Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

flank steak chimichurri sauce When we first moved to Philadelphia, we lived in Center City for a few months while looking for a house. The location was perfect for dining out and I enjoyed one of my favorite meals at a restaurant called Fork.

This was when I was on my flank steak kick and was ordering some form of flank or skirt steak everywhere I went. I'm thankful I am over that but I still wanted to recreate the Grilled Chimichurri Skirt Steak that I had at Fork.

Last night we had some friends from Utah visit and I needed to make a meal in a hurry with ingredients on hand. I pulled out a flank steak from the freezer and did a little research on Chimichurri Sauce. Now flank steak is not skirt steak but they both come from the underside of the cow, are chewy in nature, very flavorful and the flank steak had to do.

From my research on Chimichurri Sauce I needed garlic, parsley, olive oil, sherry wine vinegar, fresh oregano, fresh lemon juice, and salt & pepper. I didn't have the sherry wine vinegar or fresh parsley. What I did have was white wine vinegar, real Sherry, and a bunch of cilantro. Since I didn't want to run to the store for all the necessary ingredients to make a classic Chimichurri Sauce, I adapted.

Results - a delicious meal, a new recipe, fuel economy. I used most of the sauce for a marinade and kept a portion aside for finishing the dish but in Argentina where I think this sauce originated, they serve it in bowls to top grilled foods including meat, chicken, or vegetables. The sauce has a tangy flavor, but what I like about it most is how fresh it is. Try to use only fresh ingredients if you can find them. It really makes a difference with this recipe.

We served this dish with sautéed red potatoes, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts and a mixed salad.

Flank Steak w/Chimichurri Sauce
Cooking Method = Grilling

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for my adapted Chimichurri. See traditional below.

1/4 cup olive oil
2/3 cup white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sherry
3/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 flank steak, 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 lb.
Salt & freshly ground pepper

or you can use the more traditional list of ingredients:

Ingredients for" traditional" Chimichurri

1/4 cup olive oil
2/3 cup sherry vinegar
3/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 flank steak, 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 lb.
Salt & freshly ground pepper

PREP WORK

Not too much prep for this recipe. Chop the parsly, oregano and garlic. Get everything ready for the marinade and put it all together.

HOW TO MAKE AT HOME

flank steak You can make this in a bowl and add the meat to it but I made it in a bowl and marinated the meat in a large freezer zip lock bag. Either way, add the olive oil, vinegar, sherry, cilantro, oregano, lemon juice, garlic, and some salt in pepper into a bowl and stir it together.

Remove about 1/3 of the mixture and reserve for adding at the end.

Add the flank steak and the remaining mixture to a zip lock bag and refrigerate for several hours. About 3 hours would be great but 2 will do. Be sure to remove the steak from the refrigerator 20 -30 minutes before you start grilling. It's always better to grill meat at room temperature.

Grill the meat directly over the heat. See my grilling tips here. Depending on your grill and how you like your meat, cook for about 5 minutes per side turning the meat over only once. If the meat looks like it is cooking too fast and is starting to burn, just move it over to a cooler spot on the grill. I brushed a little of the marinade on the steak before turning over.

Remove the steak from the grill, slice it across the grain into 2 inch wide pieces, plate it, and top it with the reserved Chimichurri sauce.