Asado banderita or bife de chorizo? Ribs or entrails? In the versus of meat with and without bone, grillers and seasoned carnivores tend to lean towards the former. For some years, these are good times for them: in the menus of some grills but also in some boutique butchers there are more options of meat with bone, from loin to different types of steaks to enjoy its unsurpassed flavor.
It is that in the era of the image and social networks, cuts of meat with bone are imposed as the most "photogenic". A decade ago when Germán Sitz and Pedro Peña started with their Palermo restaurant La Carnicería they bet on the impact of a giant steak with bone to face the reign of the archi classic Argentine chorizo steak.
"The brutality of the cut was high impact, it's an impressive dish. It has another volume, it is more visual, it is more attractive to the eyes, "says Germán Sitz who, like all the grillers consulted, takes for granted the tasting superiority of cuts with bone over those that do not.
Why grilled bone-in meat is tastier
Expert grillers agree: meat against bone is always the richest.
Santiago Guri Garat, chef and also one of the partners of Corte Carnicería and the Corte Comedor restaurant is categorical: "I am from the countryside and there everyone knows that meat against bone is tastier. For something inside, no one eats anything other than a chop (which is a narrow steak or a wide or roasted steak). For me everything that is against bone the Argentine will always like."
Germán Sitz compares the bone to the peel of the fruit: "That's where everything is. It is a component that provides a lot of flavor. The ratio of connective tissue and fat in there makes that meat much richer." For Garat also the texture and conformation of the meat stuck to the bone makes it more "umami" (appetizing).
Science supports these opinions and argues that the tissues that join the meat to the bone decompose and become a kind of gelatin by the action of fire which results in a softer protein that absorbs more liquid and results in a more tender and juicy meat.
The smoked steak with bone from La Carnicería.
In the book El parrillero científico by Diego Golombek the example of the traditional country cut, the ribs, is developed.
"The cooking begins on the side of the bone: in this way the heat diffuses more slowly towards the meat, which allows not only the collagen to be transformed into gelatin, but the layer of fat that covers the bone and the flavors of the bone marrow inside it diffuse to the meat and make it more tasty," is explained in the chapter Meat on Meat.
Sitz also emphasizes the insulating function of the bone that gives a lot of protection in cooking to the pulp of the meat and allows it to roast it for a long time and take it out juicy – which is ideal for regulating the timing that must be had in a restaurant.
However, he does not recommend these cuts for novice grillers -especially if they are going to roast whole pieces-: "For a professional who has a waist in the subject it is always better to cook with bone than without bone but for those who do not have experience throwing a boneless bifecito on the grill is easier, something fast that does not fail. "
Because it is so colorful, the Tomahawk is one of the most promoted bone cuts. Photo: Fernando de la Orden
What cuts of meat on the bone can be eaten on the grill
Of course, for the classics there is nothing better than our traditional strip roast or – when the environment allows it – a succulent ribs cooked long hours at the stake. But contemporary steakhouses, those where traceability, animal feeding or even maturation techniques that optimize the tenderness of the product are common practices, offer more options.
Among the most viewed images of the "new" steaks with bone is the Tomahawk: of American descent and with an axe name, more than five years ago it broke into some Buenos Aires letters. It is the eye of steak but with the whole bone of the rib and today it is obtained in butchers like Piaf (Dorrego 1605, Chacarita) for $ 4,800 per kilo.
The loin rib of Poor Luis.
But there is more: in the traditional grill El pobre Luis (Arribeños 2393, Belgrano), the loin with bone is the flagship cut: "It works very well because it has another taste totally different from the loin that was always consumed, it has a hundred times more flavor. We take it out in chops of 350 grams and it is eaten juicy, "says Liber Acuña, owner of that place.
One of the latest additions to the menu is a chorizo steak with bone with an added value that enhances its tenderness, it is matured for two weeks: "They have a more smoky flavor and it is more buttery," describes Acuña and says that after the pandemic they launched a market on the grill where these and other cuts are sold to roast at home.
Steak matured with Butcher Cut bone.
In Corte Comedor they "rescued" a cut that they serve in many other restaurants but that was not grilled before, the bistecca: "It is a steak eye with bone, a steak that in Italy is beef and here is larger animals. We offer it matured," says Garat. In Corte Carnicería (Av. Olazábal 1391, Belgrano) it is worth $ 4,436 per kilo and in Corte Comedor, $ 12,500.
They also offer a steak that is between wide and narrow: "We ripen it dry between 70 and 90 days. By this process all the meat that remains against the bone has a much deeper flavor because it is where the yeasts, the fungi adhere, "says Garat. In Corte Carnicería it is worth $ 5,325 per kilo and in Corte Comedor, $ 14,500.
A very unique experience is to order at La Carnicería (Thames 2317, Palermo) the eye tip of steak with bone (worth $ 13,000, is for 3 or 4 people and comes out with three side dishes). Why is it so special?
The chorizo steak with bone, one of the new cuts of El pobre Luis.
The whole two-kilo piece is hung on the grill with fire underneath. When it is ready it is displayed on the table, then returns to the board, the bone is peeled off and the meat is cut. The bone is hung back on the grill where it is browned and when the diners are finishing the meat the bone is taken to peel it. An irresistible ritual for carnivores.
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