A couple of months ago, I didn't know what pulpon de vacio was... I'd seen a couple of guys cooking vacio, a huge 7-8kg slab of beef, but I didn't know anything more than that, and couldn't see when I'd next need to cook anything that big!
Then our friends at iDevour added the smaller pulpon de vacio to their website, and I couldn't say no! I snapped one up and bought some steaks & a brisket point at the same time - got to get that free shipping!!!
This being an Argentinian cut, there was no other way to cook it than over live fire! I've used the Kadai a fair bit recently but my Somerset Grill has been the forgotten piece of kit since we moved house, so I decided it was finally time to clean it up and get it back to work.
This was a fun cook and a seriously tasty piece of meat! It would have been nice to cook it as a single muscle for this style of cook rather than splitting it up, as that's the whole point of these big cuts for me. Check out the video to see how I got on...
Video blog - pulpon de vacio cooked over live fire
Now to me, the cut itself is basically a big bit of bavette or skirt steak, which is why I cooked direct over the coals - but the guys at iDevour also smoke these low 'n' slow as a sort of brisket substitute, so that's got to be worth trying soon!
If you're going to try cooking one over live fire, these are my top tips:
- Cook over wood embers only, not a live flame, to ensure even heat distribution
- Use the hand test to judge the heat from your embers - how long you can hold your hand over the coals gives you an approximate cooking style. I wanted to roast this at quite a high temperature just above searing, but you could cook it much slower if you have the time:
- 2-3 seconds for searing
- 4-7 seconds for roasting
- 7-9 seconds for slow cooking
- When you start to see the meat bleed through on top, you're getting close to needing to turn - time to check with a temperature probe
- To cook it how I did, by effectively roasting, allow at least 2 hours plus resting time
- You can drop your cooking grate down for more heat and a more aggressive sear as you reach the end of the cook
- Pull off the BBQ around 5°C below your target finished temperature, as it rests it will continue to rise in temperature - see target temperature guide below
- Rest for much longer than I did!!! The reason meat juices spilled all over my board was because my rest wasn't long enough
Wood fired recipes
Live fire cooking wood
Found this useful?
We'd love it if you shared it with your fellow BBQ enthusiasts!
Related product
Asado Grill Fuel Kit
£75.95