My Argentine Feast – Part 2 – Beef Tournedos

After bottling our beautiful new wine, Midnight Malbec The Bottling Project it was time to celebrate our efforts with a feast. All vintners celebrate the harvest and the bottling with a feast, so now that we are vintners, we had to continue the tradition. Besides, I will take any opportunity to cook up a feast. 🙂

All the food is authentically Argentine, and from my cookbook Seven Fires, Grilling The Argentine Way, by Francis Mallman, or at the very least, inspired from that book. 🙂

The name Seven Fires refers to the seven different types of grilling methods used in Argentine cooking. They are:

1. Asado – The Argentinian barbecue technique that involves slow cooking meat over wood coals on a brick surface. The word asado comes from the Spanish word asar, which means “to grill”.

2. Chapa –  A cast-iron griddle used for cooking thinner cuts of meat and vegetables.

3. Parilla – A barbecue grate used over live coals.

4. Infusion Grilling – Wood is placed near the grill to release a gentle smoke.

5. Don’t touch – A principle that states to not move food once it’s in contact with heat, as this can break the crisp surface and dry out the food.

6. Use a spatula – Instead of poking the meat to check if it’s done, use a spatula to flip it. Poking the meat can cause the juices to run away and potentially catch fire.

7. Adjust the grill height –  Authentic Argentine grills have adjustable grills so that the height can be lowered to slow down the cooking temperature and time.

Grilling meats is an artform in Argentina, and it is taken very seriously. The Argentines value quality meat and believe that slow cooking meat is better. They also consider the asado to be a gathering of friends and family to enjoy each other’s company. So in keeping with the Argentine tradition, I offered this delicious spread. My asado.

Beef Tournedos Wrapped in Bacon and Sage

To make these tournedos even more authentic, I topped them with chimichurri sauce.

Argentina is known for its great quality beef. Beef dishes are very prominent in the Argentine culture.

steak rounds, also known as tournedos or filet mignon, about 1 inch thick and 5 oz each

thick bacon for each piece of meat

4-5 fresh sage leaves for each piece of meat

coarse salt & fresh ground black pepper

I cut off the excess fat, then used a round cookie cutter to shape my meat.

Once the meat is cut into rounds, pat them dry with a paper towel, then lay each piece on a piece of wide cut bacon with sage evenly spaced on the bacon. Roll them up and tie tightly with cooking string to keep everything in place.

After each tournedo is rolled, season them with coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper on each side. I prepped these in advance, then took them out of the refrigerator about an hour before we placed them on the grill to cook. We cooked them on the grill, but you can also sear and cook them in a cast iron skillet on top of the stove too.

The cooking time depends on the thickness of the steak. But for a delicious, juicy medium-rare, start with about 2 minutes per quarter side, then flip until all the sides of the bacon are cooked, with some charring. Once the bacon is cooked, turn it meat side down and cook the meat for 2-3 minutes, then flip and repeat. Obviously, if you like your steak cooked a bit more, cook it a little longer. But for me, a rare medium-rare, somewhere between a 2-3, closer to 2, is perfect for me. 🙂

I topped all the tournedos with chimichurri sauce, which is a sauce of fresh herbs, garlic, olive oil, and vinegar used to accompany barbecued meats or churrasco (grilled beef or chicken) that originated in Argentina and is also popular in Uruguay. My chimichurri sauce was authentically Argentine as well.

Chimichurri Sauce

This is a simple sauce with lots of fresh chopped parsley, garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes, balsamic vinegar, coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper and just a dash of lemon juice. You can also use red wine vinegar too if you prefer.

1/3 cup olive oil

2-3 TBSP balsamic vinegar

1 heaping TBSP garlic

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste

coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

a dash of lemon juice

Mix everything together and set aside. Then use it for your meats and anything else you want to top with it. Chimichurri sauce is the Argentine salsa, and goes with everything.

!Desfruta! Enjoy!

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.