达拉斯-成千上万的阿根廷球迷来到德克萨斯世界杯争论是不可避免的。这不是关于谁有最好的团队或是否里奥·梅西是锦标赛上最好的选手。它是关于谁生产最好的，最多汁的牛排，以及如何准备肉。
没错:在世界上最大的两个养牛区之间有一个关于牛肉的牛肉，在那里，牛排在饮食和文化中根深蒂固。根据美国农业部的数据，德克萨斯州的牛肉产量在美国排名第一，美国在全球仅次于巴西。阿根廷排名第六。
这是一个很难回答的问题:谁做得最好?
“阿根廷牛肉简直无与伦比。64岁的阿根廷厨师卡洛斯·爱德华多·巴拉霍纳说，他从1998年起就住在得克萨斯州。
在阿根廷、乌拉圭和得克萨斯州的餐馆工作过的巴拉霍纳断言，从最便宜的到最贵的，阿根廷都是第一。
“你可以用我们国家最便宜的切肉做一个(阿根廷)asado，你会喜欢的。在这里，你可以使用最好的肉，比如里脊肉，根据它的来源，它可以变得坚硬、不可食用或柔软。但是我们的牛肉有完全不同的风味，”巴拉霍纳说。
阿根廷的肉牛大多在开阔的牧场上吃草，需要更长的时间才能上市。结果是瘦肉带有强烈的泥土味道。
德克萨斯州和美国以谷物饲养为主的牛肉会有更多的大理石花纹——肌内脂肪的条纹，充当内部油脂，使肉质多汁鲜嫩——和更甜的味道。
“没有比美国牛肉更好的牛肉了，尤其是德州牛肉，”德州农业专员席德·米勒说。
米勒说，但阿根廷牛肉也很好。感谢德克萨斯。
米勒说，他的机构在十多年前开设了一个营销办公室，将德克萨斯州的养牛人与南美洲的牧场主联系起来，特别是在阿根廷。
“我不想贬低我们在阿根廷的朋友，但我们已经帮助他们改善了，”他说。
“他们缺乏基因。我们确实有相当高质量的产品。我们卖给他们大量的精液、胚胎和种畜，”米勒补充道。
米勒祝贺阿根廷农民提高了他们奶牛的质量。
米勒说:“他们的牧群带有美国遗传基因，所以他们应该很优秀。”
阿根廷球迷贡萨洛·埃雷拉在得克萨斯州阿灵顿的沃尔玛超市浏览包装好的肉类，此前他观看了梅西在一场比赛中攻入的两球战胜奥地利。他对谁的牛肉更好的争论不屑一顾。
“老实说，我看不出有什么大的不同，”Herrera一边说，一边把四块丁字牛排放进了购物车。
“关键是准确地知道该买哪种肉片，并找到与我们在阿根廷吃的一样的东西，”他说，对45美元的价格摇了摇头。
“这里的价格更高，”埃雷拉说。
牛肉的戏谑很容易归结为食谱和对切肉风格和厚度的偏好。从字面上来说，这是一个味道的问题，当谈到调味、烤焦、熏制、黄油、胡椒、酱汁等等。
在达拉斯的Corrientes 348阿根廷牛排餐厅，助理经理Emmanuel Tobon说，牛排只需盐和牧豆树炭即可。
“这有很大的区别。德州人用很多胡椒，他们用黄油，他们用一点烤肉(酱)，”托邦说。“(阿根廷人)喜欢只用盐来带来牛排的所有味道。”
周六，阿根廷在达拉斯至少还有一场比赛要打。Albiceleste的球迷已经挤满了餐厅，寻求在世界杯期间快速品尝家乡的味道。
托邦说:“他们一直在享受德克萨斯文化。“(但是)拥有他们所有人是一件非常愉快的事情，让他们有家的感觉。”
他说，阿根廷人对他们的牛排文化、世代相传的食谱，以及家庭大餐中烧烤师傅的“神圣”工作非常自豪。
来自布宜诺斯艾利斯的阿根廷人费尔南多·加西亚·莫里路现在住在迈阿密附近，对他来说，这两个国家的肉都很棒。但在美国，每当他点牛排时，他都渴望家乡的传统。
“我只点盐，不放胡椒，只点原味的，”莫里路说。"有时他们会用很多酱。"
他否认了美国和阿根廷之间的任何不和。
“也许像往常一样，我们的对手是我们的邻居巴西，”他说。“我喜欢美国肉。”
There's a beef about beef at the World Cup, as Argentina fans pour into Texas
DALLAS --Drop thousands of Argentina fans into Texas for theWorld Cupand the debate is inevitable. It's not about who has the best team or whetherLionel Messiis 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?
“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.
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.
Argentine fan Gonzalo Herrera browsed packaged meat at a Walmart in Arlington, Texas, after watching Messi score two goals in awin 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.”
