Vaca Asada
📍 Oruro, Bolivia 🇧🇴
Taste Bolivia: https://t.co/7ocIEOUQl8
This style of roasting huge cuts of beef to feed an entire crowd comes from the tropical lowlands of Bolivia, where cattle ranches stretch for miles. But up here in the chilly, high-altitude streets of Oruro, they have taken that lowland ranch culture and adapted it for the city, locking the meat inside a custom iron smoker called La Coyote.
You will notice whole pineapples stabbed directly into the carcass. That is not for decoration. It is a brutal, practical technique. As the heat rises, the acidic juice from the fruit breaks down the tough muscle fibers. The sugar caramelizes and drips slowly over the fat, cutting right through the heavy salt and woodsmoke.
It spins over the coals for hours. The fat renders, and the outside builds a thick, blackened crust while the inside gets soft and yielding.
Video: Ramiro Moreira