The Argentine chef, who has just inaugurated Limbo (the restaurant that seals his landing in Madrid after years of presence in Toledo with Musakaya), talks with us to give us his recommendations to achieve a perfect barbecue, in the best Argentine style.
THE MEAT. The first thing to know to make a perfect barbecue is that there are at least two types of roasts: a regular one (in which you cannot miss the roast strip, the entrails, the vacuum, the chinchulines and the sweetbreads) and one more expensive (with bife de chorizo or tenderloin, which is what we know as sirloin in Spain).
EL FUEGO. “A good one is made by combining firewood and charcoal. Better if it's just firewood, ”he says. We must get a "live and very red ember". A trick to know that we have reached the optimal temperature is to bring your hands to the grill and count to 10. If we hold on without burning it is the perfect time.
GRILL. It should be about 40 centimeters from the fire. Javier opts for the ones with the iron bars in the shape of a “v”, because they allow the fat in the meat to decant without dripping directly onto the fire.
SALT ENTREFINA. Neither 100% fine, nor 100% thick. The chef saltes the meat with “entrefina salt”, widely used in Argentina, and does it for 20 minutes before putting it on the grill. “When you do it without salting it and you salt it later, the salt is left out. If you do it before, it is incorporated into the piece and then you just have to rectify it ”.
RED, CHIMICHURRI AND CREOLE SAUCE. "As I am not a brewer, for me a good barbecue is eaten with red wine." Chimichurri and salsa criolla are garnishes that always accompany meat and this perfect barbecue. The first has parsley, minced garlic, ground chili, dried oregano, sweet paprika, oil, vinegar and salt. The second fresh tomato, onion, red pepper (in Argentina it is called bell pepper), salt, oil and vinegar.
BONUS TRACKS. "I like to put onions, potatoes and pumpkins on the embers (the embers with ashes) because the direct fire burns them on the outside and inside they are perfect". Afterwards, a good splash of olive oil, salt and pepper.
