The Making of Asado

I've already written briefly about asado in a previous post. So far, I think my favorite thing about Argentina is the food. And in terms of food, it doesn't get better than this (unless you're vegetarian). 

Asado starts out as cuts of various Argentinian meats bought from a carnicería. Different types of beef and pork are staples. This includes sausage, chorizo, achuras, riñon, and more. 

Some Argentine families cook asado every weekend, others do not. I am very fortunate to be a part of one of the former.

On Saturday or Sunday, my host dad or host brother usually oversees asado. The process starts by lighting a wood fire in the halfpipe grate on the right. Then, the meat is laid out on the flat grill and seasoned with salt and other spices.

Once the fire has been burning steadily for a few minutes, a poker is used to dislodge red-hot embers from the logs, which are scooped up and spread underneath the grill. The process of adding embers underneath the meat continues throughout cooking. The meat then cooks, is flipped, and cooks some more. It is then sliced and brought to the table on a serving plate or board. 

And as you can see, it's a LOT of meat. 

Asado can be cooked in a large parilla, or a smaller grill as shown above. It's a big part of Argentine food culture, and for good reason. It's absolutely delicious.