Argentine Beef Cuts in English and What to Ask For in Spain

Argentine names side by side

Most Argentine cuts have a Spanish counterpart, often under another name. The rest of the animal is on our beef cuts in Spanish page.

The seven names people ask about

Bife de chorizo

A steak, not a sausage, cut from the loin behind the ribs: leaner and firmer than ribeye, with a strip of fat along one edge. In Spain ask for “un entrecot de lomo bajo, de tres centímetros” (a sirloin steak three centimetres thick), because a plain entrecot can come from either end of the loin. Grill it hot and take it off at 54–57 °C (129–135 °F) for medium-rare. Both ends of the loin are compared in our guide, lomo alto vs lomo bajo.

Ojo de bife

Ribeye, from the rib end of the same loin, with more marbling and a seam of fat through the middle. The boneless piece is sold as cube roll (US: ribeye roll); for a single steak, ask for “entrecot de lomo alto”. Cut thick on the bone, it becomes a chuletón. The marbling makes it more forgiving over the fire than bife de chorizo.

Vacío

Flank, also sold in Britain as bavette. To a Spanish butcher it is part of the falda, the belly; vacío is its barbecue name, so if the butcher hesitates, say “vacío entero, para la parrilla” (a whole vacío, for the grill). Argentines grill it whole and slowly over medium embers, fat side down first, turn it once and carve it across the grain.

Entraña

Skirt, the diaphragm muscle: thin, coarse-grained and full of flavour. Spain uses the same word, but not every butcher stocks it, so order it a few days ahead. It wants a hot fire and under ten minutes in all: take it off at 52 °C (126 °F), then slice it across the grain. The full method is in our guide on how to grill skirt steak.

Asado de tira

Short ribs (Jacob’s ladder) sawn across the bones into long strips. Spanish shops sell it as tira de asado, and thin strips of about 1 cm as churrasco. Say “de ternera” or “de vaca” (beef), because supermarket churrasco in Spain is often pork. Cook it over a medium fire, bone side down first. More on our short ribs page.

Peceto

The salmon cut, the small cylindrical muscle of the silverside (US: bottom round), sold in Spain as redondo. It is uniform, with no sinew and hardly any fat: brown it all over, roast it in a moderate oven to 54–57 °C (129–135 °F) at the core, rest it and slice it thinly. Other oven cuts are on our roast beef joints page.

Cuadril, with its cap and tail

Rump to a British butcher, top sirloin to an American, cadera in Spain: lean, with more bite than the loin, good as thick steaks or roasted whole. The tapa de cuadril is the rump cap, in Spain picaña or tapilla; ask for it “con su grasa” (with its fat cap). The colita de cuadril, the tail, is the American tri-tip and the Spanish rabillo de cadera.

The word that trips people up: lomo

In Argentina lomo is the fillet. In Spain lomo is the loin (lomo alto and lomo bajo) and the fillet is solomillo. Churrasco changes too: a boneless steak in Argentina, a strip of rib with its bone in Spain.