| 27-Apr-2017 | Stopped in at a local cafe for coffee and pastry this morning. This is how cappuccino is done in these parts … they do love them some sweets.

The croissants (called mezzalunas) are drizzled with honey.

Walked our neighborhood a bit to catch some local flavor and soak up some sunshine. Merchants were preparing for the day by sweeping their sidewalks and building their displays.

At 11:30 we met up with Mauricio who is hosting us at his home today for an asado cooking class. In addition to our party of three, we were joined by Matt and Kerry, traveling around these parts after wrapping up a teaching stint in Peru, and before beginning another in Mexico. They hail from Milwaukee originally and we enjoyed trading travel stories over our afternoon of food and wine.

So, let’s get to the carne coma … shall we?  If food pics are not your thing, see you tomorrow.

First, let’s be clear, we are hardly roughing it here. This is the setup on Mauricio’s patio, complete with white linens and proper cutlery and glassware.

His home is in a very nice neighborhood above Mendoza with a beautiful view of the valley. Sunny and windy today, perfect afternoon for a BBQ.

Let’s start with the fire.

Proper hardwood and fire prep is key to a good asado.  We stacked the wood, jenga-style, with kindling, away from the grill itself and started the fire.

As coals started for form, the wood is moved to an adjacent basket to continue to burn. More wood is added to the basket as needed to ensure a steady stream of red coals throughout.

As Mauricio pointed out, nothing kills an asado like running out of fire.

Since building a fire is a lot of work, we took a break for appetizers and Malbec.  Mauricio prepared marinated eggplant, olives, blue cheese spread, dried chorizo and garlic aioli for us to start.

Wine was poured, toasts were made and we began our epicurean adventure.

Next, back to work you lazy gringos!  More fire prep. As smaller pieces break off the logs in the fire basket, they are collected and dispersed along the cooking surface. Once prepared, the grate is moved atop the coals and the parade of food begins. Placement of items on the grill is important to ensure everything is cooked properly and comes together at the right time.

Whew! Break time – this time: empanadas. These are beef with olives and the flakiest crust you’ve ever seen.

More wine was served.

Next up, the meats. We are cooking pork ribs, chorizo, matambre and steaks. Yes, that’s four cuts of meat.

PRO TIP: Don’t move the meat around the grill. Put it on, salt it, let it caramelize then flip it when it’s time, then don’t move it again, unless it needs to go to a cooler area on the grill.

You there, put down the tongs!

There are veggies, too.  You can see the careful placement here which puts everything at the proper temperature. Since coals are dispersed from the fire basket, it should be pretty easy to manage temperature around the grilling surface.

The choripan come off first. Nothing on these babies but the chimichurri and fresh bread.

These are slider size. Ridiculously delicious!

Oh yeah, back to the fire basket for a minute, and the veggies. Yup, throw those suckers in the fire basket – peppers, onions, eggplant, etc. – the skin chars and smokes the veggies perfectly.

To remove the charred skin later, run it under cold water. Mind blown.

Food is served, and there’s a lot of it.

First off the grill: ribs, veggies and provoleta, an Argentinian provolone cheese baked on the grill in cast iron.

Wine was poured. More travel stories were shared. Mauricio dropped some cooking knowledge – it was a blast.

But wait, there’s more …. the matambre a la pizza. Matambre is essentially equivalent to a thin flank steak. In this variation, it’s covered with crushed tomato sauce, oregano and mozzarella while cooking, like a pizza. 🙂

The final meat course was these lovely steaks. Expertly grilled to medium-rare/medium and seasoned only with salt and a little pepper.

Goes to show that simple really is the best.  Pair with the remaining veggies and chimichurri and you’re set.

Another Malbec was served.

Resting after our hard work, the aperitif. And Pleepleus makes another appearance – mind you, he has done ZERO work. This is a Fernet and Coke concoction – it’s a thing here. Fernet Branca is the Argentine version of a similar Italian liquor – it’s kind of like Jaegermeister.

For dessert, Mauricio’s wife prepared this lovely and simple baked apple with dulce de leche. Bon appetit!

What a great experience! Mauricio and his wife are gracious hosts; the food was delicious; Matt and Kerry are a blast and the weather couldn’t be beat.

If you’re visiting  Mendoza, this is an opportunity that should not be missed.