DALLAS — Drop thousands of Argentina fans into Texas for the World Cup and the debate is inevitable. It's not about who has the best team or whether Lionel Messi is the best player at the tournament. It's about who produces the best, most succulent steaks, and how to prepare the meat.
That's right: There's a beef about beef between two of the top cattle-raising areas of the world, where steak is deeply ingrained in diet and culture. Texas ranks No. 1 in the United States in beef production and the U.S. is second only to Brazil globally, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Argentina ranks sixth.
It's a high-steaks question: Who does do it best?
The case for Argentine beef
"Argentine beef is simply unbeatable. The savory texture, the style of the cut — there is no competing with it," said Carlos Eduardo Barahona, 64, an Argentine chef who's lived in Texas since 1998.
From the cheapest cuts to the most expensive, Argentina is tops, asserts Barahona, who has worked in restaurants across Argentina, Uruguay, and Texas.
"You can make an (Argentine) asado with the cheapest cut in our country and you will enjoy it. Here, you can use the best meat, like tenderloin, and depending on its source, it can turn out tough, inedible or tender. But our beef has a completely different flavor profile," Barahona said.
Argentine beef cattle is mostly grass-fed on open pastures, taking longer to reach the point it is ready for market. The result is leaner meat with intense earthy flavors.
The case for Texan beef
Predominantly grain-fed beef in Texas and the U.S. will have more marbling — the streaks of intramuscular fat that act as internal baster and make the meat juicy and tender — and a sweeter flavor.
"There's no better beef than U.S. beef, particularly Texas beef," said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.
But Argentine beef is very good too, Miller said. Thanks to Texas.
Miller said his agency opened a marketing office more than a decade ago to connect Texas' cattle raisers with ranchers in South America, notably in Argentina.
"I don't want to disparage our friends in Argentina, but we have helped them improve," he said.
"Their genetics were lacking. We do have them up to pretty high quality. We sold them a lot of semen, embryos, and breeding stock," Miller added.
Miller congratulated Argentine farmers on improving the quality of their cows.
"Their herds have American genetics in them, so they should be good," Miller said.
The verdict is in the eye of the beefholder
Argentine fan Gonzalo Herrera browsed packaged meat at a Walmart in Arlington, Texas, after watching Messi score two goals in a win over Austria. He shrugged at the whose-beef-is-better debate.
"Honestly, I don't see a massive difference," Herrera said as he packed four T-bone steaks into his shopping cart.
"The key is knowing exactly which cuts to buy and finding the equivalent of what we eat in Argentina," he said, shaking his head at the $45 price.
"Prices are higher here," Herrera said.
The beef banter just as easily boils down to recipes and preferences in style and thickness of cuts. It's a matter of taste, quite literally, when it comes to seasoning, searing, smoking, butter, pepper, sauces and so forth.
At Corrientes 348 Argentinian Steakhouse in Dallas, steaks are prepared with just salt and mesquite charcoal, said assistant manager Emmanuel Tobon.
"There's a big difference. Texans use a lot of pepper, they use butter, they use a little barbecue (sauce)," Tobon said. "(Argentines) like to bring all the flavor of the steak by only using salt."
Argentina still has at least one more match to play in Dallas, on Saturday. Fans of the Albiceleste have been packing the restaurant, seeking a quick taste of home during the World Cup.
"They have been enjoying the Texas culture," Tobon said. "(But) it has been a great pleasure to have all of them, to make them feel like home."
Argentines are fiercely proud of their steak culture, recipes that have been passed down for generations, and the "sacred" work of the grill master at large family meals, he said.
For Fernando Garcia Morillo, an Argentine from Buenos Aires who now lives near Miami, the meat from both countries is great. But he longs for the traditions of home whenever he orders steak in the U.S.
"I order just salt, no pepper, just plain," Morillo said. "Sometimes they use a lot of sauce."
He dismissed any notion of a beef between the U.S and Argentina.
"Maybe there's a rivalry as usual against Brazil, our neighbor," he said. "I love the U.S. meat."
