By Max Gaynor ´11
This question was probably asked more than once on a beautiful Argentine Saturday afternoon. This paticular Saturday morning was when we had our trip to "el campo" (the countryside).
Still having to wake up early, even on the weekends, we left for the countryside around 8 A.M. on June 6th, 2009. Caravaning across the country, all in separate cars, I was reminded vaguely of the farmland to the West of Phoenix. Although this land was a bit greener, it bore a resemblance to the endless fields and sparce livestock.
Argentina is known for it´s leather, it´s largest export, and it´s beef. Since this was the case I was not too surprised when we arrived at a "yerra" (the event of castration and branding). As I approached the home made fence of wood and wire, I saw around ten "vaqueros" (the Argentine of cowboys) all swinging lassos above their heads.
Cattle were let into the pen of vaqueros from an adjacent holding pen a few at a time. Vaqueros, lassos at the ready, tried to snag the "vacas" (cows) by anything they could get their lasso on. Grabbing legs by the one and twos and sometimes even a neck, cows went sprawling, sliding, and occasionally flipping. Once the cows had been roped, they were wrestled to the ground by multiple men. The cows were held down, once on the ground, and had to be kept in place by at least four men.
After administering vaccinations to the subdued cow, it was time for a brand. The searing hot metal brand was applied to the left flank and after much mooing and the creation of smoke smelling like burnt cow backside, the cow was released into the general population.
A cow being branded
These cows are kept in a much more natural fashion than those in the U.S., these cattle are grass fed and kept in large fields. A sharp contrast to the small feed lots in the U.S. beefing cows up (pun not intended) as quickly as possible using corn. The U.S. method is much more industrious, the Argentine method is much more healthy and natural.
Another very...natural thing we experienced was the barbacue after the work was done. This was "asado con cuero" (barbacue with leather). In far from a wasteful manner, the chefs utilized a lot of the cow. The meat was in large chunks, each was literally the side of a cow, hair, skin, and everything. On top of that there was home made chorizo sausage cooking, and last but not least "criadillas" (bull testacles)!
After sitting and having a delicious, though slightly hairy, meal; I was sure that U.S. citizens could benefit from the fresh and naturally made Argentine diet.
This question was probably asked more than once on a beautiful Argentine Saturday afternoon. This paticular Saturday morning was when we had our trip to "el campo" (the countryside).
Still having to wake up early, even on the weekends, we left for the countryside around 8 A.M. on June 6th, 2009. Caravaning across the country, all in separate cars, I was reminded vaguely of the farmland to the West of Phoenix. Although this land was a bit greener, it bore a resemblance to the endless fields and sparce livestock.
Argentina is known for it´s leather, it´s largest export, and it´s beef. Since this was the case I was not too surprised when we arrived at a "yerra" (the event of castration and branding). As I approached the home made fence of wood and wire, I saw around ten "vaqueros" (the Argentine of cowboys) all swinging lassos above their heads.
Cattle were let into the pen of vaqueros from an adjacent holding pen a few at a time. Vaqueros, lassos at the ready, tried to snag the "vacas" (cows) by anything they could get their lasso on. Grabbing legs by the one and twos and sometimes even a neck, cows went sprawling, sliding, and occasionally flipping. Once the cows had been roped, they were wrestled to the ground by multiple men. The cows were held down, once on the ground, and had to be kept in place by at least four men.
After administering vaccinations to the subdued cow, it was time for a brand. The searing hot metal brand was applied to the left flank and after much mooing and the creation of smoke smelling like burnt cow backside, the cow was released into the general population.
A cow being branded
These cows are kept in a much more natural fashion than those in the U.S., these cattle are grass fed and kept in large fields. A sharp contrast to the small feed lots in the U.S. beefing cows up (pun not intended) as quickly as possible using corn. The U.S. method is much more industrious, the Argentine method is much more healthy and natural.
Another very...natural thing we experienced was the barbacue after the work was done. This was "asado con cuero" (barbacue with leather). In far from a wasteful manner, the chefs utilized a lot of the cow. The meat was in large chunks, each was literally the side of a cow, hair, skin, and everything. On top of that there was home made chorizo sausage cooking, and last but not least "criadillas" (bull testacles)!
After sitting and having a delicious, though slightly hairy, meal; I was sure that U.S. citizens could benefit from the fresh and naturally made Argentine diet.
Bryce enjoying a nice hairy piece of meat!
By Max Gaynor ´11
By Max Gaynor ´11
