Actually built in Argentina, not just styled like it.
The Delta is hand-made by Argentine artisans, runs a real firebox, and adds a closing lid most parrillas skip, so it doubles as an oven or smoker, around $1,690 on Amazon. Skip it if you want stainless that shrugs off salt air: the Delta is medium-gauge painted steel, and it asks for the care a real parrilla asks for.
The verdict
If what you want is a grill with real Argentine pedigree, the Delta is the one to beat in this price band. It is hand-built in Argentina, runs a proper firebox so embers fall into a brick-lined chamber, and adds the thing most open parrillas leave out: a closing steel lid that lets you trap heat and run it as an oven or a smoker. AmazingRibs handed it a 4-star Gold Medal and named it a Best Value, and the reason is exactly that mix of authentic build and feature set at roughly $1,690.
The honest caveat is the steel. The Delta is medium-gauge painted steel lined with refractory brick, not stainless. That is traditional, and it cooks beautifully, but paint and carbon steel rust if you neglect them. Keep it covered and dry, season the cook surfaces, and it lasts for years; ignore it in salt air and it will show. It also runs flat V-less grates, so fat drips straight onto the coals and you manage the odd flare-up by hand. For a traditionalist that is the cost of doing it the real way. For someone who wants set-and-forget corrosion resistance, the trade points elsewhere.
The build
Painted steel and brick, the traditional way
The Delta is medium-gauge painted steel with a full refractory-brick lining inside the chamber and porcelain-coated grates. That is the authentic parrilla recipe: brick stores and reflects radiant heat for even browning, steel takes the structure. The trade against a stainless grill is corrosion. This one needs a cover, dry storage, and a little seasoning to live a long life, especially near the coast. Built right, cared for right, it is a decades grill; left out wet, it is not.
A real firebox, plus a lid that makes it an oven
A dedicated side firebox burns wood logs or lump charcoal down to embers that drop into the cooking bed, so you feed the fire without disturbing the food. The standout is the attached steel lid: close it and the Delta traps heat to roast, bake, or run a low-and-slow smoke, something the open Santa Maria and most parrillas cannot do. Combined with the firebox, that is genuine range for one grill.
547 square inches, adjustable grate, and it arrives loaded
A 547 square inch main surface (about 25 burgers) on a quick-adjust, locking height grate for sear-low or roast-high, on swivel casters with an under-grill warming drawer. It ships with the extras most makers sell separately: a cast-iron griddle (188 sq in of flat-top), a fire poker, a shovel, and a full vinyl cover. At roughly $1,690 with all of that included, the value math is why it earned its medal.
How it cooks
I have not cooked on this exact grill, so I will be straight about what I am judging: the build, the spec sheet, AmazingRibs' hands-on Gold Medal review, and owner reports, read against a lifetime of knowing what a parrilla has to do. On those terms the Delta does the important things right. The firebox-and-embers method is the real Argentine technique, the brick lining is what gives you that even radiant browning, and the locking grate gives you true height control for sear versus slow.
Two honest notes from the people who have run it. First, it wants a real preheat, 45 minutes or so, because brick takes time to charge; that is physics, not a flaw, but plan for it. Second, the flat grates have no V-channels, so rendered fat hits the coals and you will work the occasional flare-up by hand, classic open-fire cooking, not a set-it grill. A few owners have reported minor shipping damage (a cracked firebrick or thermometer); Nuke's customer service has a good record of sorting those out. When I cook on one, this section gets first-hand notes.
Buy it if…
- You want a grill actually made in Argentina, not just styled that way
- You want a lid, so one grill can sear, roast, and smoke
- You will cover it, dry it, and treat it like a real parrilla
Skip it if…
- You are on the water and want stainless that ignores salt air
- You want V-grates and hands-off, flare-free cooking
- You will not wait 45 minutes for brick to come up to heat
How it stacks up
Affiliate links. They never change how we rank these.
| Grill | Price range | Material | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backyard Discovery304 where it counts, on AmazonRead review → | $1,499 | 304 | Corrosion resistance at this price | Check price |
| Tagwood BBQ06SSFull 304, coastal pickRead review → | $3,000–$4,200 | 304 | Full 304 for hard salt air | Check price |
| SunterraUS-made value sweet spotRead review → | $1,500–$3,000 | 430 / 304 | US fabrication, mid price | Check price |
What I'm judging, and what I'm not
I have not cooked on this exact grill, and I say so plainly. I am judging it on the build, the painted-steel-and-brick construction, the firebox-and-lid feature set, AmazingRibs' hands-on Gold Medal verdict, owner consensus, and a lifetime of knowing what a parrilla has to do. My own first grill was a showroom "stainless" that rusted through in three coastal seasons because the steel was wrong where it mattered. The Delta is honest about being painted steel, and it earns its keep on pedigree and range, not corrosion resistance. When I cook on one, I will update this page with first-hand notes.
Ready to cook like a gaucho?
Check current Amazon pricing and availability. If salt-air corrosion resistance matters more than Argentine pedigree, the alternatives above are where I'd look.
Check price