American Chefs Looking for Argentinian Grills

Charles Eisendrath spent the 1970’s as the bureau chief for Time magazine in Buenos Aires, and he brought back a love for the Argentinian tradition of open-pit grilling.  He didn’t though, bring back a grill.  That’s how Grillworks was born in the early 80’s.  After a few years of working with local welders on over a dozen designs, the first grills were rolled out to much local fanfare.  Over the next few years, Eisendrath’s hobby company moved along nicely.  In 2006, his son, Ben, opted to take over the family business.

At the same time, American interest in Argentinian cuisine was growing.  Chef Francis Mallmann published his kitchen manifesto “Seven Fire: Grilling the Argentinian Way,” and his love for wood-fired food caught on in the States, from the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party to Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

It’s a labor of love, though.  Some of Mallmann’s signatures–such as whole cow–can take days to roast, but the result is worth it.  Adam Perry Lang, of NYC’s Daisy May’s BBQ, says “when you’re cooking on wood, the flavor is like nothing else.”

More chefs are chasing that flavor.  Now, Grillworks makes between 200 and 300 grills per year for restaurants and residences.  Most are custom built; Dan Barber had a second grill designed after ruining his first.  Tapas restaurant Tertulia has a gargantuan Grillworks built into the wall, and Reynard, in Brooklyn, has a wood-fired oven, grill, and rotisserie as its centerpiece.

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