The Asado

The Argentine asado (or barbecue) is more than just a meal; it is an essential part of Argentine life.

The default option for celebrating birthdays, special events, and holidays, or simply just an excuse to gather with family and friends. You cannot visit Argentina without enjoying an asado. They tend to be long, drawn-out meals stretching through the afternoon and into the evening. An asado is cooking in its purest most simple form. 

Argentines prepare the meat for an asado very simply; just with salt. They prefer not to use marinades. The asador will season the meat with coarse salt, but the true flavour of the asado comes from good grilling techniques and high quality beef. Most Argentines prefer their meat cooked medium well or well done and often like the fattier cuts of meat, as they typically have more flavour.

At a typical asado, at least three of the following items will be prepared. Sausages are served first, followed by other cuts of meat. The other cuts of meat could include;

• Chorizo (pork sausage seasoned with salt, black pepper, garlic)

• Morcilla (blood sausage)

• Salchicha Parrillera (thin sausage rolled  in a large spiral)

• Mollejas (sweetbreads)

• Tira de Asado (short ribs)

• Vacío (flank steak)

• Bife de chorizo (sirloin steak)

• Matambre (flank)

• Achuras (offal)

• Chinchulines (small intestines)

• Riñones (kidneys)

There may also be grilled chicken, pork or kid offered as well. At Los Potreros and across Argentina, a suckling pig is cooked on the parrilla on special occasions such as Christmas or New Year’s Eve. 

Argentine asado’s are all about the meat, but there’s usually at least one or two token vegetables or non-meat dishes on offer. Provoleta, a grilled, gooey slab of cheese seasoned with fresh herbs from the garden, makes the perfect start to the meal. Potatoes, sweetcorn or bell peppers roasted also feature regularly on the Los Potreros menu.  

Starting the fire with dry hard wood creates better coals. Light the fire around 11:00 for a 14:00 lunch or earlier depending on the number of coals needed for cooking and type of wood.

Keep adding wood and once you have good coals place them under the parrilla. 

Cook the meat on top - it takes a long time for well cooked meat so bare this in mind. Once you have coals under the parrilla you can test to see if it is hot enough for cooking if you can hold your hand above for more than 10 seconds it needs more coals. Another sign to listen for is if you can hear the meat sizzling when you put it on the grill.

Fire, Flavour, Tradition - An Argentine Asado

A Los Potreros Asado: The Soul of Argentina on a Plate

A Los Potreros Asado is more than just a meal - it's an experience into the heart of Argentine culture. Indulge in the flavors of Argentina's most iconic meal, expertly prepared by our chefs using locally sourced, premium meats. Enjoy the mesmerising outdoor setting while watching the asado being cooked to perfection, offering an unforgettable taste of tradition, family, and hospitality.

In Argentina, the asado is not simply a way of cooking meat - it is a ritual, a gathering, and a language of its own. For generations, families and friends across the pampas have come together around the fire, marking celebrations, Sundays, and everyday moments with the same reverence. At Los Potreros, we bring that living tradition to our guests, inviting you not just to taste it, but to witness it unfold.

The asado begins long before the first cut of meat touches the grill. Our chefs tend the fire with patience, building a bed of glowing embers that will cook slowly, evenly, over hours rather than minutes. This is the essential difference between Argentine asado and Western-style barbecue: here, the fire is a craft, and the asador - the grill master - is as much a keeper of embers as a cook. There is no rush. The heat is coaxed, controlled, and respected, allowing the meat to develop the deep, smoky flavour and tender texture that define true asado.

The meats themselves are sourced locally, drawn from the same open plains that surround our estancia. Beef raised on natural pasture, prepared with little more than coarse salt, allows the quality of the ingredient to speak for itself. You'll find classic cuts like asado de tira (short ribs), matambre, and morcilla, each cooked over the open flame with unhurried care. The result is meat that is smoky, succulent, and unmistakably Argentine.

But the asado is as much about atmosphere as it is about flavour. At Los Potreros, the setting is part of the experience: an open-air parrilla beneath the vast sky of the Argentine countryside, where the crackle of the fire and the aroma of roasting meat mingle with the sounds of the estancia around you. Guests are invited to gather near the grill, to watch the process, to ask questions, and to feel the rhythm of a tradition passed down through generations of gauchos and ranching families.

This is hospitality in its most authentic form. An asado is never rushed, and neither is the company around it. Conversation flows as freely as the Malbec poured alongside each course, and the meal becomes an unhurried celebration of connection - between guests, between courses, and between past and present. It is a chance to slow down, to savour, and to feel, if only for an afternoon, part of the deep-rooted culture of the Argentine countryside.

A Los Potreros Asado is an invitation: to taste history, to witness craftsmanship, and to experience the warmth of Argentine hospitality exactly as it has been shared for generations - around the fire, under the open sky.

Pizza a la Parrilla

This is a Los Potreros speciality, the smoky taste of the pizza base from cooking outside on the parrilla combined with four different cheeses from Argentina and a rich tomato sauce is a speciality and one of our most popular lunches. Alongside making it a meal, we often use it as a ‘picada’ before an asado. This traditional Argentine pizza is grilled to perfection, giving it a smoky flavor and crispy crust, all while using the finest, locally sourced ingredients. Perfect for an outdoor meal, this dish brings together the best of Argentine culinary traditions and the unforgettable flavors of the grill.

Serves 6

375ml tomato passata

Fresh basil and oregano

150g cheddar cheese, grated

150g blue cheese, crumbled

150g mozzarella

150g additional hard cheese (we use an unaged Parmesan)

2tsp dried oregano

2tsp chilli flakes

2 garlic, chopped

2 onions, diced

2tsp dried yeast

1 tsp sugar

450ml warm water

600g 00 flour, plus extra for dusting

1/2 tsp salt

2tbs olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/390ºF or light your fire if you are cooking on a grill or outdoor pizza oven.

To make the dough combined the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the yeast mixture with olive oil, and the warm water and knead for around 10 minutes until the dough is sticky and smooth and no longer sticks to your hands. If the dough is to sticky add more flour or water if it becomes to dry.

Using floured hands, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a tea towel and leave to sit for an hour until it has doubled in size.

Whilst you are waiting for the dough to prove, make the sauce by sautéing the garlic, onions and then adding the tomato passata, herbs and allow to cook through. Grate the cheese and leave to sit out of the fridge, this will help them to cook a little faster.

Divide the dough into two portions, on a lightly floured surface, roll and stretch out the dough to form a large thin circular or rectangle shape Transfer onto a lightly floured baking tray and repeat with the second.

If you are cooking on an outside grill, ensure you have plenty of coals and rub some olive oil into the dough to. make sure it does not stick and cook on each side. If you are cooking in the oven place the baking tray in the hot oven and flip the dough over as it starts to colour. This will happen quite quickly if the oven is hot! Otherwise transfer the dough into the pizza oven and allow the dough to go golden on each side. Remove from the oven and spread the tomato passata over the base and sprinkle with cheese and any remaining herbs. Argentines often add parma ham, onion or fresh olives as toppings. Once you have topped according to taste cook again long enough for the cheese to melt.

April Flavours of the Sierras Chicas

April in the Los Pots Kitchen brings a bounty of seasonal ingredients and unique flavours that celebrate the changing seasons in Argentina. As we transition from summer to autumn, our kitchen team at Estancia Los Potreros prepares hearty, fresh dishes that reflect the rich traditions of Argentine cuisine. Experience the best of local, sustainable cooking, with ingredients sourced from our own gardens and local suppliers.

Here in the Sierras Chicas, autumn arrives gently - cooler mornings, golden light over the hills, and a landscape shifting from summer's greens to russet and amber. This is a season of transition in the kitchen too, as we move away from the bright, light dishes of summer toward the warmer, earthier flavours that define Argentine autumn cooking.

Our gardens are especially generous this month. Acelga (Swiss chard) and spinach come in thick, dark bunches, perfect for tartas and empanadas. Beets, turnips, and radishes pull from the soil with vivid color, while celery, fennel, and leeks add depth to slow-cooked stews and broths. Cabbage and Brussels sprouts, at their sweetest after the first cool nights, find their way into roasted side dishes alongside our grass-fed beef. Sweet potato - batata - becomes a kitchen staple, roasted whole in the coals or folded into warming purées.

Citrus is where April truly shines in the Sierras Chicas. Oranges, mandarins, lemons, and grapefruit ripen through the region this month, their brightness a perfect counterpoint to the richness of autumn cooking. We use them in everything from marinades for grilled meats to simple desserts finished with candied peel. Alongside the citrus, apples, pears, and quince come into season -the quince in particular destined for our own dulce de membrillo, a tradition we honor every year, simmered slowly and served alongside local cheeses.

Avocados, too, reach their peak in April, adding a creamy richness to salads built around our garden greens: watercress, escarole, and chicory, all harvested just steps from the kitchen door. And as the sierra nights grow crisper, we begin drawing on the region's walnuts and almonds, toasted and folded into salads or used to finish a dish with a bit of crunch and warmth.

What makes this season special is not just the ingredients themselves, but the rhythm they set. Cooking with what the land offers in a given month means every dish tells you exactly where you are in the year. An April table at Los Potreros might feature a chard and cheese tarta, slow-roasted root vegetables from our garden, grilled beef finished with an orange and herb marinade, and a simple dessert of poached pears with local honey. Nothing traveled far to reach the plate, and everything reflects this particular moment in the Sierras Chicas.

This commitment to seasonal, sustainable cooking is at the heart of what we do. It connects our kitchen to the land around us, honours the traditions of Argentine cuisine, and ensures that every meal - simple or celebratory - captures the true character of the estancia and the season we're in.

Chicken Asado

The asado originated in the 19th century with the gauchos, the word is used to describe both the occasion and the meat itself, traditionally wood from the White Quebracho tree would be used as it is relatively smokeless and produces good coals. Whilst beef is the focus of the asado many argentines also choose to cook chicken. Lunches at Los Potreros include both options but we particularly love a chicken asado. Chicken cooked on the parrilla marinated with lemon, onion, garlic, fresh herbs and olive oil. The preferred method is cooking the chicken as a whole butterflied. 

1 Chicken 

3 Onions

4 Garlic Cloves

Lemon Juice 

Fresh thyme & rosemary

Olive oil 

To prepare the parrilla for cooking you will need a lot of coals and a higher temperature than cooking beef, so ensure you light the fire around 30 minutes earlier than if you were cooking a normal asado. Light the fire around 11am to have sufficient time to begin cooking for a 1330 lunch. You will need minimum of one and a half hours to cook the chicken and must always put chicken on the parrilla for half an hour more than any red meat. Using a butterflied chicken place on the parrilla bone face-down and allow the chicken to start cooking. To check if the grill is hot enough hold your hand above it and if you can hold it for longer than 10 seconds you need to add more coals. Peel the onions and garlic and blend with the lemon juice and olive oil until it produces a thick paste and roughly cut the fresh herbs and add them to the mix. Brush the chicken with the paste whilst cooking, 3 or 4 times until serving, to ensure the chicken stays moist and does not become too dry. Turn the chickens regularly so they don’t burn and to allow for even cooking.

*   goes really well with a fresh salad and bread cooked on the parrilla. Top the bread with fresh tomatoes diced with oregano, diced onions and a little olive oil.

A Los Potreros Asado

The asado is far more than a barbecue - it is one of Argentina’s most cherished traditions and an important part of its cultural identity. For generations, families and friends have gathered around the fire to share food, conversation and time together, making the asado as much about the experience as the meal itself.

The origins of the Argentine asado can be traced back to the gauchos who roamed the vast pampas during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Spending long days tending cattle, gauchos would cook freshly butchered beef over open flames using little more than wood, embers and simple iron crosses known as asadores. With an abundance of high-quality cattle and few ingredients, the focus was always on allowing the natural flavour of the meat to shine.

As Argentina's cattle industry grew, so too did the popularity of the asado. What began as a practical way for gauchos to prepare a meal gradually became a social occasion enjoyed throughout the country. Today, it is common for families to spend an entire Sunday afternoon gathered around the parrilla, where the slow process of tending the fire is just as important as the food itself. Unlike many barbecues, an Argentine asado is never rushed. The meat is cooked slowly over glowing embers rather than high flames, creating tender, flavourful cuts.

An authentic Argentine asado often features a variety of meats, including beef ribs, bife de chorizo, sausages (chorizo), blood sausage (morcilla) and sweetbreads, accompanied by simple side dishes such as fresh salads, grilled vegetables and crusty bread. Chimichurri provides the perfect finishing touch without overpowering the quality of the meat.

At Los Potreros, the tradition of the asado remains at the heart of life on the farm. Many of the cattle are raised on the estancia using regenerative grazing practices, meaning guests can enjoy beef that reflects both the quality of the land and the care that goes into producing it. Watching the fire being prepared, smelling the aroma of wood smoke and sharing a meal outdoors are all part of an experience that has changed remarkably little over the centuries.

For visitors to Argentina, taking part in an asado is one of the most authentic ways to understand the country's culture. It is a celebration of community, hospitality and the gaucho heritage that continues to shape rural life today. Whether enjoyed at a family home or on a working estancia, the Argentine asado remains a timeless tradition where the greatest ingredient is simply sharing good food with good company.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize