Asado [ah-sahdo] is a technique for cooking meat on a grill (parrilla) or open fire. It is considered the traditional dish of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile. In southern Brazil it’s called ‘churrasco.’ An asado typically has a sequence: First are the chorizos, morcillas (black pudding), chinchulines (chitterlings), mollejas (sweetbread) and other organs, often accompanied by provoleta, a grilled cheese dish. Organs are sometimes these are served on a coal-heated brasero. Then costillas or asado de tira (ribs) are served. Finally, vacío (flank steak), matambre and possibly chicken and chivito (baby goat). Dishes such as the Uruguayan Pamplona, pork and Patagonian lamb are becoming more frequent, particularly in restaurants.
An asado also includes bread, a simple mixed salad of, for instance, lettuce, tomato and onions, or it could be accompanied with verdurajo (grilled vegetables), a mixture made of potatoes, corn, onion and eggplant cooked on the parrilla and seasoned with olive oil and salt. The meat for an asado is not marinated, the only preparation being the application of salt before and/or during the cooking period. Chimichurri, a sauce of chopped parsley, dried oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, onion, and paprika with olive oil, and salsa criolla, a sauce of tomato and onion in vinegar, are common accompaniments to an asado, where they are traditionally used on the offal, but not the steaks.
The Daily Omnivore 
Leave a comment