Spring is just around the corner!

Packing up and getting ready to ship this Gaucho sized insert to Maine. Grills are heading out the door to complete outdoor kitchen projects in time for the Spring grilling season.

Custom Double Grill

We love grills, but in our hearts, we’re engineers. So when we get the chance to build something wild like this custom double grill/single brasero, we jump at it. With two Gauchito sized grills, independent cranks, and our sturdy brasero in the middle, it’s ready for anything you can throw at (or on) it.

Interested in your own custom grill? Check out some ideas here, and then contact us!

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!

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.

The Benefit of Grilling on V Groove Grill Grates

It’s time to make your world class burger.  The 80/20 Beef has been prepped and formed.  Your parrilla grill is hot.  The grilling starts out great, the smells and sizzle indicate you got the start you’re looking for.  But it doesn’t take long to put you back into a familiar panicked battle; How to keep your gourmet burgers from becoming smoldering hockey pucks!?

All grill chefs are familiar with the scene.  A little too much smoke, and then bright flames bursting forth under your grilling surface.  The more flames shoot up, the more fat drips, and the charring cycle begins.  You do what you can to lower the heat, but the grease fire is going now and lowering the temp is not enough.  You start the burger shuffle, moving your meat around the grill looking for an area that’s not on fire yet.  You start to remember that having an extinguisher nearby would be a good idea, but you’re intent on saving the burgers, not dousing it with chemicals.

Minimize Grill Flare-Ups with V Groove Grill Grates

To those experienced with this heroic battle against meat dripping flare-ups, you’ve figured out some helpful practices to minimize the impact.  Watch your heat.  Handle the meat as little as possible.  Keep a cooler area on your parrilla grill as a safe zone. These tips are helpful and useful for anyone cooking on an Argentine grill.

In addition to some smart grilling practices, there are also some useful tools to help you avoid this common grilling problem.  One method to cut down on flare ups and grease fires is to utilize V Groove Grills that accommodate the run off from cooking meats and oil drippings.

A stainless steel V groove grill grate, when pitched at a proper angle will funnel runoff juices and fats from your grilled meat away from the meat and into a collection area.  The V grooves trap the juices and keep it from rolling off the parrilla grill surface and back onto the coals or gas.

A catching trough attachment for the V grooves is a great help as well.  A trough can collect juices for basting or simply serve as a better way to catch your grease and help keep your grill surface clean.

If you plan on using the rotisserie attachment for your Gaucho Grill, the V-groove grates are easily removed to make room for the attachment. Check out our blog about about using the rotisserie on your Argentinean grill for recipes, installation instructions, and more.

Enhance Your Asado Grilling Experience

With all the bells and whistles available on the grills you can buy from the big box stores, strongly consider a grill with a solid practical approach to some of the most basic problems encountered by all grilling enthusiasts.  V Groove grill grates are one of those simple and practical tools that can elevate your outdoor cooking experience and save your meal.

Watch this video of a Gaucho Grills Insert with V Groove Grill Grates doing what it’s supposed to do.  The heat and sizzle is plentiful, yet the grease doesn’t stoke a fire, but moves to the troughs where it will be easy to dispose and clean.

Grilling with your Himalayan Salt Block

“Can something tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any taste in the white of an egg?” – Job 6:6

Although used for thousands upon thousands of years, (See the Book of Job reference) today it seems like the use of salt has exploded in popularity more than ever. Try to find a seasoning or condiment that doesn’t advertise: “Made with all-natural sea salt.” Look and see how many pretty salt colors and flavors there are in your local spice shop or even grocery store. There are colored salts, flavored salts, smoked salts, salt cured meats, salt encrusted meats and fish, and on it goes.  It’s even a hit in our desserts and coffees with “Sea-Salt Caramel” flavored everything.

So it was no surprise to us when we discovered the wonderful world of salts has now permeated into the grilling arena.  Yes there are a thousand and one ways to season any of your grilled fare to perfection with salts. Recipes abound that call for all sorts of extravagant salted marinades and rubs.  In addition, there perhaps is no better way to prepare a juicy grilled steak than to season it with a minimalist approach of some coarse kosher salt and cracked black pepper.  However we’ve recently come to embrace the fantastic salt infusing method of grilling on top of a Pink Himalayan Salt Block.  For a salt lover, this is truly a unique way to go.

Why is a Salt Block Great for Grilling?

Asado grilling salt blockThe block of choice for us at Gaucho Grills is a 2” thick cut of pink marbled salt mined from the Himalayan mountain region.  The thicker the block, the better the quality, the longer it will last, and the better the heat retention.

The beautiful pink coloring to these salt blocks not only makes it a nice presentation or serving vehicle, but is indicative of the mineral composites left in the salt itself.  These minerals can have added health benefits over your traditional iodized white salts. The minerals also offer a more distinct flavor profile for those palates able to discern the mineral flavors embedded in the salt. (We know for some salt is just salty and that can be good as well.)

The key to grilling on these blocks is HEAT.  Notice the emphasis, because if the block doesn’t get hot enough to sear your meat to it could very well ruin it.   (A useful tool to measure the temperature of your grilling surface, and in this case, the salt block, is a simple infrared thermometer.  Just point the little laser and scan the readout.  I wouldn’t drop a piece of meat on the block until I at least see 375 degrees or higher.)

Once the block is hot enough to make your meat sizzle, drop a piece of unseasoned (at least unsalted) meat of choice and cook on it as you would a cast iron pan.  The block is good for most any cut of meat.  Steak is amazing but we’ve tried chicken, fish and shellfish, all with fantastic results.

With the meat cooking on the block, the juices will flow and you will start to see that pretty pink color start to turn brown as the salt block starts it’s seasoning process.  Over time the meat juices will wear down the block, but a two inch thick slab of Himalayan salt should last quite a while.  We’ve gotten entire grilling seasons out of one block even with weekly usage.

The cook time of the meat will vary on the cut and type of meat, but mostly on your saltiness taste preference.  For steaks I like to hit each side for 5 minutes to impart the salt level I prefer.  This is the part that will take some fun grilling practice, finding that perfect salt level to your taste.

Please know that the salt flavor will not just coat the top of the steak.  The salt does infuse into the steak as it cooks.  As the moisture of the meat releases, it draws in the salt flavor.  That is why the heat is so critical.  If the block is not hot enough, the meat will release its moisture but not sear properly.  This will in affect draw in too much of the salt flavor and you will find your meat overly salty (we learned this the hard way with a bad scallop experience).

If you feel that you’ve grilled with your block long enough and your salt level has been reached but your meat is still not done to your preference, simply take your meat off the block and finish it on the grill.  You can even work that process in reverse.  Meat can be started on the grill and then finished off on the block if you desire.

Cleaning Your Pink Himalayan Salt Slab

cleaning parrilla salt blockAfter your fantastic grilled meal, it’s time to clean up your grilling area.  With a Pink Himalayan Salt Slab, the cleaning is easy.  The first step is the crucial one.  Make sure, the block has cooled off enough that it’s safe to handle.  These blocks retain heat very well and the block can be too hot to handle even if the rest of your grill has long cooled off.  Once the block is cooled, wipe off any residue still stuck to the block.

After the larger residue is removed, a damp towel can be used to remove any of the finer residue and oils left behind.  This water can add to the deterioration of the salt so use sparingly and wipe quickly followed by a thorough drying pat down after you’re done.  With the block dry and free from moisture, wrap in a towel or stow in a plastic container.  Keep the block stored in a dry area of your home.  That’s it.  No washing, soaking, soap or hassles.  The ease of cleaning is found in the anti-bacterial properties of salt itself.  Wipe off the junk, the salt will kill the rest.  (Not to mention the 400+ degrees the next time you fire it up.)

The Pink Himalayan Salt Block is another culinary tool in your arsenal that can enhance your grilling experience.  There are other ways to use the block around the kitchen as well.  Blocks can be heated in the oven and used to cook table side.  The temperature retention of the blocks are amazing.  The blocks hold cold just as well as they hold the heat.  Try freezing your block and use it as a beautiful serving tray for meats and shell fish.  The anti-bacterial properties of the salt block are a perfect safety tool to take advantage of when using as a chilled serving dish.

The Origins of Asado Style & Parrilla Grilling

When we think of Argentine cuisine, we think of beef. The Spanish brought cattle to Argentina in the 1500s, and beef has been a key part of the national cuisine ever since.

But just as important to this equation is the asado.

We’d call it “the Argentine version of the cookout,” but that only sort of does it justice.

It’s actually a practice that goes deep into the country’s history, men known as gauchos—legendary cattle wrangling figures – cooked their meals on makeshift grills which were the original parrilla grills.

As Daniel Duane wrote in Men’s Journal, Argentine beef is much different than the beef we get from American cows. Cattle in Argentina traditionally grazed on wild grasses, leading to a flavorful, ultra-lean meat.

“Since corn-fed American cattle produce a beef so marbled with saturated fat and so buttery-soft and mild-tasting, our grilling has gravitated toward a blast of initial heat that provides a crunchy texture and charred flavor on the outside while leaving the inside juicy and tender,” Duane says.

The gauchos took a different route: cooking over the low, even heat generated by embers, with no direct flame touching the steak.

Eventually this tradition migrated out of the grasslands into Argentinian homes. Today, asado means something more. It’s a social event, similar to the big family Sunday dinners some of us grew up with. Family and friends gather to enjoy various cuts of slow-cooked meats.

And instead of the typical propane grill, an asado meal is cooked over a parrilla, a grill heated with wood or coals. Beef is the star of the meal, of course, but menus can also include chorizo, sweetbreads, kidneys and chicken.

How does asado differ from barbecue?

Are you interested in turning your next BBQ into an asado? Consider these tips:

Remember two words: Slow and low. In other words, cook slowly, and over a low heat. You should let the flames die down all the way and cook over coals.
If you have wood, use it instead of charcoal. It will give you a much better flavor.
You’ll want to go easy on the seasoning: add some salt and pepper before grilling, and toss some fresh herbs onto the coal to augment the flavor. Some food bloggers suggest salting the meat late in the cooking stage for added juiciness.
After the meat has rested and you’re ready to serve, add some savory sauces. Chimichurri is to the asado as barbecue sauce is to the American cookout.
Now that we’ve covered those tips, let’s go back to Men’s Journal for their asado steak recipe.

You’ll need 10 to 12 ounces of grass-fed beef for each person, along with some coarse sea salt.
Light your grill and remember that you’re cooking over coals, not flames. Let the coals ash over completely before you start to cook. The recipe says you should use a medium-heat fire, one where you can hold your hand one inch off the grill bars for 2.5 seconds.
Cook the beef gently. You shouldn’t add salt at first, because this will dry out the meat. Instead, grill the steak for three minutes, flip it, and salt the grilled side.
Rotate the steak every few minutes for a total cooking time of 12 minutes. Use a squirt bottle to make sure no flame or smoke touches the meat.
It’s important to let any steak rest, but even more important with superlean grass-fed meat. Cut too early, and all of the juices will escape the steak. Let the steak rest for 15 minutes after you take it off the grill.
Learn more about parrilla grilling in PA

If you’re ready to cook like you’re in Buenos Ares, contact Gaucho Grills. We’ve designed our grills with the traditional parrillas in mind, meaning that grillers have more room to cook. We can help you turn your next backyard cookout into a true asado.

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.

The Inspiration Behind Gaucho Grills

What do machine design, precision machining, outdoor grilling, and love of all types of food have in common? They are all the passions of one entrepreneur, who decided to encapsulate all his interests into a new business.

Gaucho Grills is the culmination of the hobbies, interests and experiences of Edward Pentz, an Argentinean born mechanical engineer, who immigrated to the United States 47 years ago and started his own precision CNC machining business. Founded in 1986, Ed’s company, EMP Industries Inc., has been providing machine design and prototype services, CNC machining, fabrication, and assembly services to the semiconductor, electronics, medical, and consumer products industry for over 27 years.

While EMP grew in industrial circles, Ed’s passion for cooking, in particular, his childhood memories of family gathering to enjoy the Argentine asado style of grilling and cooking, was always in the back of his mind. With Ed’s machine design experience, and a full production machine shop at his disposal, he began to prototype out what would eventually become the standard Gaucho Grill used in parrilla style grilling.

“Initially I tackled this project just for myself. I wanted to recreate the same grilling style we used as a family back in Buenos Aires.” Ed recalls. “I wanted to create a grill that would allow me to cook for family and friends, but that would encompass the natural elements that were missing in the traditional gas grills found in most people’s back yards. I wanted the grilling experience to be natural, social, and ultimately tastier. That was the grill I remembered from my youth and what I wanted to take to the next level here in our shop.”

In time, and quite a few revisions and modifications, Ed was known as having the best grill on the block. Once his concept was proven and well received, the natural thought was why not create this for the public? And thus Gaucho Grills was born.

Gaucho Grills, now available through the internet at gaucho-grills.com, has been created to offer all passionate grill masters and those that desire the best in outdoor cooking an opportunity to grill with Latin flavor and function. All Gaucho Grills and Gaucho Inserts (grill bases designed for customer built counter tops and fireplaces) feature Argentine parrilla style grilling, with a robust construction that will outlast any other grill on the market.

Argentine passion, coupled with American craftsmanship. A true Latin parrilla style grilling system is being custom built here in the United States.

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