Live-Fire Beef Short Rib Asado

Name: Live-Fire Beef Short Rib Asado
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 300 min
Total time: 330 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 2 racks beef plate short ribs, about 5 lb each; 3 tbsp coarse sea salt, divided; 30 lb hardwood logs; 1 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped; 2 tbsp dried oregano; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes; 1/3 cup red wine vinegar; 2/3 cup olive oil; 1/2 tsp kosher salt; 1/4 cup warm water

Whole racks of beef short ribs cooked Argentine style on an iron grill above wood embers for about five hours, seasoned with nothing but coarse salt and served with sharp parsley chimichurri.

4.8 146 cooks rated this

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 5 hr
Serves: 8
Level: Hard

Free recipe Jump to method

An asado is less a recipe than a rhythm: a fire burning off to one side, a shovel moving embers under the grate, and meat cooking so slowly its fat renders straight into the smoke. Whole beef short rib racks, the costillar, reward that patience with a crust like crackling and meat that tears apart. Use salt only, applied as the meat goes on, since salting far ahead pulls moisture out during a long cook. Make the chimichurri an hour early so the garlic mellows.

Ingredients

Serves 8

Method

About 1 hour ahead, light a large hardwood fire in a brasero or at one end of the pit. Once it gives a steady supply of embers, shovel a thin bed under the grill grate.
Done
Set the rib racks bone side down on the grate about 16 inches above the embers and season the exposed meat with half the coarse salt. The grate should let you hold your palm there for about 8 seconds, roughly 250 F.
Done
Cook for 3 hours, sprinkling a few fresh embers beneath the meat every 20 to 30 minutes so the heat never spikes or fades.
Done
Meanwhile stir the warm water, kosher salt, garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes in a jar and let stand 10 minutes. Add the parsley, vinegar and olive oil, shake well, and leave at room temperature.
Done
Flip the racks meat side down, season with the remaining coarse salt, and cook 1 1/2 to 2 hours more, until the meat reads 205 F and the bones shift when twisted.
Done
For the final 10 minutes, rake a hotter pile of embers under the racks to crisp the surface fat.
Done
Rest the racks 15 minutes on a board, cut between the bones, and serve with the chimichurri.
Done

Hands turning pieces of meat on a grill through drifting smoke — Turning meat slowly through a haze of smoke

Charcoal chimney starter with flames rising over the coals — Charcoal chimney roaring before the cook starts

05 Hanging next to it

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