In the land of everything meat, it is important to know how to order what you want! BBQing is serious business in the States, and Asados are serious business in Argentina. Don’t look like a fool when trying to order; brush up on these Spanish expressions and make sure you get exactly what you want when ordering out.

English                     Spanish           Pronunciation
I want…                    Yo quiero…      Show key-ero…
Barbecue                   Asado            Ah-sah-doh
Blood sausage            Morcilla          More-see-sha
Chicken                     Pollo              Poe-show
Chop                        Chuleta          Choo-let-ah
Skirt steak                 Entraña           En-trah-nya
Flank                         Vacio              Vah-see-oh
Intestine                    Chinchulín        Cheen-choo-leen
Kid (Goat)                  Chivito             Chee-vee-toh
Kidneys                      Riñones            Rin-yon-ays
Lamb                         Cordero           Cord-eroh
Liver                          Hígado             Ee-gah-doh
Pork                          Cerdo              Ser-doh
Rabbit                        Conejo             Cone-ay-hoe
Rack of ribs                 Tira de asado    Tee-rah day ah-sa-doh
Rib steak                    Bife de costilla   Bee-fay day kohs-tee-sha
Sausage sandwich       Choripan     Chore-ee-pahn
Sirloin steak                Bife de chorizo  Bee-fay day chor-ee-zoh
Suckling pig                 Lechón            Lay-chon
Sweetbread                 Molleja            Moe-shay-ha
Tenderloin/Filet Mignon  Bife de lomo / Lomo Bee-fay day low-moe
Tripe                          Mondongo        Mohn-dohn-go
Typical sauce/ marinade Chimichurri Chee-mee-choo-ree
Veal                           Ternera            Ter-neh-rah

How to Order Coffee and Meat in Buenos Aires | LandingPadBA.com.

You’ll also want to know what jugoso (median rare), a punto (medium) and bien cocinado (well done) mean.

Making sure you know what you are saying ensures you get what you want. And don’t want until you get there to decide what you want to order, if you do that you may end up with kidneys on your plate that you have to suffer through. Porteños are known to order for foreigners, and introduce them to some of Argentina’s “specialites.”