Grilled Argentinian Style Beef Ribs with Chimichurri – Giddy Up Gaucho!

When it comes to slow cooking meat and beef over an open fire, few places do it like South America, and even fewer countries can do it like Argentina! Slow cooking meats over a wood fire for hours is a birthright for those within the country that calls the capital Buenos Aires it’s home. As well as the neighboring grill-spirit countries of Uruguay and Brazil. The smell of a wood fire just makes me wanna throw on a cowboy hat and gather up that cattle (what?!?!? You’re not feeling it???). Today I’m sharing my Argentinian Styled Beef Baby Back Ribs with Chimchurri to bring out the inner cowboy (and cowgirl) in all of us!

The traditional tried and true grilling recipe (and method) for Argentinian Beef Baby Back Ribs is to have the beef cut across bone, which provides smaller ribs but more tender meat as not all of the beef is attached directly on the bone. In Argentina, because the cows are grazed more naturally, the beef is even leaner and more tender so if you have access or connections to a butcher who sells, possesses or trades Argentinian beef, let me know and we’ll kidnap him!!! Just kidding of course (or am I???), but definitely venture at least once to see the difference. Unfortunately for me, I do not have Argentine beef or the style-cut available to me so I instead grabbed some American style beef baby back ribs and seasoned them the Argentinian way of heavy salt and light pepper. The salt brings the fat juices to life when cooked at slow temperatures (not unlike what the Florentine’s do for their Bistecca Alla Fiorentina). What makes this recipe “Argentinian style” is the slow cooking process of beef over a wood charcoal fire at low heat for hours and the heavy heaping side of chimichurri that goes with it.

To start my Argentinian style beef ribs, I wash the ribs thoroughly and then place on a plate or cooking sheet. I then season heavy with salt, a touch of pepper and a little bit of garlic salt. Then I start my wood charcoal fire with mesquite and oak wood chunks by filling up two chimney starters, lit with paper towel dressed in olive oil. Once the wood turns grey, I dump a majority on one side of the grill with a thin bed across the entire grill. I then place the beef ribs bone side down at the opposite end of the heavy-end of the charcoal fire and then watch them grill for hours! That’s all there is to it! I turn them opposite side over (still with bone side down) after about 90 minutes to 2 hours and let them keep cooking for another 90 minutes to 2 hours. When they’re almost done, I make a little pyramid for the beef to sweat juices down on one another – it’s a nice little trick that keeps the beef tender (once again trying to keep it classy here at Paggi Pazzo). Once done, I put them aside and have my chimichurri ready as a nice traditional Argentinian sauce to dress afterwards (chimichurri recipe is below and should be made a day before grilling your ribs). So there you have it, a simple and easy Argentinian Style Beef Baby Back Ribs recipe from Paggi Pazzo, Giddy Up Cowboys!

Argentine Style Beef Ribs Recipe

Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 3-4 hours
Total time: 4 hours 30 mins
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
For Chimichurri:

• 1 cup fresh parsley leaves
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 shallot
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red peppers
• 2 scallions
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt

For Argentine Style Beef Ribs:

• 5 teaspoons salt
• 3 lbs. beef baby back ribs
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Cooking Directions

1. To prepare chimichurri, chop the fresh leaf parsley, garlic cloves, scallions, shallot, yellow pepper (seeded), bay leaves, and oregano into very fine pieces (or use food processor to pulse and chop all ingredients together).
2. Add into a bowl or jar, all of the chopped ingredients (parsley, garlic, scallions, shallot, yellow pepper, and oregano) with salt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, hot water, paprika, cumin, and crushed red peppers.
3. Stir well for 5 minutes and allow liquids and ingredients to gel together.
4. Store in refrigerator (covered and sealed) for 1 day and when ready to be served, allow to stay at room temperature for at least one hour.
5. Wash beef baby back ribs and place on tray or plate, then season heavily with salt and a pinch of garlic salt and pepper (the salt will bring out the meat juices as it slow cooks)
6. Prepare charcoal grill: Fill lump hard wood charcoal to 2 chimney starters with a handful of mesquite and oak wood chunks and chips, then light with paper towel brushed with olive oil under starters
7. Once wood charcoal is a nice grey color, dump into grill pit with a majority of wood charcoal on one half of the grill and a small lower, heat zone at the opposite end
8. Place grates back on grill and dampen paper towel with olive oil to rub across grates
9. Add beef baby back ribs, bone side down at end of grill with low heat zone to slow cook ribs for several hours
10. After 90 minutes, turn ribs opposite side around (with bone side still down)
11. After 2 1/2 hours, stack ribs on top of one another to allow meat juices to sweat down on one another (repeat after 15 minutes moving beef ribs on bottom to the top and vice-versa). If ribs appear to be not as tender as desired, continue to slow cook until removing from grill
12. Remove from grill and allow beef baby back ribs 10-15 minutes to cool before serving and add with a side of chimichurri
13. Time to saddle up and go to town on some beef ribs, Giddy-Up!