Gaucho Insert - upstate New York

Check out this beautiful indoor installation of a Gaucho Insert in a custom built indoor kitchen/cooking area. Look at all that wood!

Want to be featured? Send us your photos! 

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. 

Thanksgiving on the Grill Part 2 - The Sides

Join Chef Julie Hernandez-Roberts as she prepares the sides for our delicious Thanksgiving Feast.

Thanksgiving on the Grill Part 1 - The Turkey

Join Chef Julie Hernandez-Roberts for the first episode of The Gaucho Grills Show, as she grills up some Turkey Legs and Fire Kissed Cranberry Sauce

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.

Tips for Asado Grilling Over Wood Embers

We got our company’s name from the gauchos, rough-and-tumble Argentinian cattlemen who cooked their meat on makeshift grills. And while we weren’t on hand for those long-ago Latin barbecue celebrations, we’d say it’s a safe bet the gauchos didn’t head out to Home Depot to buy charcoal. They cooked over wood.

They had the right idea. Wood smoke gives your food an amazing flavor, but it’s also something of a challenge, writes Oliver Schwaner-Albright in The New York Times.

“Grilling over a wood fire is as much a sport as an art — it’s more instinctive than cooking with a gas grill, more nuanced than cooking with charcoal, and more athletic than both.”

If you think this is something you’re ready to tackle, here are some rules to follow for your next Latin barbecue:

1. You can’t just use any wood

When cooking over wood, look for seasoned dried hardwoods, which burn hotter and last longer than softer woods such as pine. Look for woods like hickory, ash, beech or oak, or from fruit trees like cherry or almond. You can add more distinct flavors by using soaked wood chips or mesquite chunks.

2. Starting the fire

If you’ve ever gone camping, or you have a fireplace, this should come easy. Build a pile of kindling (wood chips, newspaper or some other sort of tinder), and then surround it with a teepee of small twigs. Add larger pieces of wood when the fire starts to burn.

3. Let the fire burn

Wood Embers Cooking Meat on Asado GrillStart the fire early, and make sure you have plenty of wood.  You’re not going to cook over an open flame here, which can leave you with steaks or chicken that taste like charcoal. Let the fire build and then burn down until the wood turns into embers.

Those embers are hotter than the fire. Once you have a nice bed of embers going, put down your grill grate and begin working. But be careful: you can still get the same kind of flare ups you’d see with a gas or charcoal grill, so keep an eye on your food to avoid charring.

And if you’re thinking about grilling some dessert, just add a few pieces of wood to the embers to restart your fire.

True Argentinian cooking requires you to go slow, over a lower, indirect heat. And go easy on the seasoning. Add some salt and pepper before you cook, and maybe put some fresh herbs on the coal to add flavor. Once the meat has rested, add chimichurri sauce, a staple of the Latin barbecue.

With that out of the way, you might be wondering, “What should we cook?”

Well, why not some steak? It’s what the gauchos would have had. Here’s what you’ll need:

10 to 12 ounces of free-range, grass fed beef for each guest
Coarse sea salt
Once you’ve got the fire going and the wood turned into embers, cook the steak gently, avoiding adding salt right away,

Put the steaks on the grill, let them brown on one side for three minutes, and then flip it, salting the brown side. Turn after three minutes and repeat.

Rotate the steaks every few minutes for a total of about 12 minutes of cooking, then let them rest for 15 minutes before carving.  If you carve too soon, the steaks will lose their juiciness.

If this type of cookout appeals to you, Gaucho Grills can help. We’ve modeled our grills after the traditional Argentine parrilla, allowing barbecue enthusiasts to raise and lower the grilling surface over burning wood for a variety of different dishes.

You may be miles away from Argentina, but with our help, you can take your cooking to new places.

Drink Pairings for Your Next Asado Meal

Regardless of whether you’ve ever visited Argentina, there’s a good chance you’re nevertheless aware of just how significant a role the consumption of meat plays in the country’s culinary culture. What you may not be familiar with, however, is the enormous popularity of a particularly Argentine style of barbecuing.

Known as an asado, it’s an hours-long outdoor cookout that isn’t entirely unlike an American barbecue experience. Still, there are several significant differences, not the least of which is the food and drink itself. At an asado meal, you can expect to enjoy high-quality cuts of meat ranging from sirloin and flank steaks to a succulent rack of ribs. Sausage, chicken, and even carefully prepared appetizers known as achuras may also make an appearance.

Another significant difference between the American-style barbecues you and I are used to and an asado cookout is the beverage of choice. Cans of beer and pitchers of sweet iced tea aren’t generally a part of an Argentine barbecue. Instead, you can expect to encounter red wine—and lots of it—in varying degrees of quality.

If you’d like to host a genuine asado meal of your own, keep reading to learn which wines you’ll want to pair with which meats.

Keeping It Simple

If you want to keep things simple, go with a few bottles of an Argentinian Malbec. “A hearty red grape of French origin,” according to Wine Enthusiast, Malbec “is now exceedingly popular in Argentina.” It’s also the wine you’re most likely to spot multiple bottles of at a typical asado cookout. This full-bodied and fruity wine often features notes of blackberry, oak, and spice.

As is the case with a decent Malbec, a Cabernet Sauvignon is another full-bodied wine that pairs well with an asado cookout where a wide variety of meats are on offer, because it does such a decent job of rinsing the palate between bites, or between differently flavored meats.

Impressing the Neighbors

Go to a traditional asado cookout pretty much anywhere in Argentina, and you’ll probably spot at least a couple bottles of reserva or gran reserva wines. These titles imply that the wine inside the bottle is of a particularly high quality. A reserva, for instance, has been aged for at least three years, while a gran reserva has been aged at least five. Offering these wines to your guests is a clever way to let them know that you know your way around a wine shop, and that you have the money to buy the good stuff.

A Time for White and Sparkling Wines

Those of you who aren’t big fans of red wine will be pleased to know that there is a place for a bottle of white at an asado cookout. Many asado hosts offer their guests cheese plates and sweetbreads before the main event comes off the grill. Sparkling white wines, such as a Chardonnay, generally accompany these courses.

In fact, sparkling wines, which haven’t historically seen much love in Argentina, are becoming much more popular during dessert time. So, if you happen to be serving any sort of traditional Argentine dessert as your asado cookout comes to a close (flan with dulce de leche, for instance, or perhaps a ricotta cake), feel free to accompany it with a bottle of bubbly.

The Bottom Line

Where the actual asado cookout and the wine you’ll be serving and drinking are concerned, however, you really don’t need to worry too much about which bottle to serve or the proper time to serve it. Frankly, that would be just a touch un-Argentinian.

Remember: A true Argentine cookout is an hours-long affair, and just as barbecues are here in the States, its true purpose is to encourage good friends and family to gather together over food and drink. It’s a style of gathering, you might say, that’s as old as time itself. So, try not to get too hung up on whether you can afford a half-dozen bottles of $120 Malbec.

If you come prepared with some solid, full-bodied red that you and your guests will genuinely enjoy—and, of course, enough meat to pack the grill (500 grams, or about 17.6 ounces of meat per person is considered standard)—you’ll have everything you need to experience an asado that any Argentine would be proud to attend.

Of course, no asado-style cookout is complete without an Argentinian-style grill. Visit Gaucho Grills today to find a grill that lets you cook steaks as if you’re at an authentic asado.

Tips for Cleaning Your Pink Himalayan Salt Block

Even if you know almost nothing at all about grilling or cooking, you’re probably still aware that the world of cuisine is a world of trends. Whether they’re short-lived fads or decades-long movements, there seems to always be something trendy on offer to engage and inspire the zealous gourmand.

One of the more popular cooking trends today involves grilling or otherwise preparing food with something known as a Himalayan salt block. Most Himalayan salt blocks are about two inches thick and roughly the length and width of a trade paperback book. And although they’re sometimes used for serving, these unusual grill salt blocks, as we like to call them, are more commonly used for cooking meats, fish, and vegetables. The blocks add a complex salt flavor to food, although juices and food debris tend to build up easily and stick stubbornly to the blocks when they’re used for cooking. Visit our blog for more tips on cooking with pink Himalayan salt blocks.

Because these blocks are literally made of salt, there are number of very important dos and don’ts to bear in mind where cleaning is concerned. The following tips will ensure that your grill salt block, which is surprisingly delicate, won’t become ruined because of cleaning.

Steer Clear of the Dishwasher

Because Himalayan salt blocks are indeed made of salt, even a quick cycle through a dishwasher will cause it to dissolve into nothingness. In fact, if you do run your salt block through the washer, don’t expect it to be there when the wash is complete!

First Things First

Before you even begin to clean your salt block, you’ll first want to let it cool to room temperature. This can take quite a long time, since salt blocks retain heat quite well. To remove any food bits or other material that might be stuck to the block, use a slightly wet sponge, a scouring pad, or even a kitchen towel. A spatula can sometimes work as well.

Once your salt block is clean, pat it dry with a clean cloth and store it somewhere equally dry. A cabinet or drawer than isn’t prone to attracting wetness or moisture is probably your best bet. Wait at least 24 hours after the block is dry before using it again.

Water Is Not the Grill Salt Block’s Friend

There’s a good reason why cleaning a Himalayan salt block can be such tricky business: The blocks can easily become heavily coated with the grime of cooking, and yet if you use too much water in your efforts to remove that grime, a decent portion of your block could easily dissolve. So, what’s the solution if a rag or sponge doesn’t work?

Consider removing the food and cooking debris by giving your block a good scrub with a high-quality grilling tool. Salt block cleaning brushes, for instance, can be found at most retail and e-commerce stores where kitchen supplies are sold.

Water, of course, will dissolve the salt itself (more on that later), so make sure any sponges or pads you use for cleaning aren’t soaking wet–a damp rag should do the trick. Neither dish detergent nor soap are necessary when cleaning salt blocks. In fact, using more than a very, very small amount of detergent isn’t recommended. Those who insist on using detergent, however, should first mix it in a bowl of water before applying. It is worth bearing in mind that Himalayan salt blocks are antibacterial–salt itself is naturally antibacterial–which is the real reason you don’t need to use soap.

A Couple More Tips

If you keep your salt block out of the dishwasher and away from the streaming water in your kitchen sink, it’ll last for quite a long time. But just for good measure, here are a few other cleaning salt block cleaning tips that we think are worth remembering:

Your block is capable of naturally absorbing moisture from the air, and if that happens on a regular basis, its lifespan will be considerably shortened. To keep that from happening, store your block in an air-tight plastic bag (like a Ziploc bag). You can also purchase a salt block protective case, which will essentially serve the same purpose.
A salt block covered in carbonized cooking oil is a tough thing to clean. If you tend to use a lot of oils in your cooking, apply them directly onto your food instead of the surface of the salt block itself. Aside from making clean-up easier, you’ll find that less oil settles into the natural cracks of the salt block.

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!

The Origins of Chimichurri in Argentine Cuisine

Some mysteries may never be solved.

Who built Stonehenge?

Is there a real Loch Ness Monster?

What happened to Amelia Earhart?

Let’s add another one to the list: where did the term “chimichurri” come from?  The origin of this Argentine grilling staple’s name is as murky as the sauce itself.

Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle a few years ago, Joyce Goldstein tried to solve the riddle of how chimichurri got its name:

According to one account, “chimichurri” is a corruption of English names such as “Jimmy Curry” or “Jimmy McCurry,” who was either an Irish or Englishman who signed up to fight for Argentine independence, or an meat wholesaler, depending on who you ask.
Another explanation comes from the Argentine gourmet Miguel Brasco, who postulates that the term came from British soldiers who were captured during the failed Rio de la Plata invasions in the early 1800s. These soldiers mixed English, Spanish and aboriginal words when asking for condiments.
Other stories give credit to Basque settlers who came to Argentina in the 19th In this telling, the settlers referred to the sauce as “tximitxurri,” which – loosely translated – means “a mixture of several things in no particular order.”
“There are as many variations of chimichurri sauce as there are stories of where the sauce came from,” author and chef Elizabeth Karmel wrote in a 2011 Associated Press piece.

“My favorite story credits English-speaking colonists for speaking in ‘Spanglish’ and asking for sauce with their meals, which they called curry. Instead of saying ‘Che mi salsa,’ they would say ‘Che mi curry.’ And supposedly that somehow got changed around to chimichurri.”

Chimichurri in Argentine Grilling

While we can’t prove how chimichurri got its name, we can poke holes in some of the myths surrounding this sauce, with the help of Asado Argentina, a website devoted to Argentine grilling.

Chimichurri doesn’t need to be a fresh, bright green. It comes in different colors, and some fans like it to have an aged appearance for a more mellow flavor. For example, our Che Amigo Chimichurri Sauce is a lovely orange color.
Chimichurri isn’t Argentina’s answer to ketchup. (Ketchup is the Argentinian version of ketchup.) It’s not served with every meal, and you won’t see it poured over French fries or hot dogs. Nor is it a South American pesto. They may look similar, but they contain different ingredients and have different uses.
Some people argue that Chimichurri should serve as a condiment, not a marinade. In the Argentine grilling world, it is typically served with steaks, sausages and organ meat.
Chimichurri isn’t made simply by mixing cilantro, limes and spices in a blender.
If you’re interested in delving into the world of Argentine grilling, Gaucho Grills can help. Our grills can let you grill steaks and other meats as if you’re at a traditional Argentinian parilla.

And fear not: we sell chimichurri to help add some extra flavor to your meal, even if you don’t really know how the sauce you’re serving got its name.

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.

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.

Argentinean Grilling Terminology Guide

Over the past few months, we’ve been using this blog to teach readers their way around the world of Argentinian grilling. And now that you can walk the walk, we want you to be able to talk the talk, so to speak. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to Argentinean grilling terminology. The next time you host a cookout, you can impress your guests with your food and your lingo.

Asado Meat Cuts

Chorizo – This one might be part of your – or your guests’ – vocabulary, as chorizo is a popular dish in Mexican restaurants. But chorizo just means sausage, and the type of chorizo you find in Argentina really isn’t spicy, just juicy and delicious.
Ojo de bife – A classic rib eye steak, as common and beloved in Argentina as in America.
Vacio – Flank steak. We’ve also seen it referred to as “matambre,” a combination of the Spanish words matar (kill) and hambre (hunger), if you want to be fancy. Traveling in Argentina, you might find a dish called the “matambre relleno,” a meat roll stuffed with – depending on where you are – carrots, peppers or hardboiled egg.
Bife Angosto – Another American favorite: Porterhouse steak.
Entraña – Skirt steak, generally served in long strips.
Cuadril – Rump steak, typically served on sandwiches.
Entraña gruesa – Hanger steak, which is thicker than skirt steak.
Bife de costilla – T-bone steak
Bife de chorizo – Sirloin steaks, and despite their name, nothing to do with sausage.
Bife de lomo – Tenderloin, known more for its tenderness than its flavor. How tender? Some restaurants in Argentina make a point of cutting it with a spoon for patrons.
Asado Sandwiches

If you’re serving sandwiches, you may want to pick up these terms:

Choripan – Sausage served on a long roll.
Vaciopan – A flank steak sandwich.
Milanesa – A thin, breaded piece of fried beef.
Milanesa de pollo – The same sort of sandwich, but served with fried, breaded chicken.
Traditional Asado Dishes

And if you’re feeling really adventurous, plan a menu that includes these:

Chinchulines – Small intestines (like we said, these are for the adventurous)
Criadillas – Testicles (Really adventurous).
Morcilla – Blood sausage. Similar to what they call “black pudding” in England, this dish is pig’s blood mixed with ground up pork or offal.
If you’re looking for the best way to cook some of these cuts of meat, be sure to read our blog to find Argentinian grilling recipes.

And no true Argentinian-style cookout would be complete without the right grill. Gaucho Grills has designed its grills with the traditional Argentinian parillas in mind.

You’ll have more room to cook, and can give your guests a taste of Argentina from your backyard.

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.