Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

[Tscarborough]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

Yep, I have a lot of S. American customers, and being the prying type I ask everyone what they are building when I see signs (just firebrick, no refractory cement or flue tiles) of oven or firepit building, and ask them about what they are doing and to sketch it out.

A lot of the S. American guys draw the oven as a beehive with the vent in the center top and I can usually talk them out of it by showing them ovens here (and having our Colombian secretary translate the reasons since my Spanish is basura).

The Mexican guys have the right idea, as a rule, but the insulation is not something they worry about. I educate them as well as I can too.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

Speaking of that, James, have you considered having your plans translated to Spanish? I direct a lot of people to your site, and many of those guys would benefit from Spanish instructions.

[james]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

That's a good idea -- except that I don't speak Spanish.:-)

In the spirit of Crowd-Sourcing, do we have any Spanish-speaking members who would be interested in taking on the translation. If someone could do the text translation, FB could do the production and distribution. I could provide you with the Word Doc with just the text.

What do you think?

James

[sacwoodpusher]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

I use google toolbar, which will translate a web page from say Spanish to English in a matter of seconds.

In some instances, the order of the words in a sentence seem a little out of place, but it's no worse than hearing a PA Dutch guy saying "Throw the horse over the fence some hay."

[lwood]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

Google Translate

[sacwoodpusher]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

Yep....I loaded the phrase "ich bin ein berliner" into the google translate application and it came back, automatically detecting German, and translated this as "I am a Berliner". Unfortunately for Kennedy, a "Berliner" is a doughnut popular in the city of Berlin......This type of mistranslation is common........don't say "como mucho" to a Spanish guy thinking you are asking how much.....you are actually saying I eat much.

We're probably off topic now....I really want to have a Latin American explain the Parrilla to me. (The meats used, temperatures, etc....)

[lwood]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

?Cu?nto cuesta

[sacwoodpusher]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

Es gratis.

Mi espa?ol es oxidado. Me tom? siete a?os en la escuela secundaria, pero eso fue hace mucho tiempo.

[gaucho1]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

Hi guys,

It's been a while since I last wrote an update. Work has been real slow because we've had lots of snow and I decided I'd relay the whole patio. Big time waster! But it's now nearer completion, the dome is finished and insulated, chimney bricked up, parrilla tiled (but no metalwork yet in) and as I said, a lovely new Indian Sandstone patio which was quite simply put, a nightmare to lay. Dome still needs a final coat of render and then painting, I have to lay the granite tiles for the worktop and install the sink, all the electrics have to go in and I need to finish the water feature. Oh and then I'll have to replant a lawn as all the work has decimated it (as you can see in the picture!). I however am quite happy - it's just annoying that the front of my chimney is already quite black, I should have made the vent entry cross the entire entrance. Don't think I can do much about that now though!

[gaucho1]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

Few more pictures with a big fire burning

[C5dad]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

Hey Gaucho,

That is a sweet setup. I like the flooring as well! Is that a concrete overlay or actual tile?

CW

[lwood]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

Thanks gaucho for posting the great pics....we all have been waiting to see the end result. Que guapo!!! Pero, now I am much more interested in how the parrilla works. Can you explain it in more detail or do you have any plans? Beautiful brick-work btw.

[gaucho1]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

Well it's quite simple really. A parrilla is essentially a wood grill. You burn wood in the wood cage on the left side, then as the glowing embers fall out the bottom you shovel them across to under the grill where you do your cooking. The grill surface is on a ratchet so you can raise and lower it, and that alongside the ability to control how much ember underneath the grill surface allows for a high degree of heat control - essential for cooking perfect steaks and well anything really (below photo is of quite a standard parrilla spread!). The beauty is being able to use different woods and impart their different characteristics on the food - like with a WFO. Oak is fantastic for beef - apple and fruitwoods on poultry is quite simply amazing etc etc. I've enclosed a pic of a finished parrilla so you get a clearer picture. Perhaps when it's all done I'll shoot a small vid of cooking with a parrilla for you all to see.

Oh and the patio is real indian sandstone - which is why it was such a bi*%h to lay - hand hewn means variable thickness - very hard to lay level. Pretty though!

[sacwoodpusher]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

Now I see. This is what we use in California for making tri-tip, it has the same type of layout as your parilla except that the grill deck is simply expanded metal. Your parilla has a tilted grill deck and is made of channels to guide the grease down to a drip tray.

Might I suggest that, for smoother operation you replace the chain with a stranded wire? I believe you will like the smoother operation it provides.

[gaucho1]

Re: Argentinean parrilla and 42" oven outdoor kitchen in Surrey/London

Stranded wire in place of chain, what a fantastic suggestion! When I get round to installing my grill I'll be sure to do that. At the moment we have about 6 inches of snow outside so I guess it won't be til January now that I get to do any more. Such a shame I hoped to have it done by Christmas. Oh well, I guess it's not til the summer that I'll really enjoy the outside anyway so I doesn't matter too much! Thanks again.