The most misunderstood live fire cooking tradition in America, and the standard around which every Brasero grill is built.
An Argentine parrilla (pronounced pah-REE-yah) is the live fire grill at the center of Argentina's asado culture. Unlike American grills that cook over gas or direct charcoal flame, the parrilla is designed to cook over glowing wood embers produced in a separate brasero firebox.
The result is a completely different cooking experience, slower, more controlled, with virtually no flare-ups and a depth of flavor that direct flame cannot produce. The asado is not just a cooking method in Argentina. It is a ritual, a social event, and a way of life built around the fire.
The brasero is a separate firebox, typically built into or alongside the main grill, where hardwood burns down to coals. Those coals are then shoveled under the cooking grate, providing a steady, controlled heat source that can be managed precisely throughout a multi-hour cook.
This is the fundamental difference between an Argentine parrilla and every other grill. You are not cooking over flames. You are cooking over the heat that flames leave behind, and that heat is entirely within your control.
Every authentic Argentine parrilla features an adjustable height grate, raised and lowered by a crank wheel or chain system. This allows the cook to control heat by changing the distance between the food and the embers, rather than adding or removing fuel.
The Brasero Grills Forge Collection uses a cast iron chrome plated crank wheel, precision engineering that allows smooth, exact height adjustment under full load. Raise the grate for gentle, slow cooking. Drop it for a hard sear. The control is in your hands, not the fire's.
The iron cross (asador criollo) is the traditional Argentine method for cooking whole animals, lamb, pig, goat, over an open fire. The animal is butterflied and secured to the cross, which is planted in the ground or mounted beside the fire, and cooked slowly over several hours.
Every Brasero grill includes an iron cross holder. Our iron cross receives an FDA-approved ceramic powder coat finish, a food safety standard nobody else applies to this traditional piece of equipment. No flaking. No off-gassing. No compromise.
The Santa Maria grill originated in California's Central Coast and also uses a crank wheel system, but it cooks directly over live wood flames rather than embers. Santa Maria grilling is faster and more intense. Argentine parrilla is slower, more controlled, and more versatile.
Brasero Grills builds a hybrid that does both. The Santa Maria crank wheel system gives you precision height control. The Argentine brasero firebox gives you ember management for slow cooking. The fire brick lined firebox gives you the thermal mass for sustained heat. You get every technique in one build.
Read the full Santa Maria vs Argentine parrilla comparison.
Most Argentine parrillas available in the US market are imported from Argentina, cast iron construction, fixed grates, no crank wheel, no American safety standards applied to food contact surfaces.
Brasero Grills builds every unit from 1/4" heavy plate carbon steel in Long Island, New York. The steel specification alone separates us from every import and every factory Santa Maria on the market. Add FDA-approved ceramic grates, a cast iron chrome crank wheel, fire brick lined firebox, and golf cart wheels on the Ultimate, and you have something that doesn't exist anywhere else.
Commission Your Argentine ParrillaThe Forge Collection is the only American-fabricated Argentine parrilla built to professional kitchen standards. Limited availability. Direct commission only.
See The Full Collection