Bad news: Long gone are the days of flavor-packed grass fed Argentine beef being worth price of the airline ticket. Today's "pride of the pampas" beef is indistinguishable from feedlot beef from the US or anywhere else.
Good news: It's Cheap! Argentine sirloin steak will set you back about $3.60/lb versus $8.37 in the US, according to a March report from the USDA.
So ...what to do with a nice, vaguely flavorful, cheap cut of beef? Ask the Unitedstatesians! Since the advent of feedlot beef in the 1950s, US supermarket shelves have exploded with powders and potions to give beef flavor. Although you can't yet find anything like that made here, I think that Argentina is ready to embrace the concept. I make my own yanqui-style spice blend and carry a secret vial of it on my key chain.
Ready to take it a step further? Why not try a much maligned regional US favorite, the chicken fried steak.
A favorite of both truck stops and trailer parks, the low regard in which this dish is held is probably due to the cheap, mechanically and chemically tenderized beef used. Before raising your foodie hackles, however, consider its Viennese and Milanese origins as a veal dish.
So shake-off some flour or bread crumbs from your steak along with your preconceptions and dredge-up a favorite schnitzel or milanesa recipe. (Tip: lots of black pepper and garlic.)
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