Entraña, the cut I cook for myself.
Skirt steak is the thinnest, most beef-forward strip on the parrilla, and the one I grill first and eat standing in the smoke before the table ever sits down. Hot and fast, medium-rare, sliced thin against the grain. No marinade, no theater.
Entraña punishes nothing except patience. It cooks so fast that the only way to ruin it is to walk away or to cut it the lazy way. Everything below protects those two.
This is skirt steak, the thin muscle off the inside of the ribcage, and it is the most honest beef on the animal. Argentine on my mother's side, I learned it as the strip the asador keeps back for himself: it hits the coals before the big cuts, comes off in minutes, and gets eaten over the fire while everything else is still climbing. If you are building the whole spread, it sits inside the Argentine cuts and earns its place at a proper asado. Finish it the only way it asks for, with a spoon of chimichurri.
Five steps, in the order that matters
Trim and salt
If the entraña still has its tough silver membrane, peel it off, it never softens. Coarse salt on both sides. No marinade; this cut is all beef flavor already.
Build a hot bed
A three-count of heat over the grate, with the grate set low. Entraña is thin and wants fast, high heat. A slow fire steams it gray instead of searing it.
Sear fast, both sides
Two to three minutes a side, no more. Entraña goes from perfect to tough in the time it takes to pour a glass of wine, so stay at the grill and watch it.
Medium-rare, never past
Pull it at about 130 degrees. This is a cut you do not cook through; past medium-rare the thin muscle tightens into rope.
Rest briefly, slice against the grain
A short rest, then slice thin across the grain. The whole pleasure of entraña, that tender beefy chew, turns into a chore if you cut it with the grain. This is the strip I cook first and eat standing in the smoke.
What you need
The fire
- Peel the tough membrane. Salt both sides.
- Hot bed, a three-count of heat.
- Sear fast, 2-3 min a side. No more.
- Pull at 130F. Never past medium-rare.
- Short rest. Slice thin against the grain.
Entraña turns from perfect to rope in the time it takes to pour a glass of wine. Stay at the fire, pull it at medium-rare, and slice against the grain. This is the strip the cook keeps for himself.
From Kocinero · Experience you can't fake. Verdicts you can't buy. · kocinero.com/entrana
Best on the grill it was built for
Entraña lives or dies on heat, and heat means a grate you can drop right down onto the coals. Here is how to choose the parrilla that does it.
Argentine grills
The parrilla with a crank-height grate is built for exactly this: drop it low over the embers for a fast, hot sear, then raise it for the slow cuts.
Read the guideBest Argentine grills
Which parrillas actually deliver an adjustable grate that drops close to the coals for the quick, intense sear a thin cut like entraña demands.
Read the guideCommon questions
What is entraña in English?
Entraña is skirt steak, the thin, intensely flavorful muscle from the inside of the ribcage near the diaphragm. It is one of the most beef-forward cuts on the animal.
How do you cook entraña?
Fast and hot. Sear it over a hot ember bed, 2 to 3 minutes a side, to medium-rare (about 130 degrees), then slice thin against the grain. It is thin and overcooks quickly, so it goes on late and comes off fast.
Why is entraña called the asador's cut?
Because it cooks so fast that the asador grills one strip for himself before the main cuts are ready, and eats it standing at the fire. It is a small tradition: the cook feeds himself the truth first.
How do you keep entraña tender?
Two things. Do not overcook it, pull it at medium-rare. And always slice it thin against the grain. A perfectly cooked entraña sliced the wrong way still eats tough.
Cook it fast. Cut it across the grain.
Do those two things and the asador's cut eats like the best bite of the night. Grill it over the parrilla it was made for.