“It’s always a mystery when you cook a steak.” If anyone in the world is going to teach you how to grill the perfect steak, it should be Francis Mallmann. Watch and learn from the master of meat the core principles of live-fire cooking. And no steak would be complete without a traditional herbaceous chimichurri sauce.
Category: Latin American
Latin American
Steak of The Stonemason – Bife De Albañil
Francis teaches how to make this wonderful and quick meat dish with bacon, avocado, and crispy sweet potato chips.
The caviar of the grill. Sweetbreads are grilled low and slow until the texture becomes crunchy on the outside and tender within. To serve: Douse in lemon juice and sprinkle with salt.
This cut is most similar to short ribs. Ask your butcher to cut it flanken style in one long, thin strip cut crosswise against the bone. Ribs are cooked slowly on low flame until they achieve a crispy outer layer and slight chewiness, but still tender insides.
Flank steak is an essential cut on any Argentine grill.
Grill a rack of ribs the Argentine way: crucified on an iron cross and slowly cooked over open flames.
Not only is this family-friendly snack easy to make, but it’s also the perfect meal for the kids to get involved too. Learn the “repulgue”, how to properly seal and fold the empanada like a pro.
No Sunday Asado in Argentina would be complete without salsa criolla, the national sauce, alongside chimichurri, that is served at traditional Argentine barbecues across the country. Francis’s version calls for a fresh medley of chopped onions, colorful bell peppers, tomatoes, red onions, and spring onions drenched in acidic red wine vinegar.
It’s hard to find a dessert in Argentina that doesn’t contain dulce de leche. Francis’s sous chef, Ricki Motta, teaches how to make this classic favorite that will sweeten up your life.
Salt-Crusted Pears with Dulce De Leche
A simple dessert that only calls for 3 ingredients: Pears, salt, and dulce de leche. Francis cooks the pears in the infiernillo, also known as the little hell, an oven he made inspired by the Incan people who made stone versions high in the desert on the eastern slope of the Andes mountain range. “When you cook a pear like this, all of the humidity of the pear stays inside so it’s very, very delicious,” Francis explains adding that the slight amount of salt that remains on the outside pear skin will bring added interest and complexity.
An Argentine classic and Mallmann favorite, this dulce de leche stuffed pancake is the perfect dessert or weekend brunch staple. Use homemade dulce de leche, or the store bought variety – it’s up to you.
“It’s tempting. It’s full of desire. And they’re both very sweet.” – Francis Mallmann. In Argentina, panqueques are generally thin crepes and served as dessert with dollops of dulce de leche. Francis teaches how to make two different panqueque desserts on the plancha that make him “very happy”: Dulce de Leche Pancakes and Granny Smith Apple Pancakes. While Francis serves this for dessert, you can mix things up and surprise your family with a deliciously sweet panqueque breakfast.
Learn how to make one of Argentina’s favorite comfort foods, the milanesa. Francis teaches his vegetarian spin on the humble classic by using the mighty eggplant. Francis teaches how to prepare the eggplant: He chars the whole eggplant directly in the fire, dips it in egg batter, covers it with seasonings and homemade breadcrumbs, and finally, pan-fries it with clarified butter on a hot griddle. The result? A delicious dish that is also a bestseller at Francis’s restaurants.
Flattened Tenderloin – Lomo Aplastado
A beautiful steak dinner in under 20 minutes, you say? Francis loves to smash things, and here he teaches how to make this easy and unfussy steak, a dish that he began making over 25 years ago: Flattened tenderloin with capers, peppers, garlic, and black olives. You’ll learn how to respect the steaks’ placement on the grill and the importance of keeping it undisturbed with no “flipping and flopping.”
“Eggs, potatoes, cheese, ham, can’t get better than that!” – Francis Mallmann. Revuelto gramajo is a Buenos Aires classic, most commonly found across the country in neighborhood bodegones (Argentine cantinas). Francis puts his own spin on this scrambler-hash hybrid that resembles an omelette, but stays true to its original ingredients: eggs, ham, and fried shoestring potatoes. This dish, however, can be adapted to use ingredients on hand, including fresh peas and slices of chicken or prosciutto. Even though in Argentina revuelto gramajo is eaten for lunch or dinner, we bet this mind-blowing dish will be a total brunch game-changer to your cooking repertoire.
Learn how to make the traditional Argentinean herbaceous sauce that goes alongside any steak, or other grilled meats.
Broken Potatoes – Papas Rotas
For the dreamiest potatoes with creamy insides and very crispy outsides, follow Francis’s easy recipe.
A tribute to the Andes Mountains. This hearty Andean potato dish can be cooked on medium-low heat on a cast iron pan.
Smashed potatoes are the perfect crispy side dish. Serve alongside steak, fish, or chicken.
No empanada is complete without llajua sauce, a spicy empanada dipping sauce popular in Northern Argentina and Bolivia. It’s simple to make and incredibly flavorful, bringing an added punch to the empanadas.
A classic filling for empanadas in Argentina, stuff the dough with a sweet and savory cheese and onion mixture. After it cooks, it will be oozing with delicious cheese.
A great vegetarian side that will have everyone wanting more. Learn about the rescoldo method of cooking, burning vegetables in ashes.
Roasted Pineapple & Cabbage
Join Francis in his quincho, the outdoor kitchen, as he teaches two of his seven live-fire signature cooking techniques: hanging and slowly roasting pineapple and cabbage over hot embers. Don’t have a vertical grill? No problem. He’ll teach how to cook it in the oven, too.

No Sunday Asado in Argentina would be complete without salsa criolla, the national sauce, alongside chimichurri, that is served at traditional Argentine barbecues across the country.

Homemade Dulce de LecheIt’s hard to find a dessert in Argentina that doesn’t contain dulce de leche. Francis’s sous chef, Ricki Motta, teaches how to make this classic favorite that will sweeten up your life.
Sunday Asado

It’s Sunday on the island, and Francis and his team are preparing for a barbecue feast. In this short documentary, Francis takes you into his Patagonian world to discover the true meaning of the sacred ritual that defines Argentine culture: chorizos, steaks, ribs, sweetbreads, salads, free-flowing red wine, and great company.
Salt-Crusted Pears with Dulce De Leche

A simple dessert that only calls for 3 ingredients: Pears, salt, and dulce de leche. “When you cook a pear like this, all of the humidity of the pear stays inside so it’s very, very delicious,” Francis says.

No pots or pans are needed for this recipe. Join Francis on a hike in the wild outdoors, on the edge of a beautiful waterfall where he improvises a simple meal with only sticks and fish.
Panqueques – Dulce de Leche & Apple Pancakes

Francis teaches how to make two different panqueque desserts on the plancha that make him “very happy”: Dulce de Leche Pancakes and Granny Smith Apple Pancakes. These thin crepes are usually served for dessert, but also great for a sweet breakfast.

This dish is a bestseller at Francis’s restaurant for a reason. Learn how to prepare this vegetarian spin on the humble classic by using the mighty eggplant. Francis teaches how to char, coat, and pan fry the eggplant with clarified butter.
Flattened Tenderloin – Lomo Aplastado

Francis loves to smash things, and here he teaches how to make this easy and unfussy steak, a dish that he began making over 25 years ago.

Revuelto gramajo is a Buenos Aires classic, most commonly found across the country in neighborhood bodegones (Argentine cantinas). Francis puts his own spin on this scrambler-hash hybrid that resembles an omelette, but stays true to its original ingredients: eggs, ham, and fried shoestring potatoes.
Steak of The Stonemason – Bife De Albañil

Since construction workers don’t have much time on their lunch break, occasionally they’ll build a quick fire, slap a piece of chapa on top of the makeshift parrilla, and grill a thin piece of steak. Then, top it all off with bacon, avocado, and crispy sweet potato chips.
The Perfect Steak With Chimichurri

Learn from the key principles of live-fire cooking and make the perfect steak with a classic chimichurri sauce. Get the essential tips to master the art of live-fire cooking, and make the ultimate steak with a delicious herbaceous chimichurri sauce.
Potatoes, A Love Affair

A symbol of the Andes, potatoes are very special to Francis. Over the last 50 years, he has developed a unique tuber devotion. So, buy yourself a big bag of papas and learn from Francis nine different ways of how to cook the mighty potato.
Empanadas

Francis teaches how to make two empanada recipes: baked meat empanadas with onion, eggs, and olives; and fried cheese and onion empanadas. This family-friendly dish is easy to make for the kids or to serve at a party.
Francis’s Roasted Chicken with Rescoldo Vegetables

Learn from Francis in his open-air kitchen, the quincho, as he shares two of his seven signature cooking methods utilizing live-fire: hanging and slow-roasting ingredients over heat and the rescoldo, burning vegetables in ashes. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to watch and learn these ancient cooking techniques.