El Palenque

Montevideo, Uruguay

El Palenque opened in 1958 inside Montevideo's Mercado del Puerto, the iron-roofed market hall near the old port, and has run the same parrilla ever since. The grill sits at the center of the stall, visible from the entrance, loaded with chorizo, morcilla, rib cuts, and sweetbreads over wood embers. The cooking shows a Galician influence alongside the local tradition: empanadas and octopus dishes share menu space with the full asado spread. On Saturdays, when every stall in the market fires up simultaneously, El Palenque fills by noon and stays that way through mid-afternoon. The choripán here is the baseline by which many Montevideo residents judge all others.

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Sausages served here

Chorizo Uruguayo

Montevideo & Uruguay

Uruguay has more cattle per person than any other country on earth, and this fact shapes everything about its food. But at an asado, the chorizo goes on the grill before the beef. These short, thick fresh pork sausages, seasoned with garlic, oregano, nutmeg, and black pepper, cook fast over hardwood embers while guests drink wine and wait for the main cuts. The asador checks them often. A skin that puffs and chars at the edges signals they are ready. The choripán, chorizo split and tucked into crusty bread with chimichurri or salsa criolla, is the street food that defines Montevideo. You find it at parrillas, at football stadiums, at Sunday markets, and at the smoke-filled stalls of the Mercado del Puerto.

freshporkgrilled