Santa Maria vs Argentine Grill: What's the Difference and Which One Is Right for Your Backyard
If you love wood-fire flavor and cook for family and friends, you have probably narrowed the search to these two. Santa Maria grills and Argentine grills look alike from across the yard: a heavy grate, a crank, a fire underneath. They cook differently, and the difference decides which one belongs in your backyard.
In short
A Santa Maria grill burns one open red-oak fire directly under a flat grate: hotter and faster, built for tri-tip and steaks. An Argentine grill burns wood in a side firebox called the brasero and rakes the embers under a V-channel or round-bar grate: lower, steadier, and made for cooking asado in courses.
Santa Maria vs Argentine Grill at a Glance
What each grill is, what it cooks best, and what to weigh before you buy. The sections below explain why.
Santa Maria grill
The difference: one open red-oak fire directly under a flat or round-rod grate; drippings hit the coals for flavorful smoke.
Cooks best: tri-tip, steaks, chicken, vegetables, hot and fast.
Benefits
- Hotter, faster sear on steaks and tri-tip
- The fire is the show; simplest wood-fire grill to learn
- Smaller footprint, lower starting price
Consider
- Drippings hit the coals, so flare-ups you manage with the crank
- One fire, one heat: you move the grate, not the coals
- Belongs in the open air
Full guide: What Is a Santa Maria Grill?
Argentine grill (parrilla)
The difference: wood burns down in the side brasero; the glowing coals are raked under a sloped V-grate that channels fat away from the fire.
Cooks best: thick ribs, sausages, whole cuts, and delicate cuts roasted gently, patient and controlled.
Benefits
- Fewer flare-ups with fatty cuts like ribs and sausages
- Steady low heat for long cooks and courses
- Clamp grill and hooks for whole cuts
Consider
- Slower start: two hours from lighting to eating
- Two fires to tend, the brasero and the ember bed
- Heavier, larger, and more expensive
Full guide: Argentine Grills Explained
Cooking on a Santa Maria vs Argentine Grill: Heat, Flavor and Results
Before you choose, see how each grill actually cooks. The fire is where they part ways, and it decides what comes off the grate and how you spend the afternoon.
Santa Maria
Heat
Open oak fire straight under the grate. Hot and fast. You adjust with the crank alone.
Flavor
Drippings hit the coals: more smoke, more char, the classic oak-fired crust.
Results
A hard sear and a deep crust. The tri-tip and steak grill.
Its roots
Central Coast cattle ranches, red oak, tri-tip for the crew after roundup.
Argentine
Heat
Embers from the brasero, never flame. Lower and steadier. You adjust with the crank and with how many embers you rake under the food.
Flavor
Embers only, so clean wood flavor with less smoke. Fat runs down the V-channel to the trough instead of onto the coals.
Results
A slow, even cook. The ribs, whole-cut and chicken grill; the Argentine grill provides the steadiest heat in live fire.
Its roots
The gaucho asado on the pampas, quebracho wood, whole cuts in courses.
Each grill looks the way it does because of the food it was built for. That is the whole story of the barbecue on both sides.
Which Grill Is Easier to Use? Lighting, Tending, Flare-Ups and Cleanup
Easier depends on the day. One is faster to start; the other is calmer once it is going. Here is what owners report in forum posts and comments, graded for a quick scan (A is easiest).
Santa Maria vs Argentine Grill: Ease of Use Report Card
Santa MariaArgentine
Time to cook-ready
A20 to 40 minutes. One fire, burned down to coals.
B+30 to 45 minutes. The brasero burns down first, then you rake.
Grilling management
BOne fire to manage: it runs hot early and gentle late, so you crank the grate as it changes and add a split of oak when the bed thins.
B-Two fires to manage: keep the brasero fed so coals are always ready, and rake a fresh shovelful under the food as the bed fades. Steady for hours once you find the rhythm.
Flare-ups
C+Yes. Drippings hit the coals; you manage them by cranking the grate up.
ARare. Embers only, and the V-channel carries fat away.
Wind and weather
CAn open fire wants a wind guard or a sheltered spot.
B+The brasero shelters its fire and the ember bed sits low. Both want a cover.
Learning curve
A-Faster to learn, harder to master. There is one fire and one wheel, but the fire changes constantly, so you learn to crank early and read the coals.
BSlower to learn, forgiving once you know it. Two fires and a shovel, but the ember bed under the food barely changes, so timing is easy once you can read it.
Cleanup
AOne firebox, one ash tray.
BAsh from the brasero and the firebox, plus a grate to scrape.
The comment both camps make in backyard barbecue forums like the Pitmaster Club is the same: the gas grill stays for weeknights, the wood-fire grill is for the weekend. Most owners of Argentinian grills and Santa Maria grills are buying a second grill, not a first.
Which Grill Is Right for You? Santa Maria or Argentine, by What You Cook and Who You Feed
Match the grill to your table, not the other way around. Read each row across: the same category, both grills, so the difference is right there.
Santa Maria
For the cook who wants the sear and the show
Argentine
For the cook who feeds a crowd in courses
Santa Maria grillArgentine grill
Cooking style
Faster and hotter. Meat cooks directly over glowing red oak or open flame; you raise and lower the flat grate with the crank to manage intensity.
Patient and controlled. Meat cooks strictly over glowing embers raked from the brasero, never open flame; steady heat over a longer cook.
Best for these foods
Tri-tip, steaks, chicken halves, vegetables, corn. Anything that wants a hard sear and an oak-fired crust.
Thick ribs, sausages, whole cuts, and delicate cuts roasted gently: chicken, fish, pork shoulder. Meals cooked in courses.
Wood fire setup
One fire built directly in the bottom of the open firebox, under the grate. Burn oak to embers, spread them, cook.
Wood burns down in the side brasero; the coals are shoveled under the grate. Two fires: one making embers, one cooking.
Cooking grates
Flat or round-rod grates. Dripping fat falls onto the coals for deliberate smoke and the occasional flare-up.
Sloped V-shaped grates that channel fat into a front trough, virtually eliminating flare-ups; round-bar on some models.
Temperature control
The crank. Grate low to sear, high to roast. One fire, one dial.
The crank plus the embers: raise the grate, or rake more or fewer coals under the food. Finer control, more to manage.
How easy to use
Simplest wood-fire grill to learn: one fire, one grate, one wheel. Twenty to forty minutes to cook-ready.
More steps, more forgiving once you know them: the ember bed holds steady for hours. Thirty to forty-five minutes to cook-ready.
Entertaining
The open flame is the show. Four to eight people, one main course, dinner on the table in an hour.
The brasero is the long show. Ten or more, chorizo to steaks in courses, an afternoon around the fire.
Space
Smaller footprint; fits a modest patio, cart or built-in.
Larger and heavier; happiest as the centerpiece of an outdoor kitchen or a dedicated grilling area.
You are planning an outdoor kitchen
Built-in, either style. In our survey of 1,000 homeowners, 31% of cart-grill owners wish they had built in. Nobody said the reverse.
You want low-and-slow smoke too
Both can slow-roast over a high grate and a small ember bed, but neither seals in smoke the way smokers, kamados and offsets do. For twelve-hour brisket, run one beside the parrilla.
We carry both, and when a customer calls this is the first question we ask: what is on the grate most Saturdays? Answer that honestly and the choice makes itself. Either way, you get the opportunity to take cooking back to its roots: a fire, a grate, and the distance between them.
Hybrid Argentine Santa Maria Grills: One Grill That Cooks Both Ways
A hybrid pairs the Santa Maria's height-adjustable round grates and firebrick with the Argentine's brasero and clamp grill on one frame. Build the fire under the grate for tri-tip on Sunday, or in the brasero for asado on Saturday.
Tagwood BBQ builds most of its Argentine grills with Santa Maria-style round grates and firebrick, and its Santa Maria grills with a brasero and clamp grill. That is why the same models appear in both of our collections, and why The Beast is what most customers choose when they cannot decide. On several models the grate is the style: swap round-bar for V-channel and the same grill cooks either way. The grills you see in food magazines are usually this hybrid.
Santa Maria vs Argentine Grill: Quick Answers
Which grill is hotter?
The Santa Maria. Its fire burns directly under the food, so with the grate low you get searing heat a gas grill cannot match. The Argentine cooks over embers only, which is lower and steadier by design.
Which has fewer flare-ups?
The Argentine. Only embers sit under the food, and a V-channel grate carries fat to a trough instead of onto the coals. On a Santa Maria, drippings hit the fire, and you manage flare-ups by cranking the grate up.
Can you cook asado on a Santa Maria grill?
Yes. Let the fire burn down to embers, keep the grate high, and cook in courses. You give up the brasero and the clamp grill, but the slow, ember-fed method works.
Can you cook Santa Maria tri-tip on an Argentine grill?
Yes, if the grate lifts high enough to roast after the sear. A round-bar grate does it better than a V-channel, because a little dripping fat on the embers is part of the tri-tip flavor.
Can one grill do both?
Yes. Most Tagwood models pair round adjustable grates and firebrick with a brasero and clamp grill, so one grill does asado on Saturday and Central Coast tri-tip on Sunday.
Ready to choose?
Santa Maria and Argentine grills, built-in and freestanding, free shipping and free outdoor kitchen design. Both are part of our wood fired grills collection.
Santa Maria grills → Argentine grills → or call 888-678-3530
Matthew Jackson
At the heart of our business is Matthew Jackson, the founder and owner of BBQ Kitchen Pros. With an impressive 20 years in design, construction, and implementation of outdoor kitchen spaces, Matthew brings a wealth of knowledge, skill, and a deep-seated passion to the table. It's not just about selling products; it's about crafting a lifestyle. Outdoor cooking isn't just our business; it's our way of life, ingrained in every recommendation we make and every product we offer.