The word Asado, when translated into English, means barbecue but the Argentinian asado proves, yet again, that translations are very often wrong. Whilst the asado is the Argentinian version of the process of cooking meat on a grill, it is quite different to anything found anywhere else in the world. For starters – there’s more meat, a whole lot more – instead of a few pieces of sausages, a couple of chops or even burgers, the guests are treated to vacio (flank steaks), bife de lomo (filet mignon), bife de corizo (similar to the porterhouse), colito de cuadril (the veal tail), cavrito (goat), chicken, offal  and then costilla de cerdo (the pork

or beef short ribs). Whilst there is often more meat on the grill, there may also be less but without doubt, it’s usually accompanied by loads of good wine, excellent company and the odd salad or two. The recipe below should be sufficient for your next dinner party consisting of about 6 – 8 meat eaters,  unless you are living in Argentina, of course! Before we give you the recipe and in order that you understand the beef of Argentina, we quote Maciej Ceglowski on the subject of Argentinian beef,   “Steaks here are ridiculous – not so much in diameter, since they rarely overhang the plate by more than an inch or two – but in thickness … (and he goes on to say) … most of this has to do with how the cows are raised. There are no factory feedlots in Argentina; the animals still eat pampas grass their whole lives, in open pasture, and not the chicken droppings and feathers mixed with corn that pass for animal feed in the United States. Since this is the way of life a cow was designed for, it is not necessary to pump the animal full of antibiotics. The meat is leaner, healthier and more flavourful than that of corn-fed cattle. It has fewer calories, contains less cholesterol, and tastes less mushy and waterlogged than American meat. And the cows spend their lives out grazing in the field, not locked into some small pen. You can taste the joy.” We rest our case.

Ingredients

• 230 g coarse salt, or as needed
• 2720 g beef short ribs
• 6 limes, quartered

Method

• Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grid – then coat the ribs heavily with salt to bring out the fat.
• Grill for 10 – 15 minutes per side (depending on your taste), remove onto a serving dish and squeeze out loads of lime juice directly onto the ribs.
• Serve with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper.