Spicy Chimichurri Sauce

Spicy Chimichurri Sauce is a delicious, verdant condiment that's perfect on steak, chicken, and fish. This chimichurri recipe makes extra sauce for storing in the freezer.

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What is chimichurri sauce?

You probably know what chimichurri sauce is if:

(a) you're from South America and/or

(b) you've ever been to a South American Churrascaria.

You know, those Brazilian steakhouses with gauchos serving selections of sword-skewered meats and carving them table-side with scary looking knives.

My local churrascaria has an enormous vat of chimichurri sauce that guests ladle out into ramekins.

Chimichurri sauce is no-cook. You simply blend the ingredients in a food processor.

CAVEAT: for my spicy chimichurri sauce recipe, I do add roasted garlic, which I keep in my refrigerator most of the time for just such an occasion!

The basic chimichurri sauce recipe

Chimichurri sauce is very much like pesto in that it contains bright, fresh herbs, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Also like pesto, there are a gazillion variations on the basic chimichurri recipe.

The most simple version involves only parsley, olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, garlic or shallot, and salt and pepper.

Most recipes add oregano, and many crushed red pepper.

I blitz these ingredients thoroughly in a food processor.

Then the sauce is good to go as a condiment for meats and fish, as a marinade, or even as a salad dressing.

It's amazingly easy to make, but don't let that fool you: it's delicious.

If you love tangy marinades and sauces, you will love my Greek Marinated Lamb Chops. The Greek marinade has tremendous mediterranean flavor and complements the lamb perfectly.

My spicy chimichurri sauce recipe

For my spicy chimichurri sauce, I like a mix of about 3 parts parsley : 1 part cilantro : ½ part oregano.

Instead of crushed red pepper, I use two seeded jalapeños.

Then I add in several cloves of roasted garlic.

I prefer the tang of rice vinegar, but you can use the more traditional red wine vinegar if you'd prefer.

I blitz these ingredients in a food processor until smooth or a bit less if I want a chunky consistency.

By the time Fall hits, my garden is producing a veritable bush of parsley, so I make extra chimichurri sauce to store for later (see below).

About the roasted garlic...

Roasted garlic is a wonderful thing to have on hand.

I take an entire head of garlic, make a clean slice across the root end to reveal the cloves.

Then I set the head of garlic cut-side down onto some foil coated with olive oil, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

Then wrap the foil up over the garlic head and give it a twist (so it looks like a giant Hershey's kiss) and roast it at 350º until fragrant (15–20 minutes).

I keep the roasted garlic in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. I love adding it to sauces, using it to make garlic toast, and mixing it with mashed potatoes.

And, of course, it's fantastic in spicy chimichurri sauce.

To blend or not to blend chimichurri

Authentic chimichurri sauce is not a smooth, pesto-like sauce.

Traditionally, the herbs are processed into a coarse paste and then the olive oil is poured over the top.

I like it both ways, although I have to admit that the fully blended sauce is really, really pretty!

I will leave that choice up to you.

Storing chimichurri sauce

I prefer to freeze chimichurri sauce.

I pour the extra sauce into small-portion freezer containers or bags, squeeze the air out and put in the freezer.

However, my personal preference is to freeze portions of the sauce in an ice cube tray, then pop them out after they're frozen and put them in freezer bags.

I wrap each cube with plastic wrap first to prevent freezer burn.

Then it's a simple matter of popping out a portion or two of the spicy chimichurri sauce to eat over your favorite grilled meat.

For example, I've done that here with a tri-tip roast that I grilled and then sliced into steaks (check out my recipe for Grilled Tri-Tip Steak with Chimichurri Sauce!).

That's it! A sauce to deliciously brighten your grilled meats.

I hope you love it! Be sure to check out my  Mexican-Inspired Recipes for Cinco de Mayo for more Latin American cuisine.

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Recipe