Asado

Asado is cuts of meat, usually beef, which are cooked on a grill (parrilla) or open fire. Asado is quite popular in the Pampa region of South America, and it is the traditional dish of Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and the Southern States of Brazil.

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An Argentine asado typically has a sequence of meats presented by the asador (the cook). First are the chorizos, morcillas, chinchulines, mollejas and other organs. Sometimes these are served on a coal heated brasero. Then costillas or asado de tira (ribs) are served. Next comes vacio (flank steak), the matambre and possibly chiken and chivito. An asado also includes bread, a simple mixta salad of lettuce, tomato and onions, or could be accompanied with a mixture called verdurajo, (grilled vegetables), a mixture maked with potatoes, corns, onions and eggplant cooked in the parrilla and condimented with olive oil and salt, which is then accompanied by beer, wine and other beverages. Dessert is usually fresh fruit.

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An asado can be made al asador, or a la parrilla. In the first case a fire is made on the ground or in a fire pit and is surrounded by metal crosses (asadores) which hold the entire carcass of an animal splayed open to receive the heat from the fire. In the second case, a fire is made and after the coals have formed, a grill (parrilla) is placed over with the meat to be cooked.

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The meat for an asado is not marinated, the only preparation being the application of salt before and/or during the cooking period. Also, the heat and distance from the coals are controlled to provide a slow cooking; it usually takes around 2 hours to cook an asado. Further, grease from the meat is not encouraged to fall on the coals and create smoke which would adversely flavor the meat, indeed in some asados the area directly under the meat is kept clear of coals.

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The asado is usually placed in a tray to be immediately served, but it can also be placed on a brasero right on the table to keep the meat warm. Chimichurri, a sauce of garlic, parsley, lemon, oil and sometimes vinegar is the common accompaniment to an asado.

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In Brazil, the Asado is called Churrasco, and although the method of cooking is similar, charcoal is predominantly used instead of embers of wood, and Brazilians tend to cook the meat on skewers, in some places, the meat is condimentated with salt and a bit of sugar.

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Beef: Beef is meat obtained from a bovine. Beef is one of the principal meats used in European cuisine and cuisine of the Americas, and is important in Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia as well. In the Middle East, it is very rare to have lunch without beef....

Pampa: The Pampas (from Quechua, meaning "plain") are the fertile South American lowlands that include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, and C?rdoba, most of Uruguay, and the southernmost end of Brazil, covering more than 750,000 km² (290,000 square miles). These vast plains...

South America: South America is a part of the American continent traversed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. South America is situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean....