Un Asado

Tonight, after we practiced of course, we experienced a GREAT Uruguayan tradition. Un asado. An asado is a cookout with lots of meat. The cookout started out with an appetizer that consisted of a beef sausage and roasted mozzarella cheese in between a slice of french bread. If that wasn't good enough, the main meal was beef ribs and little beef steaks grilled to medium rare perfection. If you haven't already noticed, beef is a very important to the Uruguayans as it is their largest industry. What makes an asado extra special is the way it is grilled. There is a picture below that will make it a little clearer. It's a little difficult to see, but the rack on the far right is where the fire is built. The fire is built with special wood called leña. This wood is from the mountains and is very hard. The wood itself smells amazing. As the wood is burning, the hot coals drop down through the grate and the skilled grill master, a.k.a. Bruce, pushes the coals over underneath the meat, thus cooking the meat thoroughly. You can barely see it, but there is a small chain that attaches to the grate and a knob that is outside of the grill. When you turn the knob, the grate is raised up higher so that you can control the temperature of your heat. No need to the say that the meat was incredible. The meat was seasoned with salt and it was the perfect combination.