Argentine beef cuts
The Argentine beef cut catalogue native to the asado tradition. Bife ancho, vacío, cuadril, lomo, with English equivalents and the role each plays in the asado fire.
Argentine beef culture centers on the asado, the open-fire grill tradition that is as much a social institution as a meal. Argentine cut names focus heavily on the role each muscle plays at the asado fire: asado de tira (cross-cut short ribs), tira de asado (long-bone ribs), vacío (flank, kept whole as the asado centerpiece), entraña (skirt, fast-grilled). Native names persist even when the cuts are sold internationally.
Argentina does not have a national beef-grading equivalent to USDA. The MeatGrader Quality (MGQ) classification is the best fit for Argentine beef, which is largely pasture-finished. The cut catalogue below mirrors traditional Argentine butchery, with English equivalents noted.
Buyers in this market reference the MeatGrader Quality grade. MeatGrader scores Argentine beef on its own universal scale and shows that grade only as a courtesy translation.