The tradition behind the menu
Argentine asado, explained: what the nine courses are teaching you
Asado is a technique, a social ritual and a national identity. Knowing the basics turns Fogón's tasting from a great meal into a lesson you'll remember.
See Fogón Asado seats on GetYourGuide ↗More than barbecue
Asado is the Argentine way of cooking meat over fire, and it's as much a social institution as a technique — the Sunday asado at a family home, the asador who runs the fire and is answerable for the result, the hours of cooking that are part of the point. Fogón's tasting menu is a distilled, restaurant version of that ritual: the same fire, the same cuts, the same idea that the meal is built around watching someone cook slowly and well.
The fire comes first
Argentine asado is cooked over embers, not flames. Hardwood is burned down in a brasero and the glowing coals are raked under the parrilla — the grill grate — in quantities the asador adjusts throughout the cooking. Different cuts want different heat: some go on early over gentle embers for a long, slow cook, others take a short blast over fierce coals. At Fogón the chef explains these choices as they happen, so the courses become a walk through the different ways of using the same fire.
The cuts you'll meet
An Argentine asado draws on parts of the animal many visitors never see at home: the ribs and flank as well as the prime steaks, the sausages and offal that traditionally open the meal, and the slow-cooked cuts that reward patience. A tasting menu's job is to show that range in a sensible order — lighter and earlier-cooked things first, the richest cuts at the centre — and to let you compare cuts you'd never order side by side from a menu.
Wine, and the Malbec question
Argentine beef and Malbec are the classic pairing, but the country's wine has far more range than one grape — Cabernet Franc, Bonarda, Torrontés and high-altitude whites all appear on serious lists. Fogón's optional pairing is chosen to follow the flavours of the grill course by course rather than to pour one red throughout, which is one reason to consider it if you're interested in wine as well as meat.
Why a tasting format suits it
A traditional asado is a lot of food arriving in waves, with the cook out of sight at the fire. Turning it into nine courses at a counter around the grill keeps the generosity and the ritual but adds the thing home asados can't offer a visitor: the asador in front of you, explaining the cut, the heat and the reason for each choice. You leave understanding asado, not just having eaten one.
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