We have seen many cooking techniques around the world, but none as mouth-watering for carnivores as the Uruguayan Asado.
Our hosts for our first Asado were the welcoming and generous Bachmann family. Helmut manned the grill and Fanny prepared the fixings.
The Asado preparation begins with sourcing hardwood branches. The wood is placed in a hanging iron basket on the side of the outdoor brick grill. As the wood burns down, coals drop down onto the brick. I watched as Helmut would take a metal shovel and shake the stack of burning wood so the coals would shake free. Once he had a number of red and white hot coals he could scoop them up and slide them into place under the grill rack.
I was amazed that such a thin layer of coals could provide such consistent heat for cooking. Apparently hardwood creates the best coals for sustained cooking, because they don’t break down as quickly as softwood coals. The grill surface can be moved up and down as needed, but Helmut regulated the temperature just by moving the coals around and patting them down with the back of the shovel.
Chorizo sausages, tri-tip and sirloin steaks were on the menu. No veggies or corn defiled this grilling surface. Nothing but beautiful cuts of meat. The chorizo developed the perfect crust and Helmut would slice them into rounds on a cutting board and serve them with small rice cakes.
It was amazingly good. The meat was only seasoned with a few herbs, allowing the flavors of the meat to really come through.
Helmut shared that this style of slow Asado cooking with hardwood isn’t allowed in many cities because of the smoke it puts off. It takes so long, and produces so much smoke, that it can create a smog problem unless the wind is blowing.
Once we sat down, our Asado was accompanied by rice, cheese/tomato/herbs, and sweet shredded carrots. But the star of the meal was the meat. Did I mention the meat? Yummy.
The Bachmann’s served multi-flavored Helado, or ice-cream, for dessert. Several hours later they served coffee, tea and homemade Cheesecake and Apple Pie! What a delicious end to our first Asado experience.
Thank you, Bachmann Family!
Oh, Ryan I love this story! So happy that you enjoyed the asado but happier to know that you had a nice time with our friends. We miss our friends and we miss a good asado!
You have a knack for finding wonderful people to become life-long friends!