Chimichurri Sauce Recipe
The best chimichurri sauce recipe is very easy. Chimichurri is a garlic and parsley steak sauce from Argentina and Uruguay. It comes in two versions: green and red chimichurri, and it good not only steak but also on chicken, rice, sausage–and even pizza! Read my article to learn how to make chimichurri sauce.
Origin of Chimichurri Sauce Recipe
As previously mentioned, chimichurri sauce is a garlic and parsley steak sauce, along with other spices such as oregano and crushed red pepper. There are various stories as to how this steak sauce got its name.
Although historians do not think these stories are very likely, two theories suggest that the sauce was invented by English-speaking people, and that the word “chimichurri” is the result of Spanish-speaking people mispronouncing English words. According to one story, an Englishman named Jimmy Curry was living in Argentina when he invented the sauce. When the native Spanish speakers of Argentine tried pronouncing his name, they mispronounced it “Chimmy-Churri,” the mistake eventually sticking as the name of his sauce. Another theory is that Argentines misunderstood British prisoners-of-war during a failed invasion of modern-day Argentina who said “give me curry” in an effort to get spices to liven up their bland rations.
However, a more likely explanation for the origin of chimichurri is that it is the corruption of a Basque word that not only sounds like “chimichurri” but also describes a garlic sauce similar to the Argentine recipe. A lot of people from the Basque region of Spain emigrated to Argentina, so historians believe this to be the most plausible theory. However Chimichurri came to be, it is the perfect sauce for any Argentine steak dinner or barbecue.
Chimichurri Sauce Recipe Ingredients
As previously stated, the basis of any classic chimichurri sauce recipe is garlic and parsley. Oregano, black pepper, and crushed red pepper are in almost all recipes, as well as some sort of oil and vinegar. However, there is a big discrepancy between chimichurri sauce recipes written in English and those from Argentina.
Many English recipes call for olive oil and lemon juice. From my own personal experience and through my research, these two ingredients seem to not be very common in traditional chimichurri sauce recipes. Instead, a neutral, refined vegetable oil, such as sunflower oil or corn oil, along with some sort of vinegar, usually red wine vinegar, are the most common liquids. I have seen bay leaf in some recipes, but very few Argentine recipes call for onion–and even fewer for tomato. Almost no recipes from Argentina include cilantro.
The most important component of any chimichurr sauce recipe is the garlic. Although it is possible to use less garlic than in my recipe, I definitely recommend using a garlic press to prep the garlic. Crushed garlic releases a lot more garlic oil–and thus flavor–than chopped garlic, so your chimichurri will have a much more intense garlic flavor if you use crushed garlic. If using crushed garlic, measure the crushed garlic for your sauce, not the whole garlic clove before it is crushed. Although just 10 grams of crushed garlic may be as much as 1/2 of a head of garlic, making the best chimichurri sauce recipe is worth the extra effort.
My recipe is authentic because it is based on the recipe of an Argentine catering company and YouTube channel called Locos X El Asado (Crazy About Barbecue). Although their recipe was somewhat vague, I used their recipe as a springboard and combined it with what I remembered eating in Argentina. Now, I can proudly say that this is a delicious, authentic recipe.
Chimichurri Sauce Recipe:
Chimichurri Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- Green:
- 30 grams chopped parsley
- 10 grams pressed garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (50g) + 1 Tablespoon sunflower oil*
- 1/4 cup (25g) + 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar*
- * Although the extra oil and vinegar are not necessary, they help to ensure that the spices are completely submerged in liquid.
- Red
- 20 grams chopped parsley
- 20 grams pressed garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 cup (50g) + 1 Tablespoon sunflower oil*
- 1/4 cup (25g) + 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar*
- * Although the extra oil and vinegar are not necessary, they help to ensure that the spices are completely submerged in liquid.
Instructions
- Although you can shop the garlic by hand, using a garlic press to prepare the garlic is best since it will extract more oils. If using a garlic press, measure the crushed garlic, not the whole cloves.
- Chop the parsley (I used a hand-held immersion blender)
- Combine ingredients, including the liquid. Although the amount of liquid is flexible, you should make sure that the garlic, parsley, and spices are completely covered by the oil and vinegar. Also, the liquid should be 3/4 oil and 1/4 vinegar.
- Let the sauce sit overnight (at least 8 hours) for the flavors to combine.
Chimichurri Sauce Recipe Video:
Be sure to watch my YouTube recipe video:
