Meat · Recipe · Argentina · Reference page
Asado with chimichurri
asado con chimichurri
Argentine-style barbecue: vacío (flank) and beef ribs cooked slowly over burnt-down coals, covered and turned every 15 minutes, then slathered with chimichurri, a raw sauce of parsley, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and chilli. The method and the sauce are Fabian Conca's, from SBS; the meat weights are our estimate.
- Servings
- 4
- Preparation
- 15 min
- Cooking
- 1 h
- Total
- 1 h 15
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Equipment
- Charcoal grill (parrilla) or kettle barbecue
- Tongs; a cover (Conca uses newspaper; a lid or foil also works)
- Bowl for the chimichurri
Ingredients
The meat
Chimichurri
Method
Mix all the chimichurri ingredients in a bowl and set aside while the fire burns down.
Why Chimichurri is a raw sauce; standing time lets the garlic and vinegar soften into the oil.
Light the charcoal and let it burn down until the coals are covered in grey ash and the heat is low. Season the meat with coarse salt.
Why Asado is slow cooking over low embers, not fierce grilling.
Put the ribs and the vacío on the grill over the burnt-down coals and cover them. Turn every 15 minutes until cooked to your liking, about 1 hour for the ribs.
Timer · 1 h60:00Slice the meat across the grain and slather with chimichurri.
To drink & serve with
Conca's full asado adds chorizo, sweetbreads and offal, cooked about an hour in an asador on low heat.
- Mendoza
Editorial suggestion: a Mendoza Malbec.
Substitutions
- Conca's chimichurri → Zanoni and Stivelmaher's 'clásico argentino' version blooms dried oregano, ají molido, cumin and paprika in boiling water and adds onion, red capsicum, coriander, red wine vinegar and sunflower oil; it keeps about 10 days in the fridge.
- Adobo spice mix → A pinch each of dried oregano, ground cumin and sweet paprika (editorial suggestion).
- Vacío → Skirt, rump or sirloin steaks, which need much less time.
Common mistakes
- Cooking over flames: the fat flares and the outside burns before the inside is done.
- Slicing with the grain: flank turns chewy.
- Cooking the chimichurri: it is a raw sauce.
Storage & reheating
Keep leftover chimichurri covered in the refrigerator. Refrigerate leftover meat within 2 hours and eat within 2 days.
Safety
Contains sulphites (vinegars) and gluten (malt vinegar, made from barley). Whole cuts of beef such as flank can be served pink if the outside is well seared; sausages and offal must be cooked right through (UK FSA).
Allergens
Gluten · Sulphites
Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.
A technique, not a single recipe
"Asado is a technique for cooking cuts of meat (usually beef) as well as sausages and offal on a barbecue," writes Fabian Conca. His version for SBS cooks chorizo, sweetbreads and offal slowly in an asador, and lays the ribs and the vacío, the flank, on an open grill over coals that have burnt down, covered with newspaper and turned every 15 minutes until done.
The meat is seasoned with salt; the sharpness comes afterwards, from chimichurri. Conca's is quick: chopped parsley and garlic in olive oil with two vinegars, chilli powder and adobo seasoning, mixed and spooned over the cooked meat. Other Argentine cooks make it differently: Enrique Zanoni and Gaston Stivelmaher's version adds onion, red capsicum, coriander and dried spices bloomed in hot water.
How it connects
Continue exploring
- CountryArgentina6 entries in the atlas so far
- Wine regionMendozaMendoza (city), Argentina
RecipeHutspotLeiden, Netherlands- CutFlanchet (thin flank)
- Grape varietyCabernet Sauvignon
Grape varietyChardonnay
Grape varietyMalbec- Wine regionArgentinaArgentina (national overview), Argentina
- Wine regionUco ValleyTunuyán, Argentina
CutBavette à pot-au-feu