Quote:
Originally Posted by loco
Do you guys agree that the steaks in Buenos Aires are better than the steaks in the USA? If you do agree is it
1) Its the cows (different geography and different feed)
2) Its the seasoning (I am pretty sure they season more down there, not sure if its salt and pepper or other stuff)
3) combination
If you don't agree that the steaks in Buenos Aires are better than the USA, what do you think is better about the USA steaks??
Thanks guys. I enjoy a good filet mignon/ribeye and want to know other people's thoughts on Argentinian vs USA steaks. I've probably had 300+ filets/ribeyes/new york steaks in fine USA restaurants. Versus only around 5 Argentinian steaks. However, at this time I am leaning towards Argentinian steaks being juicier and tastier than American steaks. I could easily be wrong though because of not enought experience with the Argentinian beef.
I'll chime in as I consider my self a connoisseur. First, American beef has a much higher ceiling as Argentina doesn't really have a 'super high end' market. The finest American Wagyu beef is considered by many to best it's Japanese counterpart. Argentina doesn't have a 'Prime' and 'Select' grading scale, so I guess you are going by the parrilla's (steakhouse) reputation more than anything.
Now if you want to talk value, Argentina absolutely crushes anywhere else in the world. Non premium cuts (meaning everything but filet mignon, ribeye and NY strip) are literally subsidized by the government, as apparently it is every Argentine's inalienable right to eat beef. I might be a bit off, but the best possible quality whole filet you can by at the store is around 30 pesos a kilo. So $3.60 US a pound. And this is really good stuff we're talking about.
So lets compare a $40US NY Strip and a $50AR ($13US) NY strip you would find at relatively similar steakhouses in the 2 countries. I find the US strip to be well marbleized with and very juicy. The US version will invariably be better cooked. While I find both to be very juicy, the ARG strip is usually leaner. So while, the US strip has a very fatty taste and has an almost unconscious quality, the ARG strip has more of a beefy taste. In this comparative price range, I don't know which one I would prefer, it's a little apples and oranges.
ARG stakes are prepared with only coarse salt. When they are cooked "a la lena" (cooked over hardwood) they are sometimes basted with chimichurri (garlic, peppers, spices, oil).
I am interested to hear what other people think.