Any polo game worth its salt concludes in one, and exactly one, way: asado. A tasty tradition passed along by the large Argentine community within the sport, asado is akin to the American barbecue, an outdoor cookout replete with alluringly salty slow-cooked meat, delicious red wine and a roaring wood fire. Considered the national dish of Argentina, asado is both a social event and a traditional method for cooking beef, pork, lamb and a few cuts less familiar to American palates..

Anyone who has visited Argentina to see polo or stay at an estancia has likely enjoyed an asado. From the family backyard to the restaurant around the corner, asado is virtually everywhere in Argentina. Said to hail from the pampas in the days of the gauchos, Argentina's answer to the American cowboy or the Spanish vaquero, asado is the quintessential Argentine institution, the beating heart of the country's cuisine.

In Argentine culture, the job of the asado attendant, or asador, falls to the men, while women are given a more passive role, making salads or deserts. But unless you plan to cook for hardline traditionalists out in the pampas, such gender distinctions hardly matter.

Along with the responsibilities of the asador to tend the fire and ensure the proper cooking of the meat come a slew of other traditional roles. The asador is expected to select the meat from the store, calculate the amount of meat to cook, buy the log or wood to make the fire, cook the asado and serve it to guests.

The asador may eat at the table with the other guests, but he is given the special privilege of eating by the grill with guests of his choosing if he prefers. He also reserves the privilege of selecting the choice pieces for himself or gifting the best cuts to those whom he knows prefer that cut best.

Building your fire

To get started, you need a place to make a fire—to burn down the hardwood and create red hot, glowing embers—and a rectangular grill with a base to put the embers. In Argentina, the grill is known as a parrilla. Of course, a small shovel like those used in a fireplace is necessary for transferring the embers from the fire to the grill, and a stick to spread the coals. A long grill fork and a long knife are needed, both with non-conductive handles (such as wood or bone) to avoid the metal heating up.

Like the regional barbecue traditions native to the United States, asado is not cooked over direct fire but cooked "low and slow" over hot embers. According to Patrice Graviere, owner of Estancia El Rocio in Argentina, slow cooking with low but precise heat in this fashion preserves the essential juices without burning or drying up the meat's fibers.

While less formal weekend asados might use charcoal briquettes, the preferred traditional fuel is hardwood charcoal. Again similar to barbecue in the United States, the type of wood used varies from region to region. Graviere says the most important qualities are the wood be strong, fire resistant and aromatic. Asadors in the United States have their best bet with hickory, maple or oak woods, while rapidly burning or excessively smelly wood like eucalyptus or pine should be avoided.

Light the fire at the back side of the grill, slowly moving the necessary coals to constantly maintain the intensity of the heat. Graviere notes factors such as the wind, sun and climate, as well as the distance between grill and hot coals, are influential in this process.

What's cooking?

The traditional Argentine asado consists of three courses: appetizers, entrees and desert. Typical appetizers include traditional empanadas; picada, a spread of fresh cheeses and cured meats; anchuras, which include grilled sausage, kidneys and sweetbreads; and provoleta.

Provoleta is the quintessential asado appetizer. Made from cylindrical, semihard provolone cheese, provoleta is sliced into discs about two-thirds of an inch thick and generously seasoned on both sides with oregano or other herbs and spices, sometimes including red chili flakes. The herbs and spices are pressed well into the cheese to keep them from falling out, then cooked on the grill until soft on the inside with a crispy exterior.

Achuras can be included among the appetizers, or served as a side dish. According to Graviere, the word is said to originate from the indigenous Araucano word "achuraj," meaning "leftovers to throw away." Although disliked by the indigenous peoples and gauchos, they were adapted to the asado by the immigrants and conquerors who arrived in South America and were accustomed to eating these cuts back home.

While achuras might originally have meant "leftovers to throw away," they can be an unexpectedly tasty part of asado. Achuras include chorizo, pork sausage; mollejas, the tender and succulent meat of a cow's thymus gland; morcilla, or blood sausage; chorizo, or sausage; and riñon, grilled crispy kidneys marinated in vinegar, garlic and parsley. Also included is salchicha parrillera, a type of sausage in long, thin casings (similar to a hot dog) and a bit dryer or crunchier in consistency than most grilling sausages.

The main course is all about meat. Never marinated or heavily seasoned with elaborate dry rubs, asado meat is seasoned with only salt, which is rubbed into every nook and cranny, coating it entirely. A long standing debate among asadores is whether to salt the meat before or after the meat is cooked. Some say the juice from the meat and the salt create a delicious and desirable crust, while others claim the salt absorbs the juice and dries up the meat. Graviere suggests splitting the difference, using half the salt before and half after cooking.

In traditional asado, selecting the best cuts of meat is crucial, and beef is perhaps the most well-known asado staple. Tender, well-marbled steaks are always welcome at asado, such as the lomo (tenderloin), bife ancho or ojo de bife (ribeye) and bife de chorizo (strip steak), the last of which Graviere calls "the steak of steaks" for its tenderness and flavor.

One of the most popular cuts for asado is vacio, which is uncommon in North America. Vacio includes the flank steak and hanger steak, which are typically separated by American butchers. An inexpensive cut good for asado is entraña; luckily for North Americans, this is exactly the same cut as skirt steak. Colita de cuadril is also familiar to Americans as tri-tip, sirloin bottom or tip roast. Finally, tira de asado or cross-cut short ribs are a common sight at the traditional asado.

While beef may be the most wellknown asado offering, lamb and sometimes pork have a place on the parrilla. Matambre de cerdo, or pork flank steak, is one popular cut for its ability to soak up the grill's smoky flavor.

Often, estancias will prepare a whole lamb or pig for guests to cap the estancia experience. Cordero a la Cruz, or lamb on the cross, is a traditional main course in lieu of beef. The head of the animal is removed and the body is skinned, then splayed open on a metal cross or stake. The whole animal is slow cooked next to the fire, rather than over, to keep fat from dripping into the fire.

The food might be at the center of the asado, but the beverages are equally as important—not just for the guests, but for the hardworking asador, as well. Red wine pairs well with the rich red meat of the asado, and Argentine varietals like Malbec, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon pair particularly well. But like any good cookout, beer, cocktails and various soft drinks are never unwelcome.

Planning Your Asado

When planning your asado, it is always best to know how many guests are coming in advance to calculate the amount of meat needed. Graviere recommends at least one chorizo and one blood sausage per person. Short ribs, cut into strips of about 4 inches wide and 12-24 inches long, plus vacio should add up to about a pound per person.

Do not cut the meat as it has been cut by the butcher, but salt it thoroughly. The meat will take whatever salt it needs and excess can be scraped off later, so do not be afraid to be generous. Sausages do not need to be prepared, but you can puncture holes in the casing if you prefer less fat in the sausage. Do not puncture the blood sausages. Finally, make the chimichurri to serve alongside the meat.

With the meat prepared, start a fire with the hardwood near the grill. When the first few red hot embers form, spread them at the base of the grill. Once the grill has started heating, clean it with a few sheets of newspaper to rub away the old grease and dirt as they could transfer to the meat.

Spread the embers into the basin of the grill. Since the food cooks by the heat of the red hot charcoal and not by flame, be sure to immediately extinguish any flames you see below the meat, using a splash of water if necessary.

The sausages go first, as they are the first to be served. Put the blood sausages on the grill near the end, just a few minutes before serving the meat sausage. A few minutes later, add the rib strips with the bones vertical in relation to the grill, followed by the flank steak. If you have guests with different preferences for doneness, just put pieces on a few minutes earlier or later so you will be able to serve all at the same time with different levels of doneness.

It is necessary to check the heat of the grill at the height of the meat, for which there are a number of methods. You can put your hand over the meat without touching it in every spot of the grill where there is food; you should feel strong heat without burning your hand. The charcoal should be red and glowing, not white and ashy. Because fat is rendering out of the meat, there should be smoke from where it drips into the embers. If these conditions do not obtain, you need more embers. However, if the grill is too hot, making the meat burn, just raise the height of the grill.

According to tradition, the asador must serve the meat when it is finished. First, he is expected to put both types of sausages (chorizo and blood sausage) on a big platter and serve one of each, guest by guest. The pair of chorizo and blood sausage is called a matrimonio, or married couple. Fresh, crusty bread should be served so guests can eat it with the sausage (called choripan). At this time, salads are also served by the women.

Once the sausage has been distributed, the asador does the same with the beef ribs, serving one or two bones guest by guest until everybody has his fill. Because some like their beef more well-done than others, the asador typically asks the guests to serve themselves the pieces they prefer from the platter.

Finally, the asador cuts the vacio into pieces and serves each guest with the same procedure as before. Those well-versed in tradition will ask for applauses for the asador and gregarious toasts are very common. Everybody continues chatting, drinking wine and having a good time until ready for desert, at which point it is served. Typical deserts include dulce de leche mousse, flan or fresh fruit salad.

–– By Stephen Rizzo