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Buenos Aires y la Pampa

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Asado de tira con chimichurri

Asado cooking over coals. Presentation may differ from this recipe. Maxd2 · CC0. Resized source thumbnail; display may crop to fit.

Descubre

Buenos Aires and the surrounding pampas offer a natural starting point for exploring asado. Here, beef ribs meet the grill with simple seasoning, while chimichurri brings herbs, garlic, chile, and vinegar to the table.

La Gente

Fire management is the main skill. Let the heat work steadily, rest the meat before serving, and keep the sauce separate. It is a meal that leaves space for conversation while the grill does its work.

Sabor

This grilled meal begins with fire and salt. That is the whole seasoning on the meat, and anything else is a rebuke to the beef. The flavor arrives at the table in the chimichurri and the salsa criolla: garlic, parsley, oregano, dried chile, vinegar. Oregano is Argentina's herb. It is on the provoleta, in the chimichurri, and in the empanada filling.

Spice DNA · Smoke high · Herb high · Acid medium · Heat low · Sweet none

Seasonings to explore

Minced Garlic in Olive Oil. In the chimichurri. Adds a savory garlic base.
Oregano, whole. In the chimichurri and on the provoleta. The Argentine herb.
Parsley flakes. For the chimichurri when the fresh is gone. Fresh is the standard.
Crushed Red Pepper. Argentina calls it ají molido and puts it in the chimichurri.
Black Pepper, ground. In the sauce, not on the meat. The meat gets salt.
Chimichurri Sauce, 8 oz. The jar, for the day there is no time. Badia makes one. A porteño would make his own and then use the jar anyway when nobody is looking.
Smoked Paprika. A pinch, for the families who put pimentón in their chimichurri. Many do.

From your market: tira de asado (ask for short ribs cut across the bones, ½ inch thick), vacío or flank, Argentine chorizo, provolone in a thick slice, coarse salt, red wine vinegar, olive oil, fresh parsley, and hardwood charcoal. Badia does not sell the beef. An Argentine butcher knows what tira means. Others will need it explained.

Cocina

Asado de tira con chimichurri

Short ribs over embers, salt only, with the sauce on the table. Start the fire an hour before you think you need to.

Serves 6

Chimichurri

1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped, or ⅓ cup Badia Parsley flakes
3 tbsp Badia Minced Garlic in Olive Oil, or 6 garlic cloves minced
1 tbsp Badia Oregano, whole
1 tsp Badia Crushed Red Pepper
½ tsp Badia Black Pepper, ground
½ tsp Badia Smoked Paprika, optional
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
1 tsp salt

The asado

3 lb tira de asado, cut ½ inch across the bone
2 lb vacío or flank steak
6 Argentine chorizos
1 thick round of provolone
1 tsp Badia Oregano, whole
Coarse salt

The chimichurri, first thing. Stir everything together in a bowl. Let it sit at least an hour; it is better the next day. It should be loose, green, sharp, and a little hot.
The fire. Light a large bed of hardwood charcoal and let it burn down until it is gray and steady, 45 minutes to an hour. The grill grate should be 6 to 8 inches above the embers. No flames. If there are flames, wait.
Salt the meat. Coarse salt on both sides, generously, just before it goes on. Nothing else.
Chorizo and provoleta first. Chorizos on the cooler side of the grate, 20 minutes, turning. Provoleta in a small cast-iron pan on the grate, sprinkled with oregano, 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges bubble and the center goes soft. Serve both while people stand around the fire, with bread and the first of the chimichurri.
The tira. Bone side down over medium embers. 15 to 20 minutes on the bone side, 8 to 10 on the meat side, until the outside is dark and crisp and the meat pulls from the bone. Low and slow. Do not press it. Do not flip it more than once.
The vacío. Fat side down first, 12 to 15 minutes, then 8 to 10 on the other side, to medium. Rest 10 minutes. Slice against the grain.
Meat on a board in the center of the table, chimichurri and a salsa criolla of onion, tomato, and pepper beside it, a mixed salad, bread, and a Malbec. The asador sits down last. Applaud him. This is required.

Pueblos de Buenos Aires y la Pampa

Buenos Aires · Palermo · San Telmo · La Boca · Belgrano · Avellaneda · Quilmes · La Plata · Lomas de Zamora · Morón · Tigre · San Isidro · Luján · Mar del Plata · Bahía Blanca · Tandil · Rosario · Santa Fe · Junín · Pergamino · Chascomús