Asado en Buenos Aires: Pollo, no tan frecuente a la parrilla

 

 Ya ha pasado un tiempo desde que hablamos de pollo a la parrilla. Lo sé, lo sé, es al parece un sacrilegio para los amantes del Bife de Chorizo y las achuras, Somos Steak By Luis, y somos pura carne¿Por qué molestarse con pollo?! Bueno, créanlo o no, hay personas aquí en Argentina que comen pollo a la parrilla también. No me malinterpreten, carne es el alimento básico en los asados, pero eso no significa que no podamos ser creativos de vez en cuando y aternar con pollito. Pero ¿cuál es la mejor manera de hacer un buen pollo a la parrilla? ¿Cómo se puede hacer un asado argentino clásico pero incluir aves de corral? Mi sugerencia sería mandar directamente el pollo entero a los hierros al calor de las brasas.

Estilo Rana

Para preparar un pollo a la parrilla existen diferentes maneras de cortarlo para su cocción. Después de quitar las vísceras se puede cortar longitudinalmente a lo largo del esternón o se puede cortar al “estilo rana». Con este método se deja la parte de las pechugas totalmente intacto. Mientras que el primer método es un poco más tradicional y ha sido testeado en numerosas ocasiones el corte tipo rana es muy eficiente porque coloca de plano el pollo entero a la parrilla. De ambas formas, siempre y cuando uno se asegure que el pollo esté completamente cocido, no hay gran diferencia entre los dos.

En cuanto a la preparación, siempre y cuando el pollo está completamente desplumado y eviscerado no hay mucho más que hacer además de agregar la sal, al igual que la mayoría de los preparados de carne argentinos. Si queremos darle un toque más de clase, podemos añadir algunas hierbas como romero o el tomillo en la cavidad del pollo con el fin de llevarlo a otro nivel. Eso si, el estilo tradicional argentino es el de un pollo que tenga más gusto a pollo que a otra cosa, por lo que no se suelen usar ni aderezos ni salsas especiales para glasearlo. Al pollo, pollo, o como mucho sal y pimienta ;). 

A la hora de empezar a cocinarlo, la parte de los huesos debe ir hacia abajo primero, ya que tarda más en calentarse y una vez caliente ayudará a cocinar el pollo de adentro hacia afuera. Algo muy imporante, el pollo a diferencia de las carnes rojas, es un poco más complicado. En primer lugar, como estoy seguro de que todos somos conscientes, si uno no quiere envenenar a sus invitados con salmonela, es vital asegurarse de que el pollo esté totalmente cocido. Esto puede ser un poco problemático si no controlamos bien los tiempos ya que el pollo tarda más que un bife en cocinarse. Para coincidir con los platos principales de todo asado lo mejor sería empezar a cocinar el pollo junto con las entradas como los chori o morci, para cuando terminemos de comer esos chori/morcipanes  ya podamos ir pensando en que unos minutos más tarde tiramos los bifes a la parrilla y compensamos con el tiempo que ya se estuvo cocinando el pollo.  Y ahora sí, listo el pollo, listos los bifes y un aplauso para el asador!!!

 

Steak Buenos Aires: Chicken, it’s not usually what’s for dinner.

 

So it’s been awhile since we’ve talked about pollo a la parrilla (chicken on the grill). I know, I know, it’s seemingly sacrilege. We’re Steaks by Luis! We do beef! Why bother with chicken?! Well believe it or not there are some people here in Argentina that eat chicken, sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, steak is the staple but that doesn’t mean we can’t get creative from time to time and mix it up. But what’s the best way to go about chicken on the grill? How can you still have a classically Argentine asado but include this poultry asado poser? My suggestion would be to slap a entire chicken on the grill.

When preparing a whole chicken to put on the grill there are several ways you can cut it. After removing the innards you can cut it lengthwise along the sternum or you can cut it a la rana which mean ‘frog style‘. This with this method the leaves the entire breast in tact sort of jaw-like in cut. While the first mentioned method is a bit more traditional and has been tested numerous times the second ‘frog style’ cut is good because it places the chicken flatter on the grill. All in all as long as you make sure that the chicken is entirely cooked through there’s no greatly noticeable difference between the two.

As for preparation, as long as the chicken comes fully plucked and gutted there’s not much else to do besides adding salt, just like most other Argentine meat preparations. If you’re trying to get a bit more fancy with it you can add something a little bit more herbacious like rosemary or thyme into the cavity of the chicken in order to take it to the next level. Of course, in true Argentinian way, you want the chicken to taste like chicken not like it’s got some fanciful fruit glaze on it; that just won’t do.

The chicken should go bone down first because it will take the longest time to heat up and once hot it will help cook the chicken from the inside out. Chicken unlike a t-bone steak however, is a bit more complicated. First off, as I’m sure we’re all aware, unless you want to poison your guests with salmonella you’ll need to make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked all the way through. This can cause a bit of a timing issue as chicken takes longer to cook than say a steak. To coincide with our Argentine asado timing schedule it would ideally go on just after or right along with the morcilla and choripan.

 

 

ASADO EN BUENOS AIRES: El Dilema entre Madera y Carbón

Por todo Sudamérica existe mucha controversia sobre la madera o carbón y cual de estos dos debe de ser usado para la fuente de calor de un asado. Para ser mas especifico, no estamos hablando de briquetas de carbón  que vienen en tamaño uniforme y tamaño (el que se usa mucho en los Estados Unidos) pero si no carbón en trozos, hechos por madera quemada a un nivel bajo de oxigeno para expulsar las imperfecciones de la madera y convertirla en carbón. La respuesta puede ser muy diferente dependiendo a donde vayas.

 Lugares como Chile y Uruguay a veces no tienen problema al quemar madera debajo de su carne, pero esto puede ser un gran problema si la madera no ah sido completamente convertida a las brasas de antemano. Las llamas sirven principalmente para carbonizar el exterior de la carne mientras el interior todavía no se cocina, morado y frio. Cuando se usa carbón puede ser un problema si los carbones no son traídos adecuadamente al nivel de calor antes de aplicar a la carne a la hora de asarlo. En otras palabras, podes cometer el mismo error de estas dos maneras con estos dos tipos de materiales. Ambos de estos estilos requieren el buen ojo de un parrillero para que se puede asegurar de que la fuente de calor este lista para la carne. Pero con la simple implementación del estilo Argentino de hacer fuego y la aplicación de carbón, cualquiera de estos materiales pueden ser utilizados efectivamente.

 No se trata tanto de la fuente mas que la técnica de obtener esa fuente a un nivel uniforme. Aquí en Argentina, ya se que estemos usando terrón de carbón, es quemado separado al área de cocina. Cuando la madera o el carbón se quema libremente en una cesta justo con la estación de cocina, moronas y pedazos de ascuas caen a través de las rejas, dando casi la misma cantidad de calor como cuando llegan a un nivel similar donde pueden agitar el bulto.

 Al implementar la estrategia, la madera es solamente usada en la conjunción una vez se le haya dado vuelta, solo ahí es adecuado. Cuando se hace eso ya no tienes mas que preocuparte por las llamas altas y la carbonización de tu carne sin cocinarla. Y en cuanto al sabor, algunos discuten de que la madera hace que la carne tenga un sabor mas natural. Personalmente, yo no noto mucho la diferencia y de echo recomiendo usar un bulto en el carbón para transformarlo en ascuas. Las ascuas del carbón son las primeras en encenderse y caer, y de todas formas la madera que se transforma mas lento, saca mas ascuas para poner de bajo la parrilla durante toda la noche.

Al final yo creo que ambos son buenos. Lo malo serian que las briquetas de formas uniformes de carbón que, aunque hecha de carbón en trozos de tierra, también contienen serrín y otros materiales dudosos. No son natural y sin duda no te dan ningún sabor adicional. En cuanto a las primeras 2 opciones, en realidad no hay mucha diferencia aparte de lo rápido que se pueden utilizar. Yo siempre uso una mezcla, así puedo asar en la parrilla en cualquier momento y hasta mantener la parrilla a fuego durante toda la noche si quiero.

 

Steak Buenos Aires: The Wood vs. Charcoal Dilemna

All over South America there is a lot of controversy over whether wood or charcoal should be used to create the heat source of an Asado.   To be clear, we’re not talking about charcoal briquettes that come in all uniform size and shape (commonly used in the United States), but rather lump charcoal created by burning wood at low oxygen levels to drive out the imperfections of the wood and turn it into carbon.  The answer can be very different depending on where you go.

Places like Chile and Uruguay at times have no problem burning pure wood under their meat, but this can pose a serious problem if the wood hasn’t completely turned to embers before hand.  The flames serve primarily to char the outside of the meat while the inside remains uncooked, purple, and cold.  When using carbon, this can also be an issue if the coals are not brought uniformly to the correct level of heat before applying the meat to the grilling service.  In other words, you can make the same mistake two ways with these two different materials.  Both of these styles require a keen eye by the Parrillero to make sure that the heat source is ready for the meat.  But with the simple implementation of the Argentinian style of fire making, and coal application, either one of these materials ca be used successfully.

It’s not so much the source as it is the technique of getting that source to a uniform heat level.  Here in Argentina whether we are using lump charcoal or wood, it is burned separately from the cooking area.  When the wood or charcoal is allowed to burn freely in a basket alongside the cooking station, bits and pieces of embers will fall through the grates, giving off roughly the same amount of heat as they have reached the similar level where they can be agitated and disconnected form the original log and/or lump.

By implementing this strategy the wood is only used in conjunction with cooking once it has been turned into an ember suitable for cooking.  When this is done you no longer have to worry about flames kicking up and charring your meat without actually cooking it.  As far as flavor goes, some argue that wood’s embers produce a smokier more natural flavor.  I for one don’t notice a difference and actually encourage using lump charcoal and wood together so that the charcoal can help ignite the wood more quickly allowing it to transform into embers.  The charcoal embers are the first to ignite and fall through, yet the wood which transforms at a slower pace continues to provide you with more embers to place under the grill over the entire course of the night.

In the end I believe both lump charcoal and wood are winners.  The clear loser is uniform shape briquettes of charcoal which although made from ground lump charcoal, also contain sawdust and other questionable materials.  They arent natural and certainly dont provide any positive additional flavor.  As for the first 2 options, there really isn’t much difference other than how quickly they can be utilized.  I always use a mix, so that I can begin grilling in no time and keep on grilling all night long if I choose.

 

Steak Buenos Aires: Salt in Argentina

Ask any Argentinian what they put on their meat and the answer will always be the same: salt. To be perfectly honest I’m not even sure there’s a word for marinating in Spanish (ok, obviously that’s not true but you get my drift). Any authentic asador is always consistent in this fact. Here in Argentina there are three different types of refined salt. Just as a quick aside, refined salt is salt that is mechanically harvested and treated in order to take out the “impurities”. I’m not sure you can consider the natural minerals found in salt as “impurities” but that’s neither here nor there for this topic of discussion. Anyways, as I was saying, there are three different sizes in salt used here. The first is fine salt known in Spanish as sal fina. The next is semi-fine salt or sal entrefina and finally we have sal gruesa or coarse salt. Products such as sea salt, pink Himalayan crystal salt and plan old kosher salt have yet to really take off down here as of right now.

Sal entrefina or semi-fine salt is typically used to sprinkle on meats in order to help them marinate in their own juices. This is obviously advertised from the fact that on the box most times it will say sal parillera or para la parrilla which directly translates to salt for the grill or grilling salt. Besides this it is quite common to find this salt sold in extremely large heavy-duty plastic resealable containers. To get an idea of how massive these salt shakers are see picture above. If you’re familiar with ‘tall boy’ beer cans, it’s about that size but slightly larger. As I said, people in Argentina are serious about their salt.

Although sal entrefina is commonly used on the grill that’s not to say that all asadors have the same style. Some will choose one of the other two salts because of it’s crystal sizes. There’s certainly no science to this method besides recognizing what makes certain meats saltier than others. Meats that are fattier and larger in size (larger in size referring to how much meat you’re cooking because it is typical in Argentina to cook steaks in large chunks of beef and then slice them into single servings at a later point) can better stand up to the big crystals from sal grueso a.k.a. Course salt. If you’re cooking the meat as a whole slab the salt acts as a sort of slow release from rendering fat, keeping the meat nice, tender and juicy.  

 

Steak Buenos Aires: The Fire!

Everybody knows that an Asado is only as good as the fire it is cooked upon. The steak in Buenos Aires is so good it makes you think that they must be doing something right when it comes to the flames.  Over the years I’ve been introduced to quite a diverse array of techniques for prepping the primal cooking agent.  In the USA, a popular sight is circular charcoal grills which allow the the fire to dictate the timing, unless they sacrifice flavor for convenience with the use of a gas grill (such a travesty).  They’re also pretty big on smoking meat there for long periods of time (which is incredibly tasty, but doesn’t really factor into this discussion).  In other part’s of South America, a mix of charcoal and wood is a popular touch, and in fact Chileans very often start with a charcoal base and add wood when needed to keep the heat of the fire going later into the grilling process.  But the Asado kings of Argentina have a completely different way of taming the heat, which yields abundant flavor as well as constant controllable temperature. Oh… and we don’t need wood either! (We do burn it to make charcoal and embers, but do not place burning wood under our food!)

The majority of Argentinian Parrillas (Grills) are constructed with a corridor on the side, separated from the grilling area itself.  This is where the fire is created, using large bountiful chunks of charcoal placed in an elevated metal basket.  The fire is started below the basket using anything that burns quickly (paper, cardboard, etc.) and the coals quickly ignite and reach an immensely hot ember stage in no time.  It is at precisely this moment, that the stage I like to refer to as the “Whack-A-Mole Stage” begins.  Because the individual Charcoals are so large, they need to be broken up.  The raging fire can be batted down from the top, forcing the embers to break and leaving smaller more maneuverable chunks of heat below the basket where the fire was originally ignited from.

Now if that wasn’t a strange (and lets not forget brilliant) enough start, the next Argentinian curve ball will catch you even more off guard.  Most people from around the world would agree that the coals start below the irons (or grate), but not us, not here.  Here we do it our way, and the coals start on top! How else are you supposed to properly heat up and sanitize the cooking surface? From the bottom? Are you nuts? (as you can see this sentiment goes both ways so if you’re not form here let’s just agree to disagree!) Anyways, the coals start on top and can be pushed off the back edge of the grilling iron and spread out underneath using the same shovel used to remove said coals from the Whack-a-mole drop zone.

The nice thing about this technique is if you ever need more coals throughout the cooking process you just bat away and scoop some more from below the basket before evenly applying them to the existing bed of coals below the irons.  Aside from that, having the coals do the cooking instead of the flames allows only the iron to char the meat.  The separation of the raging fire from the cooking coals allows the continual controlled use of heat for cooking, and avoids unnecessary charring that can taint the natural flavor of the meat.  So whether you think your marinade, dry rub, or other secret recipe is the only thing that can make a proper Asado, its all going to be a lost cause if you don’t know how to tame the fire beast.  Do yourself a favor, and take notes from the Argentinian style of fire taming, it can only make your personal recipe better.  That I can guarantee!

 

Steak Buenos Aires: What to do with Steak Leftovers

Whether you’re in Argentina, the United States or Australia more often than not when you’re standing in front of those beautiful 24oz, perfectly marbled steaks your intentions are always to finish it. Let’s face it though, sometimes it’s just too much. This problem is typically remedied with an undone button, possibly a nap and a delicious dinner for the dog. BUT WAIT! Before you’re so quick to dismiss a cold and forgotten precooked steak you might want to check out some of these delicious ideas to play out round two of your steakhouse dinner. The following ideas are in no particular order but are what we consider some creative ways to reinvent leftover steak.

Beef Stroganoff                                                 

Beef Stroganoff is an excellent comfort food. Made with a creamy caramelized onion and mushroom gravy this is a simple and quick recipe. Prepare your favorite recipe as you would normally but add the meat around the time you cook the mushrooms so it can absorb some of the excess moisture without overcooking it. What’s so nice about this option is that no one will ever know you used steak that had already been cooked.

Steak Quesadillas                                                

Quesadillas, a delicious cheesy Mexican goody, are a grilled flatbread that can be filled with whatever ingredients you like. Just cut up your steak into bit sized pieces, place it in between two torillas nestled amongst your favorite type of cheese and with a quick flip of the quesadilla you’ll be enjoying a delicious lunch or dinner. They can be served with a number of sauces including salsa, guacamole and sour cream. Add some rice and beans on the side and you’ve got quite the delicious and filling meal.

Steak Salad                                               

If you’re looking for a lighter meal to follow the mashed potatoes, bread and, here in Argentina at least, fried provoleta that always accompanies a good steak you can always opt for a delicious salad. The possibilities here are endless. Steak isn’t always a common salad topper but it’s more delicious than you think. Served with an acidic dressing and possibly dried cranberries and blue cheese it will be a nice addition to leafy green lettuce.

Shredded Beef                                               

Shredded beef can be quite the gourmet way to spice up a classic recipe such as grilled cheese. With a crock pot, some sort of broth and patience you’re just hours away from a surefire crowd-pleaser.

Steak and Eggs                                                     

Maybe you just can’t wait until dinner to enjoy your steak once again. If this is the case then womping up some steak and eggs is just the ticket. Fast and easy this dish is a classic.

Steak Hash                                                              

Using cubed steak instead of corned beef is quite an elegant twist to this appetizing breakfast dish. Just add potatoes, peppers, cheese and eggs and you’ve got an fabulous and impressive skillet dish.

Chili                                                                

How about some chili? From personal experience I’ve found that chili recipes vary from family to family and sometimes from family member to family member. While this may be the case that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t feel free to try something different. Throw some steak in your chili as opposed to ground beef and find yourself enjoying a whole different chili experience.

Hopefully you’ve found this useful and if you have any other great leftover steak ideas don’t be afraid to share them with us!  

 

Steak Buenos Aires: How to Properly Freeze Meat for Storage

Don’t Let This Happen to You!

As I would imagine is the case in many homes, if you open the freezer you’ll see a stockpile of frozen steaks, chicken breasts, fish fillets and more. I’m here to tell you there is nothing to be ashamed of. On those nights during the week when you just don’t have ganas (the will) to throw together a fantastically complex meal that pound of frozen ground beef and a box of hamburger helper can be just the ticket. As meat connoisseurs we’re probably supposed to tell you that fresh is the best and leave all the rest. While I agree with that to a certain extent, it’s just not realistic to expect to have perfectly marbled quality fresh beef on hand at all times. If properly packaged to protect them against the cold, meat can be just as good after spending time some time in the freezer as the day they were purchased.

When packaging meats for the freezer the MOST important thing to beware of is protecting them from air exposure. If you’ve fallen victim to infomercials or are just very adept with food preservation then using one of those fancy-shmancy vacuum sealers would definitely be your best best. But, if you’re like most of the population you don’t own one of these and will have to suffice with other household items. In order to do this you will need to wrap the meat very tightly in either plastic wrap of freezer paper making sure to press the wrapping right up against the surface. Next you’ll need to wrap that in aluminum foil or seal it inside a zip-top freezer bag.

Okay, your meat is now properly preserved but how long can you safely keep it for? General consensus is that meat frozen like this will last anywhere between 3 and 6 months safely. After about 3 months it’s possible that the product will experience a bit of inevitable freezer burn but it’s by no means going to be harmful if you consume it. It’s good practice to write on the outside of the bag or foil the date you froze it just to keep track.  

Most people don’t think about there being a optimum method for thawing meat but there definitely is one. The best and also safest way to thaw meat is to place the frozen package in the refrigerator and patiently wait for it to gradually thaw. Waring: Don’t forget to put the thawing meat in a container of some sort.  If you don’t you’ll end up with meat juice all over the place.  Smaller cuts will generally thaw within 24-hours but larger cuts can take up to several days. If you’re really short on time small cuts can be thawed in a bowl of lukewarm water under running water. If you’re really desperate you can also use the defrost button on your microwave but this method can be extremely unreliable and also lead to accidental precooking of your dinner.

So now that we’ve covered the list of do’s it’s time to go over our list of meat defrosting don’ts. The list isn’t so long but it is very important that you take note. Do not thaw frozen meats on the counter and do not cook them straight out of the freezer. Thawing meats on the counter is a health hazard as the outside of the meat will come to temperature quickly and can start harboring harmful bacteria. As for cooking frozen meat, there’s nothing harmful about it but it sure doesn’t make for the best steak. Essentially the outside of the steak will be cooked, or rather overcooked, much sooner than the middle can reach anything above blue. 

 

Argentina Steak: Grilling Points

When it comes to wine, the consensus is that you should drink the wines that make you happy. At the end of the day, quality, style, price and recommendations from the finest of sommeliers mean very little if that wine just doesn’t work for you. To each his own. In terms of steaks, this logic applies as well, not that it has prevented the debate over to which point a steak must be grilled to rage on endlessly. I’m not here to solve that debate – but perhaps to give my take on it.

One of the fun but essentially non-transferable skills that you pick up from working in a steakhouse is being able to 1) guess pretty accurately how people like their beef cooked and 2) and to which point a steak has been cooked by glancing at it. But first let’s review the various grilling points that any steakhouse should be able to hit. The scale, running from faintly mooing to burnt to a crisp, goes likes this:

Blue – Rare – Medium Rare – Medium – Medium Well – Well Done. Below is an illustrative chart explaining their differences. A key point to remember that beef cooked Blue and Rare is never served cold – it has to be hot but the meat can’t have been cooked through.

Now, at least in London, 60% of clients ordered Medium Rare, another 30% were split evenly between Rare and Medium Well and the remaining 10% spread randomly around Blue, Well Done and Very Well Done. In Argentina, the numbers are closer to 70% Medium another 20% ask for Well Done and only the odd lunatic goes for Medium Rare or less. More on this later.

Anyways, given the rates that we were seeing in London, we would take notice when someone asked for a Rare steak. Some announced their choice bravely and loudly, as if they deserved a gold star having the courage to order a steak Rare. Almost everybody asking for Well Done or Very Well Done apologised for their preference, much like when non-smokers apologise for not having a lighter on them when asked. French tourists made up the 70% of steaks ordered Blue and most people ordering the smallest steaks also ordered them more cooked. And believe it or not, peer pressure exists when it comes to grilling points. I can’t understand why, but in many groups of friends there’s always one self-appointed grilling point supervisor who will cluck disapprovingly if anybody orders a steak beyond an arbitrarily determined point. The most interesting part though was when I was asked what I recommended as grilling points. The story of to each his own also applies here but it’s true that nature of the cuts matters when choosing grilling points. For the larger Bife de Chorizo I didn’t recommend anybody doubting of their choice that they go with Rare just because it is so large and that is a large amount of relatively uncooked beef to get through. I also think Medium Rare works a bit better on cuts that are fattier because the extended heat helps to breakdown the marbling better. So, Bife de Lomo Rare or Blue? Right on, but not the Ojo de Bife if you aren’t already sure you like it that way.

The debate about grilling points really verges on the fact that those who prefer it less cooked insist that by extending the cooking the meat loses its juices and tenderness and becomes irremediably inedible. The opposing camp usually can’t bear the thought of blood and juices pooling in their plate. Each has a point. In Argentina the standard is not only to grill the meat to at least Medium, but that at asados you don’t get to pick the grilling point. As the pieces are grilled whole and it is up to the asador when the cut is ready, you best like whatever is served to you. It isn’t entirely clear to me why in Argentina everybody also prefers their beef grilled longer. My working theory is that the quality of the beef is such that even if you get it Well Done it is still tender and tasty. But there’s basically no science or method behind that statement so take it a considerable amount of sal parrillera.

I personally go for a Medium Rare and on occasion will ask for a Rare. Amongst friends I won’t blink if the beef is Medium. When the wine is good and the company better, I’m not sure that it matters all that much to me as long as it’s been done Argentine-style over a parrilla!

 

Argentina Steak: Chicken on the Grill

When planning my asados I occasionally have to plan around the fact that even in Argentina, there are some people who don’t fall over themselves for an opportunity to have some beef off the grill. They aren’t vegetarian, they do like the rituals and ceremony behind the asado, but they might make a face when you ask them if they prefer tira de asado or vacio or colita de cuadril. That face suggests that they want something else. These are the people that when offered coffee ask if you have tea instead. So what to do with these people? In this situation, the best option is to grill up a whole chicken. Chicken on the grill, when done right, is amazing and will please not only the finicky eaters but everyone else at the table.

Naturally, the first step is to find a whole chicken at your kindly local butcher. Once you clarify that you want your chicken for grilling and all the gizzards have been removed, you will be offered to have it cut in one of two ways.  The first option is to cut it lengthwise along the sternum so that the chicken is opened up ventrally, and the second approach is to cut it a la rana (as a frog), where the breast is left intact and instead the chicken is cut along the cavity, so that the breast can be lifted upwards, much like a jaw opening and closing. See the first minute or so of the video below for a demonstration. This step can also be done at home if you are comfortable chopping up chickens and you have a good sharp knife.

Chicken cut ventrally

The first approach is the more traditional and is tried and tested. Cutting it rana­-style is beneficial because not only is the breast intact but the chicken lies a bit flatter against the grill. Either method is fine, really. My butcher will often make some notches in the bone in the drumsticks. No idea what that is about, but it certainly doesn’t make the chicken worse. Depending on where you get your chickens from, there might be tiny feathers still stuck in the skin. Take those out.

Much like everything else on the Argentine grill, the only real preparation is the addition of the sal entrefina. Adding herbs like rosemary in the cavity works well, so feel free to add any herbs that you like. But the idea is that the chicken taste mostly like chicken, along with the smoke of the embers.

Just as with the beef cuts that are bone-in, the chicken goes bone down first over the grill. Chicken, when compared to beef, is quite a bit more complicated. Not only must it be served cooked all the way through, it’s no fun if the meat is dry. Furthermore, for reasons unknown, chicken meat also cooks more slowly than beef, and doesn’t respond well at all to being rushed. Hence the complications. When I do chicken on the grill, I put it on soon after the chorizos and morcilla, and give it medium-low heat endlessly until the skin is a very golden brown, which is at least 30 minutes typically and then flip it and continue with the same level of heat. When in doubt with chicken, give it a bit more time at medium heat. The key is getting the bones hot and cooking the meat but without burning the skin and drying the meat out. It’s tricky. I remember one time I managed to get the juices in the drumstick to simmer visibly underneath the skin. That’s the kind of heat that you want.

Often the chicken will begin to disintegrate at the joints before being served. That’s a good sign, but not a guarantee that everything has been cooked all the way through. Experience and judgment will tell you when the chicken is ready. Naturally, the most difficult part is to get the chicken ready at the same time as the all the other mains that are being served that night. Because otherwise you can expect glares from the finicky eaters wondering where their special meal is.

The best part about chicken on the grill is that the day after the meat tastes even better and it makes for awesome sandwich filling. In the end, it isn’t so bad to have difficult guests because chicken on the grill is actually pretty special. Just make sure the finicky eaters leave you some!