Chimichurri Sauce Recipe

This one started at a summer cook. We smoked tri-tip, buried it in chimichurri, and watched almost everyone come back for seconds and ask for the recipe. Problem was, there wasn’t one. Just a cutting board that looked like the parsley and cilantro had gone to war and nobody won.

So we dialed it in and wrote it down this time.

The big lesson: make it by hand. We started out using a food processor, and it works, but the blades whip the olive oil hard enough to oxidize it, and that pushes the sauce toward bitter. Hand chopping keeps it smoother and lets every herb hold onto its own flavor. It costs you a few extra minutes at the board. Worth it.

Grab All your ingredients and get ready to chop!

Instructions (By Hand)

1. Finely mince the parsley, cilantro, oregano, and garlic. When you think you’ve minced enough, mince a little more.

2. Leave everything on the cutting board. Squeeze the half lemon over the pile, then add the coarse salt and crushed red pepper. Keep mincing until it’s all combined.

3. Move the mix to a bowl. Add 1/8 cup red wine vinegar and 1/8 cup olive oil, and stir with a spoon or fork.

4. Add more vinegar and oil a little at a time until you hit the right consistency. Loose enough to spoon over meat, but not soupy.

5. Taste as you go. Flat? It needs salt. Heavy? It needs more lemon. Adjust, taste, repeat.

6. Don’t mash or crush anything. This isn’t a paste. You want to taste the individual herbs in every bite.

7. Serve over steak, tri-tip, chicken, or whatever else is coming off the fire.

Food Processor Method
Short on time? Add everything except the olive oil to a food processor and pulse until it’s chopped small but not pureed. Stream in the olive oil slowly while pulsing, adding more if it needs it. Just know you’re trading a little extra bitterness for speed.

Tips From the Pit

• Go easy on the rub when chimichurri is the topping. A simple salt, pepper, and garlic profile on the meat lets the sauce do the talking instead of fighting it.

• Slice your steak against the grain first, then lay the chimichurri over the slices right on the board. It gets into every cut.

• Fresh herbs only. Dried won’t get you there.

Storage
Best the day you make it. Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for a few days. The olive oil will firm up when cold, so let it sit out for 15 to 20 minutes and give it a stir before serving.

Closer
Make a double batch. Somebody’s always going to ask for the recipe, and now you’ve got one to hand them. Feed your people.