What Is Asado? Argentina’s BBQ Tradition Meets Flamery’s Live-Fire Grills in the UK

Argentinian Asado – the legendary Argentina grill tradition – is much more than just cooking meat. It’s a cultural ritual, a social event, and a way of life in Argentina. Families and friends gather for an asado (the term for both the barbecue event and the grilling method) to slow-cook meats over wood fire, savouring the smoky flavour and togetherness that comes with it. This time-honoured Argentinian BBQ style celebrates live-fire cooking with an almost reverential focus on flames and embers, turning cooking into an event that can last hours.

Traditional Argentinian Asado: More Than a Meal

An asado in Argentina isn’t your average backyard barbecue – it’s an experience. There’s a ceremony to building the fire, a patience in letting hardwood logs burn down to glowing embers, and a skill in grilling different cuts of meat to tender perfection. The parrilla, or Argentine grill, sits at the heart of this experience. Unlike a typical fixed grill, a parrilla has height-adjustable grill grates controlled by a hand crank or winch. This allows the asador (grill master) to raise or lower the entire grilling surface, moving the meat closer or farther from the heat. Why? It’s all about precise heat control – searing quickly when lowered or cooking gently when raised. This way, an asador can cook thick steaks, sausages, or whole cuts slowly without burning, or finish with a high-heat sear, all by simply adjusting the grate height. It’s a level of control that lets you cook with finesse over an open fire.

Just as important as the adjustable grill is the unique design of the grill grates themselves. Most Argentine parrillas feature V-shaped metal grill grates (also called V-groove grills). These angled grates channel the fat and juices away from the direct flames into a drip pan, rather than letting them fall straight into the fire. This serves two purposes: it minimizes flare-ups (no one wants bitter char or soot from burnt fat) and it captures those flavourful drippings for later use. Traditional setups often place a drip tray or pan beneath the slanted grates to collect the juices, which can be used to baste the meat during cooking or to prepare a sauce. The result is meat that is juicy and infused with wood-smoke flavour, without the blackened flare-up burns – a hallmark of authentic Argentinian BBQ.

Perhaps the most defining feature of an asado grill (beyond the adjustable, V-grooved grates) is the firebox, known in Spanish as the brasero. This is essentially a side box or separate area adjacent to the main grill where wood is continuously burned down into embers. Rather than grilling directly over a roaring wood fire (which can be hard to control), Argentine grill-masters burn logs in the firebox and then rake hot embers under the main grill as needed. This ingenious method provides a continuous source of steady heat. As embers cool off, you simply add new embers from the firebox to maintain a consistent temperature. It’s the secret to those all-day asados – you can keep cooking as long as you have wood to burn. This is the traditional Argentine approach to live-fire grilling: managing a separate fire so you can cook slowly and deliberately. It turns grilling into a hands-on art form – the asador carefully tends the fire, adding embers, adjusting the grill height, and thus has complete command over the heat and flavour. The trade-off is that it requires more attention and time (true asado is unhurried), but the benefit is unparalleled control. For those who love the ritual of real fire, a firebox isn’t just equipment – it’s integral to the experience.

In summary, the traditional Argentine asado grill typically includes:

• Height-adjustable grill grate – a crank system to raise/lower the grill for temperature control, allowing anything from intense searing to low-and-slow cooking.
• V-groove grill grates – V-shaped stainless steel slats that drain fat into a tray, reducing flare-ups and smoking the meat with consistent heat. This design ensures meats are cooked evenly and basted in their own juices, not scorched by flames.
• Drip tray for juices – a drip pan under the V-grates catches the flavourful drippings. This makes cleanup easier and lets the cook reuse those juices for basting, keeping meat moist and flavourful.
• Firebox (Brasero) – a dedicated side fire pit or box for burning wood into embers. It provides an endless supply of hot embers to slide under the main grill, so you can cook for long hours without losing heat. This setup is all about live-fire cooking control: you manage a live wood fire on the side and feed the grill with glowing coals as needed, just like gauchos have done for generations in Argentina.

With these elements, an asado becomes a masterclass in fire management and flavour. It’s a dance of heat and smoke, where the grill itself is a tool of precision despite being powered by open flames. For anyone who has tasted a true Argentinian asado, it’s easy to see why this style of grilling has a near-mythic reputation among BBQ enthusiasts worldwide.

Flamery’s Journey: Bringing Asado Tradition to the UK

How did a Yorkshire-based company end up making Argentinian-style BBQ grills? The story of Flamery is one of passion meeting opportunity. Flamery’s roots are in a family-run British metalworking business, Rack Systems Engineering Ltd, that had nothing to do with food – for decades, they built office furniture components and steel parts. But Rack Systems founder Richard Field had a personal love for wood-fired cooking, and over the years the business had turned its hand to tinkering with homemade BBQs, firepits and rotisseries. In 2023, Richard decided he needed a new BBQ and tasked one of his designers Jonathan Clark with the challenge of designing “the perfect asado-style Argentinian grill for his own back garden” – essentially, he wanted an authentic parrilla at home. What started as a side project “soon became something much bigger”. The prototype grill that was built ignited an idea: why not turn this passion into a new venture? If they craved a proper Argentine grill in the UK, surely other British BBQ lovers might too.

Over months of research, design, and many test cooks, Jonathan, Richard and the design team refined their product. They combined their engineering know-how with inspiration drawn straight from Argentina’s grilling heritage. After numerous prototypes and tweaks, they arrived at a design they were proud of – “a grill that merged traditional asado cooking with modern British craftsmanship”. In other words, Flamery created a grill that captures the soul of Argentinian asado but is built with the quality, durability, and innovation of a Yorkshire workshop. This marriage of influences is at the core of Flamery’s mission.

Flamery officially launched as a brand dedicated to live-fire cooking in 2024, with a line of Asado grills that bring the features of the Argentine parrilla to UK homes. Each grill is proudly fabricated in North Yorkshire, but you’ll recognize the Argentinian DNA in every detail. Height-adjustable grates? Check – a robust winch mechanism allows you to raise or lower the stainless steel V-groove grill surface, giving you total command over cooking temperature. V-groove grill slats? Absolutely – Flamery uses precision-engineered V-shaped grills that channel fats and juices away from the fire, preventing flare-ups and infusing rich smoky flavour into the food. The juices drip into a stainless-steel drip tray below, which lift out for easy cleaning (and you can even use those drippings to baste your meats as they cook). And of course, there’s the hallmark of true asado cooking: the firebox. Flamery’s grills can be equipped with an integrated firebox to the side or the middle of the grill area, where you build a wood fire that continuously generates embers. Just like the traditional brasero, this Flamery firebox produces a steady supply of embers for hours, letting you cook over live coals without interruption. You simply shovel or rake the embers under the main grill when and where you need them. It’s hard to overstate what a game-changer this is for long cooks – you can maintain consistent heat for as long as your feast lasts without ever having to pause to light more charcoal.

Crucially, Flamery didn’t just replicate the old Argentinian designs; they looked at how they could improve and adapt them for modern needs. For instance, every Flamery Asado grill comes lined with refractory fire bricks and high-temperature coatings to withstand the British weather and high heat over years of use. They added thoughtful touches like an insulated lid (something you won’t find on a traditional open parrilla) which allows the grill to double as a wood-fired oven or smoker when closed – great for baking pizza or slow-cooking meats. There’s even a drop-down front airflow door that lets you fine-tune the fire’s intensity and turns your grill into a versatile smoker when shut. In essence, Flamery took the classic Argentinian BBQ and supercharged it with design innovations and quality materials. The result is a grill that honours the asado tradition but is also multifunctional and built to last.

Live-Fire Cooking, Asado-Style – Now in the UK

Flamery’s journey from Yorkshire to Argentina and back has yielded something special: UK grill enthusiasts can now experience authentic asado cooking in the UK without boarding a plane. With a Flamery grill, you’re not just buying a barbecue; you’re embracing an entire style of cooking and gathering. Inspired by Argentinian asado traditions, engineered with British precision, Flamery grills bring the theatre of live-fire cooking to your own garden. Imagine hosting friends for an afternoon feast: you crank the grill up and down as needed, shovel fresh wood embers from the side firebox to keep the heat just right, and fill the air with the aroma of sizzling steaks and crackling wood. It’s an immersive, hands-on way of cooking that turns a meal into an experience.

From the adjustable grills to the continuous ember firebox, each feature of Flamery’s Asado grills is there to give you mastery over flame and smoke. They are available as both freestanding asado grills (with sturdy stands or mobile trolley bases) and built-in asado grills for those designing an outdoor kitchen. That means whether you want a centrepiece for your patio or a seamless built-in BBQ, Flamery has an option that fits. All models share the same core DNA of live-fire cooking: heavy-duty construction, real wood or charcoal fuel, and total control for the grill chef to create mouthwatering results.

If you’re new to Argentinian BBQ, don’t worry – part of Flamery’s ethos is education and community. (After all, asado is about bringing people together.) The team loves to share guidance on getting started with wood fires, managing a firebox, and even recipes suited for the asado style. They’ve seen firsthand how this grilling tradition can captivate people. What might start as curiosity about an “Argentina grill” quickly turns into a deep appreciation for the craft of live-fire cooking. Flamery exists to stoke that fire – literally and figuratively. As one of their guiding statements puts it: Flamery is “dedicated to the art of fire cooking... built for those who appreciate the ritual of cooking over fire”.

Embrace the Asado Spirit                                           

In the end, Flamery’s take on the asado isn’t just about adopting certain grill features – it’s about embracing the spirit of Argentinian asado and making it accessible here in the UK. It’s about slowing down and enjoying the process: the crackle of the wood, the glow of embers, the sizzle of meat hitting the hot grates, and the way time seems to pause when everyone’s gathered around the fire, chatting and cooking. This is the soul of live-fire cooking that Argentine grill masters know so well. Now, thanks to thoughtful design and a passion for authenticity, that experience is available to you in the UK.

Whether you’re an avid BBQ chef looking to up your game, or someone who appreciates the fusion of cultural tradition with quality engineering, Flamery’s Asado grills invite you to join the journey. You’ll be grilling the Argentinian way – with real flames, real skill, and real enjoyment. In the words of our founder, what began as a spark has grown into a flame. Welcome to Flamery’s world of live-fire asado cooking, where Argentina’s barbecue heritage meets British craftsmanship, and where every cookout can become an occasion to remember.

Internal Links: Learn more about the key features of Flamery’s Asado grills or explore which Asado grill configuration is right for you based on your cooking style. Feel free to contact us with any questions – we’re here to help you get the most out of your live-fire cooking experience.