – like steak – continues cooking for a few minutes after it leaves the grill.

If you’re ready to get started, here’s a recipe for Argentinian salmon with cilantro peanut sauce that you can prepare on your Gaucho Grill.

Ingredients

For the salmon:

2-4 salmon fillets
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp black pepper
A pinch of red pepper flakes
For the sauce:

1 cup fresh cilantro
½ cup lightly salted dry roast peanuts
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
Pinch of salt and pepper
Directions

Fire up your grill and let the coals turn grey. Use a small bowl to mix the salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, and onion powder. Sprinkle this over your fish.
Put all the sauce ingredients other than the olive oil in a blender and food processer and puree for 30 seconds. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil with the blender running. Place the sauce in the boil for later.
Put the fish on the grill, flesh side down and cook for four minutes. Gently flip the fish and cook for another three to five minutes, depending on whether you want it medium rare or medium.
Remove the fish from the grill, put it on a plate or serving platter, and spoon the sauce onto each fillet.
Is fish a regular menu item at your house? A Gaucho Grill can bring out its flavor. Visit our website today to find a grill model that’s right for you.

Uses for Leftover Beef After Your Asado Cookout

The cook out is winding down. Your asado grill is cooling, guests have moved onto drinks and desserts, and you’re thinking about leftovers.

Specifically, the leftover beef. Cooking beef on an asado grill can give you steaks like nothing else you’ve tasted, but that doesn’t mean your leftovers need to be a letdown.

Here are a few Argentine-tinged beef dishes that you can make with whatever beef is leftover from your next cookout.

Beef and Red Pepper Empanada

People have been eating empanadas for centuries. They’re a chameleon-like food, taking on different characteristics from country to country. Go to India and they’ll be filled with dried fruits or nuts. Visit Venezuela and you’ll find empanadas fried and made from corn flour.

Argentinian empanadas are typically filled with beef and vegetables, although other variations use chicken or fish.

For this recipe – by chef Fernando Larroude – we’ll go with beef and red pepper. You’ll end up with enough empanadas for a party.

Ingredients:

1 onion
2 red peppers
1 ¼ cup of beef stock
10 ½ ounces of sirloin steak
A small bunch of spring onions
12 green olives
2 hard-boiled eggs
Salt and pepper
Short crust pastry (This is made by mixing eight cups of flour, a cup of water and 10 ½ ounces of beef fat.)
Directions

Make the filling by finely chopping the onions and frying them in the beef fat. Add a little of the stock for extra flavor, taking care not to let the mixture get too liquid. Make sure the onions are soft, as the finished product will only bake for 10 minutes.
Slice the sirloin into finger-width ribbons, and add them to the onions. When the meat has cooked for a few minutes, add grated egg and a few roughly chopped olives.
At the last minute, add a handful of finely sliced spring onions for freshness, and end by putting in chopped red peppers. Season this mixture and allow it to cool before adding it to the pastry.
Roll the pastry as thin as possible on a cold, floured surface. Cut the pastry into small discs, and spoon a small amount of the cooled mixture onto each disc. Fold the pastry over, sealing the edges together.
Cook for about 10 minutes at 375 degrees, and serve immediately.

Argentine Beef Stew

That steak tasted amazing when it was fresh off your asado grill on a warm September night. But now it’s a cool, rainy day and you want something more seasonal. And what’s more comforting on a dreary rainy autumn day than some stew?

This version – courtesy of the food blog Naked Cuisine – might be a little different than the stew you grew up with, but it’s no less soothing.

Ingredients

1 tbs. of cooking oil
1 lb. of beef, in chunks
1 onion
¾ cup of red wine
1 cup of fresh diced tomato
1 cup of chopped dried apricots
1 diced red bell pepper
1 delicata squash or small pumpkin, cut into large chunks
3 medium sized potatoes, cut into large chunks
1 cup of tomato sauce
6 cups of beef stock
1 tsp of paprika
¼ tsp of cayenne pepper
½ tsp of sea salt
Fresh cracked pepper
Directions

Heat the oil in a large pot until hot. Add the beef, letting the chunks get brown on all sides.
Lower the heat and add the onions, peppers, apricots and tomatoes, cooking until soft. Add the wine and let everything simmer for a few minutes.
Add the tomato sauce, beef stock, cayenne pepper, potatoes and squash/pumpkin.
Simmer on a low heat for two hours and 30 minutes, add salt and pepper, and serve with fresh cilantro. This dish should serve six.
If the world of the asado grill is still a foreign country to you, let Gaucho Grills take you there. Our grills can let you cook steaks and other dishes as if you’re at a classic Argentinian parilla. Shop our website to find the grill model that’s right for you, and read our blog to uncover other recipes and cooking tips.

Meat Cutting Techniques & Tips

We’ve designed our Argentine grills to give you perfectly cooked cuts of meat. What you do with that meat after it leaves the grill is up to you. The way you cut a steak after it’s cooked plays as much of a role in your meal as the grilling process.

When you’ve taken the time to grill a nice piece of beef on your parrilla, you want to make sure that you take the proper steps to serve it correctly. Here are a meat cutting techniques and tips that will allow you to get the most out of your next meal.

1. Let it rest

We can’t stress this enough. When you slice a steak too early, you’re letting the juices inside escape, leading to a dry, flavorless cut.

Once your meat has cooked to your liking on the grates of your Argentine Grill, place it to the side and let it rest for three to five minutes. This lets the juices relax the meat. Resting times depend on the size of what you’ve just cooked. Larger pieces of meat – roasts for example – will need longer resting times.

2. Cut against the grain

When talking about meat, “the grain” refers to the alignment of muscle fibers. It’s easier to identify in tougher cuts like flank steak than in leaner varieties of steak, such as tenderloin.

By slicing the meat against the grain, we cut through those fibers, increasing the tenderness of the cut and making it easier to chew. When we slice with the grain – in the direction as the fibers – we’re left with a chewier piece of meat.

3. Use a cutting board

Using a cutting board makes slicing meat easier and safer. There’s less chance of the meat – or your knife – slipping, and you’re less likely to damage your countertop. Feel free to trim off fat and surface muscle to enhance flavor, but don’t away so much that you’re giving yourself less meat.

4. What if we’re serving chicken?

To slice a chicken breast, place it on a cutting board, skin side up. Start at one end, and pull the skin away from the meat. Use a boning knife to cut meat away from one side of the breastbone, cutting as close to the bone as you can.

Cut the meat away from the rib bones using a sawing motion, pressing the flat side of the knife against the bones. Gently pull the meat from the bones as you cut.

Chicken sounds pretty good right now, so we’ll end – as we often do – with a recipe, for Argentine Grilled Chicken.

Ingredients

½ cup of parsley
¼ cup of red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. of olive oil
1 tsp. of soy sauce
½ tsp. of Worcestershire sauce
2 peeled garlic cloves
¼ tsp. of fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. of dried oregano
1 bay leaf
A dash of red pepper flakes
12 boneless chicken thighs
Directions

Use a blender to pulse marinade ingredients until they’ve been pureed.
Marinate the chicken in a plastic bag for at least four hours.
Pre-heat the grill over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from bag.
Grill until the chicken reaches your desired doneness, for about 5 to 7 minutes on each side.
If you don’t have a grill – or are unhappy with the one you have – Gaucho Grills can help. Visit our website to find the right Argentine grills for your next cookout. Our grills will do their job. It’s up to you to find the right way to cut what you’ve cooked.

Argentine Grilling Marinades: Chicken, Steak & Seafood

In our last blog post, we talked about the mystery of where chimichurri got its name, as well as some of the misconceptions about this sauce.

(For example, it’s not “Argentinian ketchup.”)

There seems to be some debate online about whether chimichurri should only be used as a condiment, or can also function as an Argentine grilling marinade.

“While some recipes for chimichurri use it as a sauce, using it as a marinade opens up new flavors and tenderizes less tender cuts of meat,” writes Kathie Smith of The Blade. “In order to tenderize, a marinade must contain acidic ingredients such as lemon juice, yogurt, wine, or vinegar, or a natural tenderizing enzyme found in fresh papaya, ginger, pineapple, and figs, according to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.”

So today we’re going to talk about marinades, by offering two different recipes for a marinade you can make the next time you’re ready to grill.

Argentine Grilling Marinade Recipes

First up, here’s an Argentine grilling marinade for seafood or chicken dishes that comes from The Food Network program Melting Pot:

Ingredients

½ tsp of saffon threads
1 tbs. of lemon juice
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
½ cup of white wine vinegar
1 Spanish onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup of Italian parsley, chopped fine
1 tsp of freshy thyme
Salt and pepper
Directions

Steep the saffron in lemon juice for five minutes, then combine all the other ingredients, and keep covered. It should yield about 1 and ½ cups.

Our second marinade is for steaks. More to the point, churrasco cut steak, otherwise known as skirt steak. These cuts are typically marinated to add flavor and tenderness. Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients

3 heads of garlic (30-40 cloves)
2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of black peppercorn
1 cup of orange juice
¼ cup of fresh lime juice
¼ cup of fresh lemon juice
1 cup of minced onion
2 tsp of oregano
1 cup of Spanish olive oil
Directions

Mash the garlic, peppercorns and salt into a paste, then stir in the fruit juices, oregano and onion. Let this mixture rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Whisk the garlic/juice mixture with olive oil until it’s well blended.

Place your meat in a large pan or bowl, and add enough marinade to coat it. Cover the bowl/pan and refrigerate it. The meat should stay in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours, but should ideally marinate overnight before grilling.

To get the true Argentinian grilling experience, you need an Argentine-style grill. Gaucho Grills can help. Our grills are modeled after traditional South American designs, creating a dining experience that will impress your guests as much as the meal you’re serving.

And if you don’t have time to put together a marinade, remember that we sell our own Argentinian sauces. Visit our website today to learn more about our grills and accessories. Enjoy!

Cleaning and Maintaining Your Argentine Grill

We’re writing this on a morning where our part of the country saw its first snowfall of the season. But we’re still an Argentine grill company, and our minds are on grilling.

More to the point, we’re thinking about how to clean one of our grills. Whether you’re a die-hard barbecue enthusiast who grills year-round, or someone who’s been avoiding an off-season clean, here’s what you need to know about maintaining your Argentine grill.

Start your clean by removing each of the grill’s detachable parts and letting them soak in warm, soapy water. Let them soak for at least 20 minutes.
Use a wire brush to clean most of the pieces. In the case of the grate, run the brush in the same directions as the bars on the grate.
Make sure you’ve removed soap residue from the grill pieces by heating up the grill and letting it sit for 15 minutes. Anything you didn’t rinse away will soon burn off.
If you have food residue on your grill’s grates and can’t get rid of it with regular scrubbing, try this trick:

Mix two cups of vinegar with a cup of baking soda, and pour that mixture into a garbage bag.
Put the grates inside the bag, and seal it with a rubber band.
Let the grates soak inside the bag overnight.
Once they’ve soaked in the vinegar/baking soda mixture, remove the grates and rinse them. Any remaining residue should fall away, or come off with some light scrubbing.
Pat the grates dry and they’ll be ready for use once again.
If you plan on cooking through the winter, here are a few tips for cleaning your Argentine grill after every cook:

Clean the grate with a paper towel dipped in canola oil, a step that will prevent rust as well as giving your cooking surface the proper clean. Wipe in the same direction as the grate.
Your grill is easiest to clean when it’s still warm. This can make the canola-oil-on-a-paper-towel trick a bit difficult, so just hold the paper towel with a set of tongs.
Clean the exterior of the grill with a piece of fine-grade steel wool that’s been soaked in hot, soapy water. If you don’t have any steel wool, you can use a non-abrasive household sponge with soap and water.
And if you are planning on firing up your Argentine grill this winter, try this recipe for Argentine grilled flank steak with salsa criolla.

Argentine Grilled Flank Steak with Salsa Criolla

Ingredients:

4 ½ pounds of flank steak (the equivalent of three medium steaks), trimmed of excess fat
3 cloves of garlic, mashed into a paste, with a pinch of salt
1 tbsp. of black pepper
1 tbsp. of chili powder
2 tbsp. of chopped thyme
2 tsp. of brown sugar
1 ½ tbsp. and 2 tsp. of kosher salt
1 large diced tomato
Half a minced red bell pepper
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
½ cup of white wine vinegar
Directions:

Combine 2/3 of the garlic, 1 tbsp. of thyme, 2 tsp. of black pepper, chili powder, brown sugar and 1 ½ tbsp. of salt.
Rub this spice mixture over the steaks. Cover and refrigerate them for four to 24 hours.
Make the salsa by combining the remaining garlic, 1 tbsp. of thyme, 2 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp. of black pepper, tomato, onion, red pepper oil and vinegar with two ounces of water in a one-quart container. Shake, and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve dinner.
Remove the steaks from the refrigerator. Let them get to room temperature before you grill them. Preheat the grill for five to 10 minutes.
Cook the steaks over a high heat for three to four minutes on each side. Let the steaks rest for five minutes before cutting them across the grain. Serve them with the salsa.
To learn more about our grills and our products, visit our website and read our blog to get Argentine grilling tips and other recipes. We’re confident you’ll find something you’ll enjoy.

Using Your Asado Rotisserie Grill Attachment

Our company’s name is Gaucho Grills, but you can use our products for more than just grilling.

You can buy one of our grills with a rotisserie grill attachment, which snaps in place with just a few quick steps. When you watch this video, you’ll see that it takes less than a minute to make the switch from grilling to rotisserie.

Simply lower and remove the V-groove grill grates, detach the grease trough and attach the rotisserie bar, and you’re ready to cook.

And when you cook rotisserie style, you’re engaging in a time-honored method of food preparation enjoyed all over the world, from people in Greece spit-roasting lamb to the delectable babi gulig (spit-roasted pig) found on the island of Bali to the American traditional backyard barbecue.

No matter how you cook, there’s something about cooking around a fire that brings people together, and there are many foods that seem designed for a rotisserie grill:

Ribs
Whole fish
Rounded foods like turkey breasts, boneless legs of lamb
Duck
Chicken
Prime rib
Artichokes, eggplant, squash, potatoes and other vegetables.
Fruits such as pineapple (your rotisserie can even make dessert!)
So what should you cook with the newly-installed rotisserie?

Glad you asked. As always, we’re happy to share some recipes.

Slow Roasted Barbecue Beef Roast

Ingredients:

5 lbs of boneless rump roast
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 tsp of Spanish paprika
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
¼ teaspoon of dried rosemary
¼ teaspoon of dried thyme
Directions:

Prepare your grill for medium heat
Cut slits along all sides of the roast, and insert the sliced garlic into those slits.
Mix all of the remaining spices in a small bowl, and rub the mixture over the roast.
Place the roast on the rotisserie. Cook for 2-5 hours, until the meat reaches a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Allow the roast to rest for 20 minutes before slicing.
Peruvian Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (about 4 lbs)
¼ cup of white vinegar
3 tbsp of white wine
3 tbsp of canola oil
2 tbsp of garlic powder
2 tbsp of paprika
4 tsp of cumin
2 tsp of black pepper
1 tsp of salt
Juice from one lemon
1 quart of cold water
Directions:

Combine the vinegar, wine, and oil with garlic powder, paprika, cumin, pepper and salt, mixing them until they form a paste.
Add lemon juice to the cold water
Trim the chicken of any loose fat, then wash the bird thoroughly with the lemon/water mixture.
Put the chicken in a Ziploc bag, and pour the spice paste over the chicken. Coat the chicken completely, rubbing the mixture into the surface and trying to get the paste under the chicken skin as much as possible.
Seal the bag and refrigerate the chicken for at least two hours. The longer the chicken marinates, the more flavor it will absorb. Take care not to let it marinate longer than 24 hours.
Preheat the grill and get the rotisserie ready. Cook the chicken for roughly 90 minutes at 300 degrees. Test the chicken for doneness by measuring the temperature at the thickest part of the thigh. The chicken will be finished when the temperature hits 165 F.
rotisserie1If you’re ready to try something new when cooking outdoors, Gaucho Grills can help. Whether you want to cook rotisserie style or over a grill, we carry grills inspired by the traditional Argentinian parilla.

Our grill designs allow outdoor chefs to raise or lower the grilling surface as they cook, meaning you can take your dishes to the next level, both literally and figuratively.

Vegetable Dishes and Sides for Your Asado Meal

“When we think of Argentine cuisine, we think of beef.”

Those were our words, about three months ago, right here on this blog.

And if you read most of our entries here, you know we love the idea of grilling a nice, juicy steak or a succulent piece of chicken.

But while meat might be the star of your cookout, it still needs its supporting cast. (You’ve also got your vegetarian guests to consider.)

With that in mind, we’ve put together a few suggestions for vegetable dishes and sides you can serve with your next asado meal.

Berenjena en Escabeche

This classic dish works as an appetizer or when paired with a meat. It’s a mix of eggplant, red pepper flakes and olive oil, hence its name. The literal translation is “marinated eggplant,” and you’ll need at least two days to let this dish marinate.

To prepare it, you’ll need:

2 medium eggplants, peeled
3 tablespoons of kosher salt
2 cups of white wine vinegar
2 cups of water
3 bay leaves
3 crushed garlic cloves
4 tablespoons of dried oregano
1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper
1 cup of olive oil
Start by cutting the peeled eggplants into thick slices, roughly ½ inches.

Put one layer of the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle it with salt. Keep making layers and repeating until you’ve used all the salt and eggplant.

The eggplant will drain, so be sure you put the colander in a sink or over a plate. Wait 30 minutes, press on the eggplant to drain more of the moisture and shake off the salt.

Give the eggplant a quick rinse to remove more of the salt, and pat it dry with paper towels.

Boil water and vinegar in a sauce pan along with the bay leaves. Place the eggplant in the sauce pan and cook it at a slow boil over a medium heat for about 4 minutes. Drain the eggplant.

Whisk the remaining ingredients – garlic, oil, pepper flakes, oregano – together.

Pour a tablespoon of dressing at the bottom of a ceramic or glass dish, and place a layer of eggplant on top. Top that layer with more dressing, and then repeat. Add more oil on top if necessary, and let the dish marinate in your refrigerator for at least two days for best results.

Ensalada de Zanahoria y Huevo

This might sound complicated, but it’s really a simple dish: carrot salad with egg. All you’ll need are some grated carrots and chopped hardboiled eggs, mixed together and dressed with salt, olive oil and vinegar. It’s a nice mixture of salt and sweetness, with the eggs providing a nice source of protein for any vegetarians at your dinner table.

Grilled Eggplant

Why should steak have all the fun on you asado grill? Follow this recipe next time you have a vegetarian guest.

To prepare it, you’ll need:

3 small eggplants (4-6 ounces each)
2 cloves of minced garlic
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon of dried basil
½ teaspoon of dried thyme
1 teaspoon of sweet or hot paprika
½ teaspoon of hot pepper flakes
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Mix garlic and oil in a small bowl, and then brush the mixture over the sides of the eggplants. Combine the various herbs and spices in another bowl and set them aside.

Grill the eggplants with the cut sides down until nicely brown, for about 3 to 4 minutes. Lightly brush the sides of the eggplant with the garlic/oil blend.

Flip the eggplant and brush the tops with the remaining oil. Sprinkle the herbs, salt and pepper over the eggplants, and cook with the cut sides up for another 6-8 minutes until the flesh is soft. Serve them fresh from the grill.

Cook like a Gaucho with our Latin-Inspired Grills

Visit the rest of our blog for grilling tips, recipes, grill maintenance advice, and much more. We feature many other recipes, including traditional Latin-inspired meals, and other traditional Argentine vegetable dishes.

No matter what you’re grilling, a Gaucho Grill will give you more room with which to cook. We’ve modeled our grills after the traditional parillas of Argentina. Visit our website to learn how we can help you prepare for your next cookout.

Beef Ribs Recipe – Tira de Asado

Ribs are a staple of the barbecue menu, no matter the hemisphere in which you find yourself dining.

But the way we prepare ribs in the U.S. and the way they’re made in a country like Argentina are two very different things.

When we make ribs here in America, we tend to cook them using a slow roast and a lot of basting.

Traditional Tira de Asado Recipe

Argentinian beef ribs – or tira de asado – are prepared differently, with the ribs sliced across the bone so that each piece has meat on both sides.

This way, the ribs cook quickly without becoming too chewy. You’ll see this cut referred to as “flanken-style” in some supermarkets. It’s also the kind of rib you’d find at a Korean BBQ joint.

For true Argentinian style flanken ribs, you’d need to season the meat simply – just a bit of salt – before putting them on the parrilla grill. You may want to cook them over some hardwood for an added smoky flavor.

The ribs will cook in 10-12 minutes, which is great for days when you want to cook and eat outdoors, but don’t have a lot of time to stand over your parrilla grill. They pair especially well with chimichurri sauce.

Tira de asado works as an appetizer – you can serve it while you grill other meats that take longer to cook – or as an entrée when served with sides like rice, veggies or grilled plantains.

Here’s a recipe you can use the next time you fire up your grill:

Ingredients

1 ½ to 2 lbs of flaken-style ribs

1-2 tablespoons of kosher salt

1 bottle of chimichurri sauce

Preparation

Begin by putting the ribs on a plate and seasoning both sides with kosher salt. Let the ribs sit at room temperature while the grill warms up.
Heat the grill to medium high, and grill the ribs for 5-6 minutes on each side. Cut a rib to test that they’re done.
Serve right off the grill, with chimichurri on the side.
If you’re ready to start cooking Argentinian-style recipes, you need an Argentinian-style grill. Let Gaucho Grills provide you with a unique cooking experience. We build our grills with the Latin tradition of asado grilling – slow cooking over coals or wood embers – in mind.

Check out our website to explore the different grills we offer, and visit our blog to learn more about caring for your grill and to get other asado cooking tips. Enjoy!

Cook Like a Gaucho With These Argentine Style Grilling Tips

“Asado” is a term used in Argentina and other South American countries that means “barbecue,” but it doesn’t quite describe the way you do your standard outdoor grilling.

This is meat cooked over coals or wood embers, a system developed by Argentinian gauchos who needed to grill their food out on the grasslands.

It’s not a cooking method for everyone, but if you think you’re ready to tackle it, here are a few Argentine style grilling tips from Manuel Debandi, chef at the Terrazas de Los Andes winery:

Go slow, and keep your heat low. Use indirect heat. That means letting the flames die down and cooking over coals instead.
Debandi recommends using wood instead of charcoal, and says hardwood works the best.
Season the meat only with salt and pepper before grilling, and toss fresh sprigs of herbs – rosemary especially – into the coals to enhance flavor.
Add some savory sauces – chimichurri is a natural – after the meat has rested and you’re ready to serve.
We also tracked down some tips from Argentine chef Zack Paul, courtesy of the food website The Kitchn, which caught up with the chef as he prepared a meal.

Paul cooks without sauces or rubs. Instead, he just seasons his food with a “salmuera” (salt water) baste.

“This salt water is a genius concept,” The Kitchn writes. “It lets the true flavors of the meats and vegetables come forward, all the while developing a crusty exterior and yielding a juicy, beautiful and flavorful interior.”

Like Debandi, Paul cooks for a long time over a low heat. Although the flames and coals are starting to fade, the leftover heat is just right for keeping meat tender and juicy, and for capturing the flavor of grilled vegetables.

With those tips in mind, we’ve tracked down a couple of Argentinian-style steak recipes, which you can make with the help of our own authentic chimichurri.

Chorizo and ribs with chimichurri

Ingredients:

1 cup of chimichurri
Ribs
Chorizo
The most complicated thing about this recipe is making the chimichurri, but fortunately, we have you covered on that front.

Start by cooking the chorizo on low heat over some burned-down coals for about an hour. Then add the ribs, cover the meat with newspaper, and turn every 15 minutes until they’re cooked to your liking.

Let the meat rest, then add the chimichurri.

Argentinian asado steak

Ingredients:

10-12 oz. free-range grass-fed beef per person
Sea salt, preferably coarse
Start by finding the right cut of meat. If you can track down Argentine beef, that’s wonderful, but American grass-fed beef will work as well, and is available from stores like Whole Foods and most butchers. Look for New York strip or rib-eye, unless you can find a thin Argentine hanger steak.

Cook with hardwood charcoal, letting it ash over before you start cooking, over a medium-fire heat.

Cook gently. Don’t add salt at first, especially if you’re using a leaner cut of beef. Instead, put the steak on the grill, let one side brown for three minutes, then turn it and salt the browned side. After three minutes, turn the steak and salt the newly browned side.

Rotate the steak every few minutes for about a total 12 minutes of cooking time. Then let the steak rest for 15 minutes before carving. Carve too early, and all the juices will run out. Add chimichurri sauce before serving.

If this style of cooking seems right for you, contact Gaucho Grills. Our grill designs are inspired by the traditional Argentine “parrilla,” meaning outdoor chefs can raise and lower the grilling service over burning wood or coals while cooking on a wider than normal area. No matter what you’re cooking, Gaucho Grills will take your asado to the next level.

Chimichurri Cheesesteak

Most native Philadelphians will tell you, “Don’t mess with the Philly Cheesesteak!”  I mean really, how can you possibly improve on melted cheese and fried onions smothered over thinly sliced ribeye steak?  Well people always try, it’s just our nature.  Pizza sauce, ketchup, mushrooms, peppers, lettuce, mayo, it’s all been thrown at Philly’s beloved sandwich.

Since others have already taken the bold step to take the cheesesteak to new heights, we proudly offer our own version of this Philadelphia staple, of course with an Argentine flair.

The Chimichurri Cheesesteak:

(Recipe makes 1 Sandwich)

8-10 oz. Chopped (Very thinly sliced) Ribeye Steak or Chicken Steak

3 Slices Provolone Cheese (For a true Argentine taste, try to find some Provoleta cheese and substitute accordingly)

1/3 cup chopped onions

1 Long Crusty Hoagie/Steak Roll

4 Tablespoons Che Amigo Authentic Argentine Chimichurri

On a frying pan or griddle (Or your gaucho grill with a griddle plate) sauté the onions with a tablespoon of the chimichurri and set aside.  Next step, fry up the steak.  Use 2 tablespoons of the chimichurri with the steak.  It will infuse the meat with the zesty and garlicky flavor that will make this sandwich distinct.  When chopped and fried to your desired consistency, add the sautéed onions and top with the provolone cheese.  Once the cheese has melted transfer to a traditional crusty steak roll.  Top with a tablespoon of the chimichurri and you are good to go.

Of course, living in Philly, the easiest way may be to just buy a cheesesteak from your local steak shop and use the chimichurri as a topping, but cooking the actual steak and onions in the sauce really does take it to the next level.

We’d love to hear what you think about this recipe and also the different ways you jazz up your own cheesesteak.  Let us know, we’re always looking for new food twists and turns.

Fire Roasted Corn & Rice with Chimichurri

I promise in due time we will have some great recipes coming forth. However, every once in a while you prepare something so simple and seemingly innocuous, that it shocks you when you realize how something simple can be made to taste amazing. Last night was one of those moments.

As a side dish to some excellent seafood cakes my wife had prepared, I decided to create a simple rice dish, composed of brown rice and fire roasted corn. I would love to go into detail about how I roasted the corn in their respective husk right on top of my Gaucho Grill, infusing it with smoke from burning mesquite. (It’s been done before and it’s great.) But I cannot tell a lie. I did not. Time was not on my side. It was late and I was hungry. I used Trader Joe’s frozen Brown Rice and Trader Joe’s frozen Roasted Corn. That’s right, I said it…frozen!

Once the TJ’s combo was popping and sizzling in my saute pan, I did what every wanne-be chef does, and decided it was time to spice things up. Keeping it simple and quick, I turned to our go to sauce of choice, Che Amigo Argentine Chimichurri. A couple of ladled tablespoons later and I had just discovered that something amazing can be created in about 5 minutes.

The blend of the garlic and spices in the chimichurri, combined with the tang in the vinegar, gave much needed flavor to the brown rice and blended harmoniously with the sweet smokiness of the roasted corn cooked to perfection on a parrilla grill. It was really an amazing side dish and will now be a standby in our kitchen. And next time, if time permits, the corn roasting, will come from my grill. (No offense to Trader Joe’s. Their corn is pretty tasty.)

Check out the other articles on our blog to learn more about asado cooking techniques and traditional Latin recipes, including several other Argentinean vegetable dishes and sides for your next asado meal.

Gaucho Grills: Argentine Grilling Recipes

Check out some of our great recipes and helpful tips for using your Argentine parrilla grill! Click below to explore some of our favorite recipes, and feel free to leave comments below with your own favorite Latin-inspired recipes.

FIRE ROASTED CORN & RICE WITH CHIMICHURRI

CHE AMIGO CHIMICHURRI CHICKEN

CHIMICHURRI CHEESESTEAK

CHORIZO & RIBS WITH CHIMICHURRI

ARGENTINEAN ASADO STEAK

TIRA DE ASADO

BERENJENA EN ESCABECHE – MARINATED EGGPLANT

ENSALADA DE ZANAHORIA Y HUEVO

GRILLED EGGPLANT