Born to Grill With Al Frugoni

Everyone's got their go-to grilling style. What's yours?

My go to grilling style is and always has been open fire. I am Argentine. It is a country of gauchos, cattle, glaciers, The Patagonia, Malbec wine, Chimichurri, and the Andes Mountains. My grandfather showed my father his grilling techniques and I would help my father until I started grilling with my own hot embers. It is an Argentine Ritual. It is a slow process, a gathering of friends and family. All you need is a grill, some wood, meat, salt, and a friend to have a great time.

Could you tell us about your earliest food memory?

My earliest food memory was actually at la casa de la nona's (my grandmother's house). We would gather every 29th of the month for her noquis. It is an Argentine tradition to eat them on this day every month for good luck. She would make them with salsa fileto, mixto, or bolognesa. Oh my god!!!!

How did you get your start in the industry?

In February of 2020 my businesses closed leaving me a bit lost. Being an entrepeneur one would be prepared for many events but not a world closure. I have a distribution and logistics business and I had opened a trampoline park just one month prior to the Covid epidemic. I sat at home day in and day out until...my kids told me to go outside and start those fires up again! This time my tik-toking daughter made me film my asado (bbq). The fires have not stopped since.

What nurtures your spark for cooking?

The spark for cooking is just the pure enjoyment that I have of every aspect of the whole process. I talk to the producers of the meat that I cook. I hand pick each piece of lump charcoal, or dried wood that I place in the grill, then I ignite it. It is just something I love to do and can not really entirely explain the passion.

Let's say you're cooking to impress. What's your favorite BBQ dish?

I believe that cooking a whole animal, Pig, Lamb, Cabrito is my go to open fire cook to impress show! When I am working the grills and the fire people already get engaged and excited. Sometimes I work several grills and have different kinds of meats and vegetables cooking at different temperatures on the open fire. The whole animal cooked asado style brings me to show off my skills and what I love best, honestly.