While I was still in Argentina, my friend , Charley, sent me some photos of my yard. I decided on this spot for the parrilla.
I dug a footer 22 inches deep to be below the frost line and so the poplar tree roots would not get under the base.
It took two yards of concrete to make the footer. My friend Mark joined the effort at this point.
Once the footer dried, we started laying block.
I could only do two courses at a time. It is autumn here now, and the sun goes down pretty early.
We then made a frame to pur a slab.
Mark tied the rebar to the wire mesh before we mixed the concrete. It took 16, 60 pund bags of concrete to complete the slab.
We made sure it was level.
Once the slab dried and we removed the frame, we started laying block again. My friend Richard joined the effort.
Last weekend, we had friends from Cordoba visit. I needed to get the parrilla functional so we could have an asado last Sunday. It is not finished but it is functional.
I'll have to disassemble the fire brick and finish the chimney. We will start on that next week.
But for now, we all had a good time, and I cooked my first asado.
6 comments:
Kenny, you sure picked up a lot down here.
It looks like it will fit in VERY well in YanquiLandia... but it has all those little touches that don't come from anywhere else but The Argentine!
Any porteño would know exactly what to do with it... and would be proud to own it.
Now, your Buenos Aires types would want a way to raise/lower the meat over the fire ('scuse me, never fire, always coals, like YOUR rig)... but your gaucho-types never have that luxury. So I gotta say yours has more braggin' rights.
Believe it or not, there are actually some places in the US where you can buy grass-fed beef that seems to be pretty dammed comparable to the stuff you and Helen fell in love with down here. If you don't already know the addresses, drop me a line.
besos y abrazos,
Mike y Lili
By the way, I'll probably be looking for some construction advise from you when I finally build my horno de barro!
Mike
Nice work Ken! To think I have had a parrilla up on my roof for over a year and have not yet used it...man, I am such a slacker!
We will hoist a pint to Ken and his parrilla tonight at our fortnightly Quaffers meeting.
Best to Helen.
Best,
Tom
mmmm...parrilla! I´m so impressed with all your work, can´t wait to see what it will look like when it is completely finished.
What about a "choripan"? Did you have one?
Great parrilla!
That was very nicely well done, congratulations. I am sure the asados there cooked are amazing, the spot is very inviting as well.
Thanks for exporting the design and good luck.
Luciano
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