Steakhouse style · Over embers

Argentine parrilla

In Argentina a parrilla is both the iron grill used to cook beef over hardwood embers and the restaurant built around it; the cooking follows the asado tradition, with meat seasoned only with salt and offal served before the main cuts.

Also known as: ParrillaLast reviewed 25 Oct 202612 sources

The grate and the restaurant

The word parrilla names the grate on which meat is cooked and, by extension, the restaurant where that grill is the center of the kitchen. Asado is both the technique — cooking meat over embers — and the social event built around it; see asado. A parrilla restaurant brings that ritual into a dining room: one cook, the parrillero, runs the fire and the meat, and the meal moves from offal to the large cuts.

Seasoning is deliberately plain: salt, and no marinade. Chimichurri, a sauce of parsley, oregano, garlic, chili, oil and vinegar, accompanies the grilled meat.

From the iron cross to the table

Before the restaurant there was the open field. In the gaucho tradition, meat is cooked al asador or a la cruz: large pieces spread on iron crosses set around a fire. The commercial beef economy of the region was organized first around the saladeros, plants that salted beef, from the late 18th century; in the late 19th century they were replaced by frigoríficos, refrigerated meatpacking plants.

Two fixtures of the parrilla table have documented, or disputed, origins. Provoleta — the grilled cheese Argentines make from provolone hilado — is credited in secondary sources to Natalio Alba, born in Calabria, in Córdoba from 1940. The name chimichurri probably comes from the Basque tximitxurri; stories that credit a man called Jimmy McCurry are undocumented.

Beef is still central to the Argentine diet, but less than before. Estimates for 2024–26 put consumption at about 46–50 kg / 101–110 lb per person per year, the lowest level in two decades; the industry chamber CICCRA put the 12-month average to July 2026 at 46.3 kg / 102 lb.

Quebracho embers, not flame

The fuel is hardwood: charcoal or embers from native trees such as quebracho or algarrobo. Pine and eucalyptus are avoided because of their resins. The meat cooks over embers, not over flame.

In restaurant grills, wood burns in a side fire basket, the brasero, and the parrillero rakes embers from it under the grate as the cooking requires. Manufacturers describe grates made of V-shaped channels that carry fat away to a tray, and grates whose height is adjusted with cranks, so the distance between meat and embers sets the heat. The general technique is covered under grilling over fire.

Achuras first, then the cuts

A parrilla meal usually opens with achuras, offal: chinchulines (small intestines), tripa gorda (large intestine), mollejas (sweetbreads), riñones (kidneys), ubre (udder) and criadillas (testicles).

Then come the cuts. Asado de tira is ribs cut into strips 5–8 cm / 2–3 in wide. Vacío is grilled whole. Bife de chorizo, the striploin steak, is cut 4–5 cm / 1½–2 in thick. Background on the national herd and its grading is under Argentine beef.

The parrillero sets the order

Achuras arrive first, followed by the cuts; chimichurri and provoleta are part of many menus. The parrillero controls the order and the timing from the grill. Some restaurants work as parrilla libre, an all-you-can-eat format found, for example, in the Liniers district of Buenos Aires.

Don Julio, Buenos Aires

Don Julio, in Buenos Aires, is a wood-fired parrilla ranked No. 10 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2024 and 2025, and No. 1 in the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants from 2023 to 2025.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

12

1. Mallmann, Francis; Kaminsky, Peter. Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way. New York: Artisan, 2009.
2. Cámara de la Industria y Comercio de Carnes y Derivados de la República Argentina (CICCRA). Informe económico mensual. Buenos Aires, 2024.
3. Wikipedia. "Asado." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asado
4. Wikipedia (español). "Asado." es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asado
5. Wildwood Ovens. "Parrilla 672-C" (manufacturer's description). wildwoodovens.com/product/parrilla-672-c
6. Wikipedia. "Chimichurri." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimichurri
7. Wikipedia (español). "Provoleta." es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provoleta
8. Encyclopedia.com. "Saladero." www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/saladero
9. Canal 26. "El templo de la carne que nadie se pierde en Liniers." 3 March 2026. www.canal26.com/turismo/2026/03/03/el-templo-de-la-carne-que-nadie-se-pierde-en-liniers-asado-libre-porciones-gigantes-y-precios-accesibles
10. Diario Jornada. "Carne: los argentinos comen 5 kilos menos que en 2025." diariojornada.com.ar/422300/economia/carne_los_argentinos_comen_5_kilos_menos_que_en_2025
11. Perfil. "El consumo de carne sigue en los niveles más bajos de las últimas dos décadas." www.perfil.com/noticias/economia/el-consumo-de-carne-sigue-en-los-niveles-mas-bajos-de-las-ultimas-dos-decadas-a40.phtml
12. The World's 50 Best Restaurants. "Don Julio." www.the50.com/discovery/Establishments/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/Don-Julio.html

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