Last updated on November 12th, 2018
Lately I’ve been plodding my way through a long list of garden chores. But since all-work-no-play makes Kevin a dull boy, I’ve also been making lots of fun things to eat! For instance, last night I whipped up some Chimichurri sauce, and spooned it over a pan-seared, oven-finished flank steak. Yum, yum, yum. Here’s the recipe:
There must be hundreds of recipes for Chimichurri. Unfortunately, they all involve cilantro — an herb I despise. But when used in association with parsley, bell pepper, onion, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice, cilantro loses its foul edge, and actually becomes quite pleasant on the palette. The result is a bright and sunny sauce that begs to be drizzled over tacos, grilled chicken, steamed fish, and yes — flank steak.
How I make this saucy main course:
First, take a bunch of flat-leaved parsley…
And fling it into a food processor.
No food processor for you?
Use a blender.
Add 1 medium-size, chopped red bell pepper…
A question for you: Do you love cilantro — or loathe it? You can let me know by posting a comment below. On its own, I think the herb tastes like dirt. But as I mentioned earlier, it actually lends something wonderful to this Chimichurri sauce.
Also add 1 small, roughly-chopped onion…
A small pinch of crushed red pepper (available in the spice aisle at any respectable supermarket)…
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and several grinds black pepper…
A generous teaspoon of Italian seasoning…
And, because it honestly benefits from a hint of sweetness, 1/4 teaspoon sugar. If you’re on a low-carb or keto diet, you can omit the sugar.
Now add 1/2 cup of good, fruity olive oil…
And 1/4 cup water…
And 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar.
Then put the lid on the processor or blender, and let ‘er rip!
If necessary, scrape down sides of the bowl (or jar) with a spatula.
Then add the juice of half a lemon, and process again.
Pour the contents into an attractive bowl, and chill until you are ready to use.
Shall we cook our flank steak? You could grill the meat if you like, or pan-sear it on the stove, and finish it off in the oven. For the sake of demonstration, I’ll use the stove-and-oven method.
Set a cast-iron skillet over high heat it’s smokin’ hot.
Meanwhile, grab a flank steak…
And season it generously on one side with kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
Pour a glug of vegetable oil into the skillet, add the steak, seasoned-side down, and then generously season the top of the meat.
Sear for 2 1/2 minutes, and then…
Flip the meat over and brown the other side for just 2 minutes.
Transfer the skillet to a preheated 375°F for 4-5 minutes, or until it is medium rare. To be sure, just press the meat with your index finger. If the meat feels squishy, it is rare. If it feels mushy-springy, it’s medium rare. If it feels like shoe leather, it’s…overcooked.
Using tongs (not a fork — you don’t want to pierce the meat), transfer the steak to a wooden board, and let rest for 5-10 minutes so juices can be re-absorbed. Then slice thinly across the grain.
If you think Chimichurri sauce makes a delicious drizzle for flank steak, just wait until you try it on chicken or fish. I’ve also enjoyed the sauce on scrambled eggs.
Think you’ll give this recipe a whirl? Speak to me in the comments field below.
Meanwhile, here’s the copy-and-paste:
Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
Kevin Lee Jacobs
Ingredients for at least 4 servingsFor the Chimichurri Sauce:
1 bunch flat-leaved parsley
1 medium-size red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro (a handful)
1 small onion, roughly chopped
3 fat garlic cloves, peeled
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and grinds of black pepper
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 a lemonFor the steak:
1 flank steak (approximately 2 pounds)
Canola or some other vegetable oil for searing the meat
Kosher salt and grinds of black pepper for seasoning the meatSpecial Equipment: A food processor or blender for the sauce; a well-seasoned, 12-inch diameter cast-iron skillet for cooking the steak; kitchen tongs for flipping the steak
Making the sauce — Put all of the sauce ingredients into a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth and thick — about 20 seconds. Pour the sauce into an attractive bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Pan-searing the steak — Center the oven rack, and preheat the oven to 375°F. Meanwhile, heat the cast-iron skillet over high heat until smoking hot. Dry the steak with paper towels, and generously season one side with salt and pepper. Pour a glug of vegetable oil into the pan, and add the steak, seasoned-side down. Generously season the top of the steak. Sear for 2 1/2 minutes. Using tongs, flip the steak, and sear for just 2 minutes.
The oven finish — Immediately transfer the skillet to the preheated oven, and cook the meat for 4-5 minutes. To test the steak, simply press it with your index finger. If the meat feels mushy, it is rare. If the meat springs back after pressing, it is medium rare.
Transfer the steak to a wooden board, and let rest for 5 minutes, while the juices are re-absorbed. The slice thinly across the grain.
Serve with the Chimichurri sauce.
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Catharine R. says
I love cilantro! Making this TONIGHT.
Brooklyn Bob says
Hey Kevin, I know lots of people who can’t stand cilantro. I’m not in that camp, and this steak and chimichurri looks great! It’s also two recipes in one. Now I know how to pan sear and oven finish a flank steak!
Jeri says
I used to adore cilantro and my son-in-law kept saying it tasted like soap. Then one summer it tasted like soap to me and now I have to use it very sparingly or it will ruin whatever I am making. I heard that its a genetic thing that it would taste like soap to some people, so I am not sure how it would make that change in me. Never heard anyone say it tastes like dirt tho. I’m saving the recipe and will try it this summer – thank you!!
ktmm says
I love cilantro! It seems to pair best with citrus. Also, i have used it in smoothies with mango.
Arlene says
Cannot wait to try this. Thanks for all the good meals you share with us.
badger gardener says
I am with you on the cilantro. It is not the herb for me. But I’ll take flank steak anytime. Those pics are making my mouth water.
Josie says
I could take it or leave it. I’ve replaced cilantro with parsley so many times and have never missed it. Like Jeri mentioned above- I had a friend that always complained of cilantro tasting like soap. I thought it was the strangest thing until I read this article. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/dining/14curious.html?_r=0
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Josie – Thanks for the Times link. I didn’t know that Julia Child hated cilantro!
Bonnie Netherton says
I loathed cilantro for quite awhile. Then I spent a year in Mexico, where the smell of it was everywhere. One day I began liking it and in time I liked it very much, and I still do! For me, it was definitely an acquired taste.
Michael Murphy says
My years spent working in Jalisco, Mexico lead me to say that if you use cilantro you must also use lime juice. Those small and sweet Mexican limes are the best. Wonderful transformation.
Donna says
I lived in Arizona for 16 years and acquired a love of cilantro. Even though I have moved back to the North East Coast, I still love the smell and taste. SALSA !!
Janice says
I want to put in a good word here for cilantro. It brings a lemony lift to all sorts of heavier dishes, like the many Indian dals and curries — no lime is required. But of course, our sense of taste is very personal. Though we can learn to like things — as a child I hated olives, having experienced only the cheap green pimentio-stuffed variety. Now I love olives (except for the tasteless ones in cans).
Catharine R. says
Hi Kevin, I made this last night — hubby and I loved it! I could drink the chimichurri sauce from the bowl! Yes, I added cilantro. The steak came out perfect too!
Barb says
Like it!
Kim says
Wow! I can’t believe it when I hear people don’t like cilantro. And you find it tastes like dirt?
Haha. If I described it, I would say it has a nice fresh flavor. I love it! I guess that’s what makes this world so interesting. We all love different things. Now beets! They taste like dirt to me.
Anyway, can’t wait to try this sauce and LOVE a good flank steak recipe so I can’t wait to try both recipes. Thanks again Kevin for a great post!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Catherine R – So glad you tried — and liked — the Steak and Chimichurri!
Hi Kim – Would you believe that I hated tomatoes when I was a child? Now I love ’em!
Carole says
Hi Kevin. When I see Cilantro in a list of ingredients, I will not try the recipe. Just like you, I hate Cilantro but I will give it a try with this Chimichurri recipe – it looks very good and I will definitely try it on chicken and fish. Thanks for the newsletter. Every Sunday morning, I enjoy my coffee reading everything you write about Home and Gardening.
Mikaela says
Cilantro tastes like soap to me, my sister, and my mother. But not to my father. Needless to say, I don’t like it. I don’t even like the smell of it.
Michael says
After I rec’d your updates this morning, I ran to the store and purchased all the ingredients for your chimichurri. Just finished making it in the food processor, and all I can say is WOW, WOW, WOW! Will pour it over grilled chicken thighs for dinner tonight.
Carol says
Kevin and followers: Do you know there is a gene that makes celantro taste like soap? I have it. I always wondered why I thought some foods tasted awful when others were happy. Little did I know.
ingmarie peck says
Thanks for the recipe, I think cilantro takes some getting used to,,, these days I love it.
Rory says
The best meal for a weeknight and something my children will love! Thank you for posting, and I have to agree with the cilantro comments, it does taste like soap with a hint of dirt thrown in!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Michael – You’ve done me proud. Enjoy your Chimichurri Chicken!
Carol – Good to know! Based on Mikaela’s comment (#18) I’ll bet the cilantro love-it/loathe-it gene is hereditary.
Hi Ingmarie Peck – Although I’m not fond of cilantro on its own, I found it was magical in the lemony chimichurri sauce.
Hi Rory – You are right — the dish is perfect for a weeknight. The sauce can be made in advance, and the steak takes less than 10 minutes to cook!
Margaret says
Kevin, we’re miles away geographically, but near & dear in heart — we here in Montana LOVE this recipe. My husband makes Argentinian steak with chimichurri sauce from a recipe in a terrific book of one pan recipes I bought for him while we were dating (A man with a pan). His chimichurri sauce is far more basic — just garlic, vinegar, salt, olive oil & LOTS OF PARSLEY. Given its simplicity, i add it to mashed potatoes, eggs, nearly EVERYTHING. Just saying, I’ve never had it any other way, and it is my husband’s favorite go-to recipe.
We are just building a raised bed garden in our new home and believe me, garlic & parsley will be massively planted 😉
Donna Chandler says
I absolutely LOVE cilantro. It is my go to seasoning for just about everything. Thank you for all your tips and wonderful recipes. Your garden is beautiful. Take care.
Kip Morrissette says
This looks like a perfect meal.
I love Cilantro. To me, salsa wouldn’t be the same without it. Before I purchase it in the store, I TASTE it. Don’t know if it has a different taste different times of the year or perhaps where it is from because it does differ at times. If it has a gritty/dirt taste, it doesn’t make it into my shopping cart!
Anyway, my question is “What is Fruity Olive Oil?” In the step by step pictures, you listed “Now add 1/2 cup of good, fruity olive oi”. I have a bottle of Pompeian XVO, Robust flavor, First Pressed, and a bottle of Bertolli XVO, Rich Taste. I don’t know diddly about either one but I looked for something in the ingredients and didn’t see anything that would tell me it has a fruity ingredient. I have more bottles of this and that in my cupboards that never see the light of day but if I need a different kind of Olive Oil…I’ll get it.
I always look at your pictures to try to catch brand names but didn’t see bottle of fruity Olive Oil.
Joyce says
Not a fan of cilantro. Also I think ginger tastes like soap. No one seems to agree with me on that
Jerry in sealy says
Cilantro is great, grow it on the garden until it is getting to be hot weather. Dry my harvest and save seeds to rebroadcast on the fall. I live in Texas so it is a cool weather crop here.
Mimi says
I have to say, as a teenager, I too thought cilantro had tasted like soap! However, through the years, I
learned to LOVE it! I love the scent and taste and the way it freshens up any Asian or Latin dish!
There is still hope for anyone who wants to love this versatile herb!
Deb says
Hi Kevin,
I hate cilantro as a dominant flavor but do agree it adds a complex depth of taste. I’m also one of those people that loves clams but hates oysters; maybe the same gene’s to blame!
A question: how long will the sauce keep in the fridge?
Cathy says
Kevin, I love cilantro! I also love chimichurri sauce, so will definitely have to try makng my own now that you have provided this recipe!
Leighton says
I agree with Kim beets taste like dirt to me I love cilantro. How long does chimichurri last?
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Deb and Leighton – Covered and refrigerated, my version of Chimichurri will stay fresh and wonderful for at least 3 days.
dawn says
I LOVE cilantro! Thank you for this recipe
Sue Smith says
Thank you, Kevin, Looks so good! I grow my own cilantro and always looking for new recipes to use it in. This years crop is amazingly good. The first time I tried cilantro, I thought it tasted like dirt. Seriously….dirt! Now, years later, I love it.
Allison K says
I’m a huge cilantro fan. And I love parsley (I’m the person who actually eats the garnish). I adore chimichurri. YUM!
Cindy Kukac says
I just made this.Love the taste, I like cilantro,but to me beef was not the right combo. I am going to make a chicken or shrimp meal tomorrow to use the rest.
Cary Bradley says
Beautiful! Our daughter raved about chimichurri and I was stumped, now living out in the hinterlands, no longer in metro. You’ve inspired me to make this delectable delight and yes, cilantro reigns supreme here. It even overwintered in the Winter from Hell, CT 2015. 😉 Love your flank steak prep too! Thanks, Kevin!
Roseann Siegel says
I used to hate it but then I had some pico de gallo and I found I liked it. I think it was the mixture of the other items that made it taste good. I will have to try this recipe now as I had made the chimichurri with only parsley in the past.
Sandy DeMuth says
I hate cilantro too. Think it’s because a holistic doctor suggested I take cilantro tablets for a condition I had. All I have to say is yuk!
Linda Belveal says
I love cilantro, too! Just can’t grow it here in Houston.
Laura says
Born in Argentina: meat and chimichurri are my specialties. You will not find chimichurri made in a food processor there, everything is cut tiny by hand. A very important ingredient in Argentinian Chimichurri is oregano, and then paprika. It has no water but a very good vinegar. I love cilantro, I can eat it all day long with whatever, but Argentinian Chimichurri has NO CILANTRO!!
hahaha! this is very curious. I’m sure that no matter what your chimichurri tastes great also. Reading this article filled my heart with warm memories. Thank you!
Louise says
My son and his girlfriend made it for us Sunday night. He has never liked cilantro, but loved this! I have posted a picture of them to your Facebook page. Thank you so much for all your recipes and advice…
Penny Simmons says
I don’t like cilantro, but I DO like my husband, so for him, I will eat it in some things. I grew it one year and had no idea that it would take over, but it did and I got kind of nauseous from the smell of it when the wind blew through the patio area! But here’s my question, when getting these herbs out of our own gardens, how does one measure “a bunch”? You may have answered in your ingredients list…is “a bunch” two hands full?
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Louise – Over on my FB page, I saw the terrific picture you posted of your son and his girlfriend beside the Flank Steak and Chimichurri they’d just made. Thanks so much for the picture — and I’m so glad they liked the recipe(s)!
Hi Penny – A “bunch” describes the typical bundled quantity of parsley, etc., that supermarkets sell. In garden-speak, the same bunch can be measured exactly as you described — 2 (big) hands-full. Fortunately exact proportions are not required for Chimichurri sauce!
Linda Aries says
I love, love, love cilantro!!! I add it to homemade chicken vegetable soup (just stir in some of it that has been chopped just prior to serving), beef vegetable soup and the like. It just gives the soup a je ne sais quoi element that raises it up several notches. It goes without saying that it is absolutely critical in homemade salsas — whether red or green. I also love the way the word sounds when it is correctly pronounced with the accompanying Spanish accent: very melifluous, I think…..
Barbara Davidge says
LOVE the chimichurri sauce, I want to put it on everything. seriously. great recipe
Sue Smith says
I made the chimichurri sauce with my homegrown cilantro and is it ever delicious. I use it with scrambled eggs, included it in salad dressings, use it on barbequed hamburger and on and on.
It is wonderful. Thank you Kevin.
Debbie says
Re: Cilantro hating… am I allowed to make a link here? If so, here it is: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/09/14/161057954/love-to-hate-cilantro-its-in-your-genes-and-maybe-in-your-head
Marianne says
Just perusing your recipes while I eat my dinner salad and had to leave a comment about cilantro. Many years ago when I lived up north (Cleveland) I had a really nice herb garden right outside my kitchen. I’d grow everything from seed and I tell you cilantro grew really well! I used to have to weed it out as it was wont to take over the rest of the garden. The funny thing is I had never had it until I grew it in my garden. I hated it!!! Wouldn’t touch the stuff for years and years. I would go outside and admire it though, it looks really pretty growing. Occasionally I’d brush up against it while cutting the grass and ugh! Couldn’t even stand the smell! I moved to south Texas and I think Tex Mex food must use a lot of it. I ended up slowly liking it and now I love it! So there is hope for you! I used to be a real hater of it! Now I’m going to click on Debbie’s link and see what that’s about!
Vina says
Kevin,
I hate to disappoint you, but I love cilantro. Your recipes are sooo great! Keep them coming, please.