foodandwine.com

Restaurants may feature prime cuts compared to homey tira de asado (short ribs cut across the bone into thick strips), sirloin and flank steak, but, modest or extravagant, they’re prepared in the same way. And since grillers can’t stray from the parrilla for very long, they were a captive audience for my questions as they burned fruit trees and other logs down to smoldering coals, then raked them under grates and turned and turned the tomahawk rib eyes, T-bones, and bone-in New York strips. With medium crystals larger than Morton’s kosher, it dissolves more slowly than fine table salt, to match the country’s low-and-slow method for cooking big cuts of meat. I never thought of this downtime as a flavor-boosting situation, but the opportunistic chef Lucas Olcese at Lagarde Winery always has a pan of red wine Patagonian sea salt mixed with peeled garlic cloves, rosemary sprigs, extra-virgin olive oil, and beef stock ready for receiving mild-tasting cuts like tenderloin hot off the parrilla.

Even better, add a slice, chunk, or crumble of cheese to your toast and put it back under the broiler—you’ll have the bubbling open-faced grilled cheese of your dreams in two more minutes. But to be honest, I prefer to simply serve these blistered vegetables as a delicious side dish, tossed quickly with olive oil, vinegar, salt, and chili flakes. The trick is to pre-sear your main (steak, salmon filets, duck breasts, etc.) until it’s caramelized and crisp on the outside but essentially raw inside. Then let it sit out at room temperature until mealtime, when five minutes before eating, the broiler’s intensity will re-crisp its exterior while quickly bring its temperature to a perfect medium rare.