Vegetarians, look away: This is the best barbecue meal in the world

Vegetarians, look away. Everybody else, grab a fork and limber up. Argentinians produce some of the world’s best beef, and eat like ogres.

A meat-lovers’ feast.Credit: Greg Straight

You can gorge on magnificent barbecue meals – and accompanying Malbec – at half the price you pay in Australia, and enjoy a quintessentially Argentine experience, too.

The parrilla – also popular in neighbouring Uruguay and Chile – refers both to the grill on which meat is roasted over wood or charcoal, and the type of restaurant that serves it, which in North America would be called a steakhouse.

To add to the confusion, the word asado refers to the grilling technique, a type of spare rib, and the convivial barbecue event.

Parrilla restaurants can be budget and raucous or expensive and sedate. You can see the grill master at work and smell the meat cooking – though maybe not until 9pm, when most Argentines dine.

A grill master at work.Credit: iStock

Meats are slow-roasted further from the heat than on an Australian barbecue, so expect a wait after ordering. You can nibble on empanadas, which might be offered on the house.

Go easy because you’ll be getting lots of food. A half-kilo of meat per person is considered normal, and the sides aren’t light.

Traditional side dishes are thick-cut chips, mixed salad, Russian (potato) salad, grilled vegetables, and grilled half-capsicums with an egg cracked inside.

Meat is the main game. Argentinians practised nose-to-tail cooking long before it became trendy, and the opener will be achuras (offal) – namely kidneys, chitterlings and sweetbreads – which you should sprinkle with salt and lemon juice.

For less challenging alternatives, go for chorizo and provoleta, or smoky melted cheese.

This mere appetiser is followed by various cuts of grilled beef. Spanish names for beef cuts can be confusing, and so can the price, which is often listed by weight.

Go for bife de chorizo (sirloin), entrana (skirt steak) and ojo de bife (ribeye), the latter being very marbled and the centrepiece of the meal.

Order a parrillada mixta and you’ll get a bit of everything served on a wooden platter, with roast chicken, pork fillets and pork shoulder thrown in for good measure. The parrilla experience is one best shared with hungry friends.

You can alternatively order a la carte, with other options including asado (spareribs), vacio (flank) and lomo (tenderloin).

Argentines prefer their meat medium-well done (apunto) but you can ask for medium (jugoso) or rare (muy jugoso), which won’t be as rare as you’d expect elsewhere.

The meat is cooked with nothing but salt, but two condiments are common. Use salsa criolla (diced raw tomato, onion and sometimes capsicum in vinegar) for the offal and chimichurri (chopped garlic, onion, paprika and herbs in olive oil) for the beef.

Parrillas serve a small variety of classic desserts such as tiramisu, flan and bread pudding, but who has room? Anyway, Argentine desserts are unconvincing. With beef this good, just indulge your carnivorous appetite.