Chimichurri for Grilled Steak: A Bright, Garlicky Recipe

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The short answer

Good chimichurri tastes fresh, sharp, savory, and lightly hot. It should not taste like oily parsley paste. Chop flat-leaf parsley, fresh oregano, garlic, and shallot by hand. Stir in red wine vinegar, kosher salt, red pepper flakes, and olive oil. Let the sauce stand for 20 to 30 minutes, then spoon it over sliced grilled steak at the table.

This recipe makes about 1 cup, enough for four to six servings:

• 1 packed cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
• 1 small shallot, very finely minced
• 3 medium garlic cloves, finely minced or grated
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 to 2 tablespoons cool water, as needed
• Freshly ground black pepper

Mix everything except the oil and water first. Let the vinegar soften the shallot and garlic for 10 minutes. Stir in the oil, taste, and add water a tablespoon at a time if the sauce feels too oily or intense. Let it rest another 10 to 20 minutes before serving.

What chimichurri should taste like

Chimichurri is an uncooked herb sauce closely associated with grilled meat in Argentina and Uruguay. There is no single household formula, but the recognizable structure is parsley and oregano, garlic, vinegar, oil, salt, and chile. The sauce should be loose enough to spoon, with visible pieces of herb rather than a completely smooth puree.

The vinegar cuts the richness of beef. Garlic gives it depth, oregano brings an earthy note, and chile adds a small pulse of heat. Oil carries those flavors across the sliced meat. When the balance is right, the sauce makes the next bite of steak feel lighter rather than masking it.

Cilantro is common in modern versions, including Bon Appétit's current chimichurri recipe, but it is optional. Start with parsley if you want the classic green profile. Add a small handful of cilantro only if your table likes it.

Why hand chopping beats a blender

A sharp chef's knife gives you control over texture. Slice the herbs, gather them, and chop again until the pieces are fine but distinct. The finished sauce looks glossy and green with clear flecks of garlic and shallot.

A blender or food processor can work, but it is easy to go too far. Fast blades bruise herbs, release more chlorophyll, and emulsify oil into a thick green paste. The sauce can become bitter and muddy-looking. If using a machine, pulse the dry ingredients briefly and stir the oil in by hand.

Use a nonreactive glass or stainless-steel bowl. Red wine vinegar can react with bare aluminum or copper and produce a metallic taste. A glass storage jar is useful for leftovers, but do not shake the sauce into a permanent emulsion. Chimichurri is supposed to settle and be stirred again.

The ingredient choices that matter

Flat-leaf parsley

Flat-leaf parsley has a stronger, cleaner flavor than curly parsley and is easier to chop. Tender stems are useful; thick woody stems are not. Wash the bunch in cold water and dry it completely. Water clinging to the leaves dilutes the sauce and shortens its fresh refrigerator life.

Fresh or dried oregano

Fresh oregano tastes green and lightly peppery. Dried oregano tastes deeper and more concentrated. Use 2 tablespoons fresh or about 2 teaspoons dried. If using dried oregano, rub it between your fingers and let it hydrate in the vinegar before adding oil.

Garlic and shallot

Three medium garlic cloves create a distinct but balanced bite. Very large cloves may be twice that size, so use judgment. Shallot adds sweetness and a mild onion note without turning the sauce into salsa.

Vinegar tames both ingredients. That is why they go into the bowl before the oil. A 10-minute vinegar rest rounds their raw edge while keeping the sauce lively.

Red wine vinegar

Red wine vinegar is the backbone. It is assertive without the sweetness of balsamic or the neutral sharpness of distilled white vinegar. Start with 1/3 cup. If your vinegar is unusually harsh, replace one tablespoon with cool water rather than adding sugar immediately.

Olive oil

Use an extra-virgin olive oil that tastes pleasant on its own. A very bitter, aggressively peppery oil can dominate delicate herbs. The oil does not need to be expensive, but it should be fresh.

Chile

Red pepper flakes offer repeatable heat and distribute well. Fresh red chile gives brighter flavor and more variable heat. Add half the planned amount first. The heat becomes more noticeable as the sauce rests.

Step-by-step chimichurri method

1. Wash and dry the herbs

Rinse parsley and oregano, then spin or pat them completely dry. Pick out yellow leaves and thick stems. Moist herbs slide under a knife and water down the seasoning.

2. Chop in separate piles

Chop parsley and oregano first. Mince shallot and garlic separately so you can control each texture. A grated garlic paste disperses more strongly than small knife-cut pieces, so reduce the amount slightly if grating.

3. Season with vinegar first

Combine herbs, shallot, garlic, chile, salt, black pepper, and vinegar. Stir and leave the mixture for 10 minutes. Taste a parsley fleck, not only the liquid. It should be distinctly seasoned because oil will soften the perception of salt and acid.

4. Stir in oil

Pour in the olive oil while stirring with a spoon. You are combining, not whipping mayonnaise. Let the herbs remain suspended in a loose sauce.

5. Rest and adjust

After another 10 to 20 minutes, taste again. Add salt for definition, vinegar for brightness, water for excessive intensity, oil for sharpness, or chile for heat. Change only one thing at a time.

Chef John's short demonstration shows how quickly the sauce comes together and what a spoonable texture looks like. His blended approach is smoother than the hand-cut style in this guide, but the flavor structure is the same: herbs, garlic, acid, chile, and oil.

The best steaks for chimichurri

Chimichurri is especially useful with beefy cuts that have open grain or firm chew.

Cut	Why it works	Slicing note
Skirt steak	Intense flavor and plenty of surface browning	Slice thinly across the visible fibers
Flank steak	Lean, broad, and easy to share	Cut on a diagonal across the grain
Hanger steak	Deep flavor with a loose texture	Remove the center membrane first
Flat iron	Tender and evenly shaped	Check for any retained seam tissue
Tri-tip	Beefy roast that feeds a group	Grain direction changes midway
Picanha	Rich fat cap balances sharp herbs	Slice final portions against the grain
Ribeye	Fat loves the vinegar and garlic	Use less sauce so the crust stays central

If you are cooking picanha, the grilled picanha guide explains its unusual grain direction. For tri-tip, smoke and sear tri-tip is a good route when you want smoke before the bright sauce.

Salt the steak separately

Chimichurri is a condiment, not a replacement for seasoning the beef. Salt the steak evenly before cooking. For thick steaks, salting several hours ahead and refrigerating uncovered improves surface dryness and gives salt time to move inward. Use the brine & cure calculator to plan a dry brine by meat weight instead of coating blindly.

If dinner is soon, season just before the steak hits the grill. Avoid salting 15 to 30 minutes ahead and leaving the steak wet on the counter, because salt pulls moisture to the surface before enough time has passed for it to move back in.

Pepper can go on before grilling, though very intense direct heat may scorch coarse pieces. Garlic belongs in the sauce. Fresh garlic pasted onto a blazing grill often burns before the center of the steak is done.

Grill the steak with two heat zones

Build a direct hot zone and an indirect cooler zone. On charcoal, bank the coals to one side. On gas, leave one burner off. The arrangement lets you brown the outside without being trapped over flame when the center needs more time.

Pat the steak dry before it reaches the grill. Put thinner cuts such as skirt steak over direct heat and turn frequently for even browning. Move a thick steak to the cool zone after the crust forms, close the lid, and let the center rise more gently.

Use an instant-read meat thermometer, inserting it through the side into the thickest center. USDA FSIS lists 145°F with a three-minute rest as the safe minimum for beef steaks and roasts. This matches the site's meat temperature chart.

Many diners prefer steak below 145°F. A rarer finish is a personal risk choice and is not the USDA-safe default. The risk is more important for people who are pregnant, older, very young, or immunocompromised. Mechanically tenderized, injected, or ground beef needs different handling because surface bacteria may have been carried inside; do not apply intact-steak assumptions to it.

Rest the steak at least three minutes after it reaches 145°F. A thick steak often benefits from five to ten minutes for heat to even out. Rest on a clean board, not the board that held raw beef.

Slice first, sauce second

Find the grain and cut across it. This is essential for skirt, flank, hanger, and tri-tip. Long muscle fibers feel chewy even when cooked correctly. Cutting across them shortens the fibers in every bite.

Arrange slices on a platter with their browned edges visible. Spoon a narrow ribbon of chimichurri over the center and serve the rest in a bowl. Flooding the entire surface softens the crust and makes every bite identical.

Stir the sauce immediately before serving because herbs sink and oil rises. Include some solids and some liquid in each spoonful. Taste the meat with the sauce before adding finishing salt.

Condiment or marinade?

Chimichurri can be both, but keep the batches separate.

As a condiment, it stays bright and fresh. Make it while the grill heats and spoon it onto cooked food. This is the best use for a well-marbled steak.

As a marinade, the vinegar seasons the surface but does not deeply tenderize a thick cut. Marinate in the refrigerator, then discard the portion that touched raw meat. Never return contaminated marinade to the serving bowl.

If you want one recipe to do both jobs, divide the fresh chimichurri before raw meat enters the picture. Put one portion in a sealed container for serving and use the other in the marinade bag. Keep utensils separate. USDA FSIS warns against reusing raw-meat marinade as sauce unless it is boiled first.

Acid does not sanitize raw beef. Vinegar changes flavor and surface texture, but it does not replace refrigeration or a safe internal temperature.

Red chimichurri variation

For chimichurri rojo, add 1 tablespoon sweet paprika and 1 tablespoon finely chopped roasted red pepper. Reduce parsley slightly and add another splash of vinegar if the pepper makes the sauce sweet. Smoked paprika can work, but use it lightly when the steak already carries wood smoke.

Red chimichurri is excellent with lean flank steak, grilled pork, or chicken. Poultry must reach 165°F, the USDA minimum for all chicken and turkey. Whole-muscle pork must reach 145°F followed by at least a three-minute rest.

Other useful variations

Mint for lamb

Replace one quarter of the parsley with mint. The sauce becomes especially good with sous vide lamb chops. Keep oregano in the background so mint does not turn the sauce into toothpaste.

Cilantro for a greener bite

Replace up to one third of the parsley with cilantro. This is not necessary for classic flavor, but it works well with grilled skirt steak and roasted vegetables.

Lemon for extra lift

Add lemon zest to the finished sauce, not a large pour of juice at the start. Zest brightens without weakening the vinegar structure. If adding juice, reduce the vinegar by the same amount and taste again.

Shallot-free

Skip the shallot and add one extra tablespoon of parsley. The sauce becomes sharper and more garlic-forward. This is useful when you want a simpler Argentine-style profile.

Storage and make-ahead guidance

Chimichurri tastes best the day it is made. Refrigerate it in a clean covered jar and use it within three to four days. The olive oil may thicken in the refrigerator. Let the portion you need stand briefly, then stir. Do not microwave the whole jar, which dulls fresh herbs.

Fresh garlic stored in oil deserves care. Keep the sauce refrigerated rather than leaving it on the counter for days. If it smells fermented, looks slimy, or was left out for more than two hours, discard it. Freezing small portions is a better option for longer storage, though the herbs will soften when thawed.

Cooked steak leftovers should also be refrigerated promptly and reheated to 165°F, the USDA FSIS minimum for leftovers. Store steak and sauce separately so you can reheat the meat without cooking the herbs.

Troubleshooting the sauce

Problem	Likely reason	Fix
Bitter	Herbs were overprocessed or oil is aggressive	Hand chop and use a milder fresh oil
Greasy	Too much oil for the herb and acid	Add vinegar, water, parsley, and salt gradually
Harsh garlic	Sauce has not rested	Wait 20 minutes or add parsley and oil
Flat	Not enough salt or acid	Add a pinch of salt, then vinegar if needed
Muddy color	Wet herbs or prolonged blending	Dry herbs and pulse less
Too hot	Chile amount was too high	Add parsley, oil, and a little vinegar
Steak tastes bland	Meat was not seasoned separately	Dry brine or salt the steak before grilling

Final formula to remember

Use one part vinegar to about two parts oil, then add enough finely chopped parsley to make the liquid look full of herbs rather than sparsely flecked. Garlic, oregano, chile, and salt supply the character. Rest, taste, and adjust before it meets the steak.

The most important choice is timing: make chimichurri before the meat is ready, but spoon it on after the crust has formed and the steak has rested. That keeps the sauce bright, the beef properly seasoned, and the grilled surface worth preserving.