The Argentine barbecue or asado is more than just a meal; these food-centric get-togethers constitute an important part of the Argentine social life. It can be shared as a lunch or dinner. In this dish the meat, chorizo and black pudding are served with potatoes and creole salads, the traditional chimichurri, a celery mayonnaise salad and, of course, a good amount of white bread to accompany the dish.
The national day of Argentina (Independence Day) is 9 July and National Flag Day is 20 June so lets celebrate with the national dish of Argentina, asado!
Recipe: The national dish of Argentina - Asado
Ingredients
- 2½ kg meat flank steak, flap, skirt steak, tenderloin. But always choose the ribs and a cut of meat
- 6 chorizo sausages
- 400 g chinchulines chinchulines is a term that makes reference to the offal of the cow such as the small intestine, kidneys and sweetbread. Black pudding is usually considered in this group too
- 2 lemons
- coarse salt
- marinade optional if using kidneys
Serve with
- mini baguettes toasted lightly on the grill for a minute before serving the sausages
- simple salad
Chimichurri (just combine all ingredients. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving)
- 1 cup olive oil 250 ml
- 1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
- ½ cup fresh parsley 30 g, finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh oregano 15 g, finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh thyme 15 g, finely chopped
- ¼ cup onion 30 g, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- salt and cayenne pepper to taste
Instructions
Preparations
- Before you start, soak the chorizos in bowl until you are ready to cook them. This is to prevent dryness after cooking.
- Make a fire using charcoal, wood and paper. This would probably take you around an hour.
- Once you have the fire ready, distribute the embers so you have a high heat and a low heat area. Sprinkle some salt on top of the embers to prevent the ashes from rising too much.
- Keep to the side a small additional fire going from where you can take embers to put in the main fire when needed.
Prepare the meat:
- If you’re making chinchulines you need to wash and clean them very well. They take a long time to cook, around 1 or 1,5 hours. Make sure they are on a low heat and far from the meat to prevent the chinchulines from giving the meat their flavor.
- a. Small intestine: after cleaning and taking the fat out, make a braid or just roll it in a circle and put it on the grill. Turn it after 30 minutes and add salt.
- b. Kidneys: Peeled off the membrane they come in, take out the renal pelvis and after washing, leave overnight in water with vinegar, red wine or milk (3:1). When cooking on the grill put first the side that has the opening of the renal pelvis so it would finish draining. Turn around once the kidney has a more rigid texture to the touch (around 30-40 minutes). Don’t forget to add salt.
- c. Chorizos: just take them out of the water and put them on the grill.
- d. Black pudding: since this is already cooked, add it last to the grill, 30 min after after the rest.
- Sprinkle coarse salt and lemon juice on both side of the meat.
- Put the meat on the grill, fat side down and let it cook for at least 40 min - one hour, turning the meat every 15 or 20 minutes.
- Place the ribs on the grill. They are ready in 15 - 20 minutes.
- When the meat is ready, cut it in portions and put them in a large plate so everyone can choose what they want.
About the Country Chef
Rut María Salinas was born in Argentina and raised in Bolivia. Rut developed a passion for food and cooking as a child which she later pursued studying nutrition. She considers the Argentinian food culture rich and diverse taking origins in European countries mixed with creole cuisine. Grains and bovine meat are the main components of Argentinian food. To her, a perfect Argentinian meal would be an asado (barbecue) shared with friends and family.
Read more about IngredientMatcher’s Country Chefs in the Foodie section
Read more about national dishes and the ebook “National Dishes From Around The World”
Read more about other national dish recipes published on this blog
I found this great Guide to the Argentine Asado: http://luckypeach.com/guides/guide-argentine-asado/
Are you sure that you are no confusing the term “chinchilines” with “achuras”? Bovine kidneys, sweetbreads, and blood sausage, are NOT, chinchulines, those are only the small intestine.