Argentinian Asado technique


 
A

Angel Bocanegra

New member
I was talking to a friend of a friend who invited us to an asado. Its basically south american bbq, but cooked with a slow roasting method with lump charcoal. The grill is set up to where they put all the meat for the feast to cover most of the grilling area and slow roast for about two hours, everything from beef and pork organs to ribs, lamb and chicken.

Curious thing he mentioned is that in Argentina the Asador master will never marinade the meat, only add salt right before the meat hits the grill and during. Another technique is that they always try to avoid having the drippings fall to the coals since it creates smoke that affects negatively the flavor of the meat. What do you guys think about this? since I always thought it would enhance...
 
Well its all about history and/or culture and even personal preference. I worked with a man from Chile and we had a family gettoghether at the beach once,he said he would do some flank steak on the grill for us.

He had talked about his way of doing this peice of meat for a while and i was really eager to try.

And his secret was to only use salt
icon_rolleyes.gif

Dident really get this but he said in his village in chile they always just used salt when they grill.(and he couldent eat anything even medium hot)

Not my cup of tea but then again i think most American sauces/mops/mustards are to sweet or have to mutch vinegar for my taste.
 
Hi Angel, if I inderstand correctly it sounds like it's an indirect cook. I think this would be fun to try if you had a few people bring what ever they wanted and have a sort of meat smorgasboard. I would still either add a Carne Asada rub or a Mojo Criollo marinade would probably aid in enhancing the flavor and still keep that Latin flare. I have a few ideas and may try a small version sometime. Indirect, lump charcoal, rubbed and marinated, with a few different types of meat. Thanks
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Angel Bocanegra:

...... Another technique is that they always try to avoid having the drippings fall to the coals since it creates smoke that affects negatively the flavor of the meat. What do you guys think about this? since I always thought it would enhance... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would agree, Angel. If you are grilling burgers, steaks, etc., then the fat dripping and smoking is one thing, since it's a fairly quick cook. On a longer, low/slow cook, I feel the smoke is overpowering. I prefer the smoke flavor to come from whatever charcoal/wood combination I am using.

JimT
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Shaun R:
Hi Angel, if I inderstand correctly it sounds like it's an indirect cook. I think this would be fun to try if you had a few people bring what ever they wanted and have a sort of meat smorgasboard. I would still either add a Carne Asada rub or a Mojo Criollo marinade would probably aid in enhancing the flavor and still keep that Latin flare. I have a few ideas and may try a small version sometime. Indirect, lump charcoal, rubbed and marinated, with a few different types of meat. Thanks </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It is direct grilling in open flame, but they control the distance of the coals to the food for a long minimum two hour roast.
 
Angel, I too believe (I'm not a food historian) that this cooking style/technique is cultural...in North Carolina, some old school pit masters swear by slow, direct cooking with drippings purposely falling on the coals for flavor.
Others use indirect technique that does not allow drippings to reach a fire.
Salt only is similar...it is how folks grew up learning to cook.
Certainly we all recognize that more complex flavors can be obtained by adding a mixture of spice in a rub.
But, what is best? In the wine world, folks say buy and drink what you like. I agree. Cook for your own pleasure and that of your guests.
I am sure as our world continues to shrink, styles of cooking will continue to blur and merge. It is good to know some stick to the old way.
Great topic Angel.
 
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