HOW TO MAKE AN ARGENTINIAN ASADO

A little too much if I just kind of.....
[laughter]
What's up world?
Welcome back to the channel.
Right now we are at our home in
Los Angeles, California.
But April 17th is
Malbec World Day, so we've partnered
with Alamos Wines to bring a taste
of Argentina back home.
Last year we went to the source of
Malbec in Mendoza, Argentina, but
this year we're going to celebrate by
cooking an Argentinian barbecue known
as an asado, which goes
perfectly with Malbec wine.
We've got our buddy Juan all the way
from Argentina who's going to show us
how to make the perfect Asado.
First things first, we've got to get some meat.
We're at a Cut Above Butchery
in Santa Monica, and we're going to
our best to replicate the cuts you would
get in Argentina, here in the States.
What we're getting is flank.
We call it "vacio" in Argentina.
That's a cut that has a little bit of fat
in there, but it's super flavorful.
The fat will help the juices help
cook the meat, and that's going to
make it really rich and flavorful.
We're also getting skirt steak,
what we call "entrana", and then we're
getting chorizo and blood sausage,
which we call "morcilla.".
In general, in Argentina they eat tons
of meat and get a pound per person.
But here, we're going to go with maybe
half a pound per person.
We have a dozen to 15 people coming
today, so we're probably going to get
about 10 pounds in total
between all the different cuts.
All in all, we have over 11 pounds of meat.
It's going to be a good day.
It's going to be a really good day.
Thank you so much. Enjoy
Let's do it.
All right guys, we've just returned from
the stores. We have our wine, a
bottle of Alamos Malbec.
We got a bunch of meat.
Now we need to build the barbecue. In
Argentina they call barbecues "parillas."
We have a couple of bricks,
and we're going to do a DYI barbecue
in our front yard.
In Argentina, you can find parillas everywhere.
Every respectable Argentine will have
one in their house.
Here we don't have such big barbecues.
We went to the hardware store;
we got two dozen bricks and then some
of these replacement grills,
which were only fifteen bucks.
It's basically a three-sided rectangle
or a horse shoe shape.
We've got 12 bricks on the bottom.
They're spaced out for ventilation.
Then there's a wall and you just
put the grills right on top, using one
brick in the middle to hold it up.
The key to a parilla is the heat, and for
that, we're moving on to charcoal.
The fire is lit, so I think that officially
means one thing:
I think we can crack open some wine right now.
Honestly, just getting the scent
of the fire and getting a glass of wine
in hand is really bringing back memories
of last year when we went down to Mendoza
A bit of back round..last year
we went to the Valle Uco, which is a
valley in Mendoza, Argentina,
right up against the Andes where they
grow Malbec wine, and it's one
of the best places where it grows.
That's where this wine comes from,
and we were lucky last year because
we got to experience gaucho culture,
which is like Argentinian cowboys who
used to herd cattle. It's that tradition
of herding cattle that created this
asado culture.
That's where I had my first asado.
My first asado was in the Andes
with real wood and great wine
and Argentine meat.
We're going to do our best today
to imitate....honestly...the fact that
we're getting friends together,
drinking wine, eating good food,
it's definitely making me happy for
Sunday. Oh yeah. Boom
The point is to make this something
you guys can do back home.
And the important elements of an asado
are friends, wine, and good food.
We have the wine; we have the meat.
The friends are on the way.
Let's get cooking.
Usually when we do flank sticking to
the grill, we want to start with the part
of the fat. This will protect
the cut from the fire and make sure
it's still juicy.
And also it will give it flavor.
The fat of the meat is actually good
in this case.
What we're going to do is to start with
three minutes on each side;
we're going to go with a really strong fire,
and then we're going to go with a low fire
and just let it cook for about 40 minutes
on each side. Forty?? A little bit less.
That's the main difference between
a barbecue and an Argentine asado.
Americans would say, " Forty minutes?
No way."
Want a Malbec, anyone?
Right here. I 'll take some.
One of the best things about an asado
is that when you have people who are
grill masters, they basically say,
"Get out of the kitchen!"
which means all the rest of us can hang
out, drink wine, and chill.
Cheers guys. Salud
Empanada.
While our friends are over here chillin',
what a lot of the people who are watching
the grill do is drink a "mate` "
Mate` is an Argentinian green tea.
It's not quite a tea; it's very different.
It has a very specific ritual around it.
This is the mate`. That's the tea.
The straw is called the "bombilla."
Now we're going to pour some water
before we put the bombilla, the straw.
And now we stir the straw.
A really important thing is that once
the straw is stirred, you don't move it.
It remains there. In Argentina families
have gotten into fights
because someone moved the straw.
This is a bitter tea.
It's not everyone's cup of tea.
It's really good if you like it.
It's an acquired taste and goes really
good with a dessert we have over here
called "alfajores."
We're going to put some chimichurri
on top of the skirt steak.
It's going to give it lots of flavor.
It looks good.
I think we are good.
The good thing about being the one
that grills is that you get to try first.
Ummm. It's ready to go.
Want some? Yes, please.
Perfect. The reason this is so good with
any grilled meat is that it's really bold.
It's got dark plumbs, cherries,
blueberry flavor,
and it cuts through the fat.
It makes it perfect with any barbecue.
I shouldn't talk with my mouth full,
but it's just too good.
Time to serve it up, pour another glass
of wine and have some dinner.
All right, guys.....
the meat is ready; we're going to serve it
sit down and enjoy the rest of the evening
with a glass of wine. Big thanks
to Alamos for making this possible,
and hopefully this video inspired you
to try your own asado at home.
Big thanks to Juan for being the
grill master today. If you want to take
a trip to Mendoza, Argentina, click this
link to watch the video we shot last year.
And in the meantime, remember:
stay curious, keep exploring,
and we'll see you guys on the road.
Peace.

HOW TO MAKE AN ARGENTINIAN ASADO | DIY BBQ

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