How Do You Like Your Beef: The Rib

The rib is a primal cut that’s ever present for both the Argentine and American diet. Today were going to drill down into this primal cut and discover why it’s such a staple for the traditional Argentine Asado here in Argentina.

The rib primal cut, as many would imagine, is exactly where you’re going to find your ribs. There are 13 pairs of ribs, however, only ribs six through 12 belong to the rib primal. In the United States, this cut includes parts of the short rib and prime rib. These cuts are favorites for many barbecues, and can be cooked in a variety of ways because of how tender this meat is. One of the most popular in the United States is using dry heat, creating that smokey, barbecue tastes. Along with this, cuts include back ribs, standing rib roast, ribeye steak and ribeye primal. The cuts are tender, and have additional added flavor of being cooked with the bone.

Down here in Argentina, the rib is worshiped as one of the most important primal cuts in the animal. This is because from this primal cut comes two very important cuts for the typical Argentine Asado… the actual cut, asado, as well as tira de asado.

 

Asado and tira de asado are like big brother and little brother for any Argentine barbecue extravaganza. They are big, thick and meaty cuts that are left to soak up heat from hot embers on the parrilla. Asado means rack of ribs, while tira de asado would be the short ribs for cuts in United States.

Just like in the United States, the presentation for these ribs here in Argentina is sacred for any Argentine barbecue. Asado and tira de asado can be purchased as cuts at grocery stores and butchers. They are layed on the parrilla like a carpet and left to cook. On any Argentine grill, this cut is immediately recognizable.

 

Tira de asado and asado are cooked in this way for multiple reasons. By not cutting the ribs individually, the cut maintains juiciness and moisture and cooks together as an entire rack of ribs. As the embers heat this carpet of meat, the bones and bone marrow give the cut that extra taste and flavor.

When making your guest list for your asado party, the cuts tira de asado and asado must be on the VIP list. These cuts of meat are imperative parts of the Argentine culture, not to mention that they are extra tasty!

 

 

 

The Rituals of Asado, Part 1: The Picada

One of the things that you will never get on any parrilla tour in Buenos Aires is an experience or even a close up look at how real Argentines actually do asado. At a parrilla restaurant (best translation would be steakhouse, but this is actually a totally different concept), you will see an asador (grillman) or group of asadores tending to the parrilla. On the parrilla you will find any number of cuts of beef, pork and chicken, roasting nicely over a bed of hot coals.

But what won’t happen when you walk in the door, is the critical first step in what is a traditional Argentine asado, which is the picada. The picada (which comes from the word picar in Spanish which means “to bite”… so these are little bites) usually comes on a nice wooden platter, campo style (countryside) and is full of meats and cheeses otherwise referred to as fiambres (cold cuts or deli meats). Usually the picada will have ham in many forms: traditional ham, prosciutto ham, salami and perhaps other choices, but basically never turkey or chicken. Turkey in fact, is desperately difficult to find in Argentina 😦

Interlaced with the fabulous cuts of ham and salami are various cheeses, usually stemming from Italian origin: reggianito, romanito, fontina, sardo (which actually takes its name from the island of Sardenia in Italy) and the one outlier of the group that is supremely overrepresented in Argentina and underrepresented in the USA, roquefort. Along with this bounty of meats and cheeses usually comes sliced baguette, chips and or/peanuts.

This step is NEVER observed at a parrilla restaurant. You can order one of these if you must, but having an asado at someone’s house requires this. Also involved in the first step is some Argentine malbec or Fernet, the national drink of Argentina.

Step 2 of the Rituals of Asado to come in our next installment.

Argentina’s Relationship with the Parilla

The Argentine asado is something so fundamental to Argentine Culture it should have its own place on the Bandera Nacional (National Flag).

This blog is going to be all about Argentine beef and how this important food has united Argentine families, friends, acquaintances, strangers and enemies for centuries. It is something much more important than just a meal. Going from cow to carniceria (butcher) to parrilla (grill) to dinner table and finally to your stomach, this process happens everyday, everywhere here in this large, diverse country.

This is the official first blog post, so it is going to focus on asado. Why? Because this mix of really good meat is regularly served for celebrations here in Argentina. So, with that…may this blog be a resource for everyone and anyone interested in this tasty topic – SALUD!

What exactly is Asado in Argentina?

A typical asado is a smorgasbord of bife de chorizo (sirloin strip steak), bife de lomo (beef tenderloin), entrana (skirt steak), tira de asado (short ribs), ojo de bife (rib eye), vacio (flank steak), plus chorizo (pork sausage) and morcilla (blood sausage).

If this sounds like a lot for one meal, that’s because it is.

The only way to cook this meat is on a parrilla, or grill in English. However, this is no ordinary grill. An Argentine will tell you that if you don’t have a parrilla in your house, then, it can’t really be called a home. Fittingly, houses, apartments, public spaces and even office buildings have them.

It is tradition that the men gather around the parrilla during the asado. However, while many may gather around the parrilla, there can only be true asador (grillmaster)! This special individual is the master of ceremonies for the social event. He controls the heat of the parrilla, how long each cut is cooked for on each side and when it’s time to take everything off the grill and put it onto the table.

It is the people, however, that participate in the asado that really make this the meaningful cultural experience that is.  Many Argentine’s trace their ancestry back to Europe, especially Italy, and it is clear that the mother country has had a big influence on how people interact with one another. People are very family oriented… and what better way to get family together than grill a whole lot of meat on a sunny Sunday afternoon?

This first blog post is coming to an end. All of the topics mentioned above, as well as many more, will be elaborated on – even analyzed in future posts.  There’s a lot to talk about when it comes to Argentine meat.