In the NSW Southern Highlands, every Sunday afternoon in spring, hot flames burn through logs of wood, as the scent of charred meat from a traditional Latin barbecue intensifies.
Watching your lunch be cooked by fire seems both primitive and instinctively natural. Given that most households across Australia barbecue with gas, the naked flame of this BBQ also feels unfamiliar.
The educational allure of this fire feast experience at in Bundanoon is simple: people who are used to cooking sausages on their outdoor gas barbie are given a chance to appreciate the culinary craft behind a style of barbecuing from South America: asado.
“The asado that we host here every Sunday here reminds me of what we used to do back in Argentina,” says Osborn House’s executive chef, who was born in Argentina. “Every Sunday since I was a child, we’d always hang out with all the family and eat asado."
Farrell, who moved to Australia around three years ago, says asado is a weekly staple for most families in his native country. “If you walk around any town in Argentina on a Sunday at lunchtime, you will be able to smell the meat cooking and the wood fire from all of the asados happening in every home.”
Segundo Farrell: “The asado that we host here every Sunday here reminds me of what we used to do back in Argentina.” Photo by Jude Cohen. Source: Supplied by Osborn House
When Farrell moved to Australia, he missed asados with his family. He also since longed to professionally cook outdoors on an open fire – a key feature of his former career, having spent five years working around the world with food legend and ‘cooking with fire’ expert
So he incorporated asado into his new gig at Osborn House, as a way of introducing his native country’s unique style of barbecuing to an audience of people who love their ‘barbies’.
“Both the Australian and Argentinian cultures have beautiful landscapes,” says Farrell, who also worked as a private chef for James Packer. “We really like being outdoors and enjoy barbecues. Our techniques of barbecuing are different, but the joy of being outdoors and eating with friends and family is the same.”
Osborn House’s executive chef, Segundo Farrell, cuts through a Wagyu tomahawk rib eye, slow-roasted over fire. Source: Yasmin Noone
The asado education begins
So what is asado exactly? Farrell explains that the term means a few things. “The first meaning refers to the cut of meat. If you buy asado from the butcher in Argentina, you buy ribs.”
Asado also refers to Argentina’s national dish and its method of preparation. The word translates to mean roasted or barbecue. Asados are not just common throughout Argentina but also in . They usually feature barbecued vegetables, beef, pork, chicken, morcilla (blood sausage) and chorizo, accompanied by red wine and salads.
Many homes have a charcoal parrilla grill in their backyard while other families opt for the more traditional method of cooking on an open wood fire.
The national tradition of asado dates back to in Argentina throughout the 1800s. The nomads who lived off the land ate a lot of wild cattle, which they cooked together on open flames. Over the years, asado has come to represent the spirit of an Argentinian outdoor gathering.
“In South America, an asado is not just a meal that’s cooked on a wood fire. It’s a gathering of family and friends around the fire. People chat, drink wine and play cards. It’s not quick like some barbecues are. We are there for maybe three or four hours.”
“Slow-cooked foods turn out to be super tender and smoky because you maintain a really constant cooking temperature.” Photo by Jude Cohen. Source: Supplied by Osborn House
A long BBQ lunch
The benefit of a long lunch is that the fire takes its time to slow-cook meats and vegetables. On the day of the asado in the highlands, cooking starts at 5am.
Farrell uses a few pieces of equipment for his asado. The first is an iron dome, which he specially created to replicate the dome his former boss, Mallman uses (with permission). At the top of the dome is where food – vegetables, joints of beef and whole chickens – hang to be slow-roasted by the flames below for seven hours.
“Slow-cooked foods turn out to be super tender and smoky because you maintain a constant cooking temperature,” Farrell says.
Also employed are the plancha (grill) and infiernillo - meaning 'little hell', this outdoor oven creates an intense heat between two shelved fire pits. The team transfers charcoals from the base of the dome to fuel the plancha and infiernillo that cook chorizo, octopus and a whole ocean trout in a salt crust.
Time and fire combine to create an eating experience that forces you to pause and mindfully release an exhale of appreciation. The meat from the tomahawk beef ribs is so soft it melts. The salt-infused trout is sweet and rich. The vegetables are intense – their Earthy flavours are pronounced upon first taste.
It’s no wonder that Argentinians barbecue this way every week.
A whole ocean trout cooked in salt crust cooked in the infiernillo forms part of Farrell's asado fire feast at Osborn House. Source: Yasmin Noone
Always be gentle and go slow
Of course, Farrell and his team are so skilled that they make the art of asado and cooking with fire look easy. The truth is it’s not. It’s a technique that requires regular practice and care - especially when you're working outdoors in a country known for bushfires. That's why the fire feast at Osborn House will pause temporarily during summer.
“Using fire is a very gentle way to barbecue,” he says. “You have to maintain a certain sensibility when you use wood fire. If you don’t take care of the fire, then things can get out of control. It takes a lot of time and a lot of practice to master the fire but the results are worth it.”
As for eating asado, time is also recommended – for sheer enjoyment purposes only.
“The world in which we live is so quick. But barbecuing in Argentina is not quick. We take things more slowly. We really enjoy the moment. When you have an asado, time is meant to stop for a while.
“An asado is not just about eating for us. It’s about sharing. I would like to see more people eating, sharing and spending time slowly around the fire.”
