Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Tira de Asado con Chimichurri
Cross-cut beef short ribs salted and grilled slowly over wood embers until the fat renders, served with a sharp garlic and parsley chimichurri.
Uruguayan · medium · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 120 min
~894 cal · 89g protein · 3g carbs · 53g fat · 1g fiber · 0g sugars · 21g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Asado is not a recipe in Uruguay so much as the country's organizing ritual: the weekend gathering around the parrilla, the wood fire tended for hours, the cuts laid over glowing embers while everyone waits and talks. In a nation where cattle outnumber people several times over, the asador who commands the grill holds a place of quiet honour, and tira de asado, the cross-cut beef short ribs, is the heart of the spread.
The method is patience, not seasoning. The ribs are salted with coarse sal parrillera and set bone-side down over a bed of hardwood embers, well away from any flame, so the fat slowly upward through the thin strips of meat. There is no marinade and no rub; a good asador lets the beef and the wood smoke do the talking, turning the ribs only once.
The one accompaniment that never leaves the table is chimichurri, a raw sauce of parsley, garlic, oregano, red wine vinegar, and olive oil that cuts the richness of the beef. Sliced between the bones and eaten with bread and salad, tira de asado is Uruguay on a plate: unhurried, generous, and built entirely around the fire.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
3 lbs cross-cut beef short ribs (tira de asado)
to taste coarse salt (sal parrillera)
1 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (for the chimichurri)
4 cloves garlic, minced (for the chimichurri)
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
Instructions
1
Build a hardwood fire well ahead and let it burn down to a deep bed of glowing, ash-covered embers with no flames, which takes at least 45 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
Radiant heat from embers, not direct flame, is the whole secret of an asado; flames scorch the fat before the meat cooks.
2
Stir together the parsley, garlic, oregano, red wine vinegar, olive oil, chili flakes, and a little salt to make the chimichurri, and let it sit at least 30 minutes for the flavours to meld.
3
Salt the ribs generously on both sides and lay them bone-side down on the grate set well above the embers, so they cook slowly.
4
Grill low and slow for about 30 to 40 minutes on the bone side, until the fat has rendered and the top looks steamed, then flip once and cook 10 to 15 minutes more until browned and tender.
5
Rest the ribs a few minutes, slice between the bones into strips, and serve with the chimichurri, bread, and a simple salad.
Uruguayan parrilla tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Montevideo. Montevideo is a beef city with an Italian accent, and the chivito, a steak sandwich loaded with ham, cheese, egg, and olives, is its everyday order; it was invented up the coast at Punta del Este in the mid-1940s and reached Montevideo by 1949. Wood-fired parrilla grilling, mate passed hand to hand, and dulce de leche in every dessert define the Uruguayan table.
🗺️
Uruguay. Uruguay shares Argentina's love of the grill, and the asado is national ritual, alongside the towering chivito steak sandwich. Beef, Italian-influenced pasta, dulce de leche, and endless mate shape a meat-loving table.
🌍
South America. Migration reworked the plate within living memory. Japanese arrivals in Peru and Brazil produced Nikkei cooking, Italians made pasta and pizza entirely ordinary in Argentina, Uruguay and Sao Paulo, and West African cooking carried into Bahia by the slave trade gave Brazil dende palm oil, okra and a whole ritual repertoire.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Uruguay
Chivito al PlatoUruguay’s glorious everything-plate: thin steak under ham, cheese, olives, and a fried egg with ensalada rusa.
Torta FritaGolden discs of fried dough with a slit in the middle, crisp-edged and pillowy, the treat Uruguayans make whenever it rains, dusted with sugar and dunked in mate.
Tarta PascualinaA flaky double-crust pie of chard and ricotta with whole eggs baked inside, an everyday River Plate lunch.
Browse all Uruguay recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Grill or barbecue, Steamer.
Storing it: Best straight off the heat. Leftovers keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated and reheat well in a hot oven rather than the microwave.
Make it a Uruguay meal
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Frequently asked questions
What is Tira de Asado con Chimichurri?
Cross-cut beef short ribs salted and grilled slowly over wood embers until the fat renders, served with a sharp garlic and parsley chimichurri.
Where does Tira de Asado con Chimichurri come from?
Tira de Asado con Chimichurri is a Uruguayan dish from Montevideo, Uruguay.
Can Tira de Asado con Chimichurri be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Tira de Asado con Chimichurri recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Tira de Asado con Chimichurri safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Tira de Asado con Chimichurri take to make?
About 140 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 120 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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