Grilling steaks is not a favourite hobby of mine as high heat is needed - and when there's high heat, there'd be lots of smoke and my house would always ended up smoky and oily! I'd have to mop the floor after the cooking, which is definitely not my favourite household chore.
However, restaurant steaks are extremely expensive, so the notion of cooking them more often at home is very tempting! It definitely is not as good as those served in restaurants but price-wise, I'd say it's still more worthy to cook them at home. Restaurant steaks will be an occassional, luxurious treat 😉
All these while whenever I grilled steaks I would serve them with mushroom sauce because we are huge mushroom lovers and the sauce is really easy and good. But this time round I decided to try something else and after chancing on this recipe on Curtis Stone's website, I came up with my own variation.
No one really knows who invented the chimichurri, but it is a really delicious herb condiment made using cilantro, lemon and vinegar. And the condiment is ridiculously easy to make - just use a food processor or pestle and mortar and blend the ingredients together! It can also be easily modified - add in a chili for some kick; more garlic if you like; less cilantro or swap with Italian parsley... taste and adjust until you like love it!
The toughest is probably how to cook the steak to your desired doneness - some use the minute rule, but I've also learned a new technique from Bobbi from Bam's Kitchen, by poking the steak! It's a more accurate method, so do give it a try. 🙂
Step-by-step Photos | |
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| 1) Pound parsley, garlic, salt and pepper together. | 2) Squeeze in lime/lemon juice and oil and mix well. |
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| 3) Pepper | 4) ...And salt the steak. |
I'm submitting this to Cook Like a Star hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out and Grace from Life can be simple. You'll be able to see the full list of submissions at the end of the recipe!
Steak with Chimichurri
INGREDIENTS
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt, ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup coriander, mix of leaves and stalk
- 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon / lime juice
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 pieces of steaks, about 150-200 grams each
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the garlic, salt, coriander in a pestle and mortar and pound until a paste forms. Add in 1 tablespoon lemon juice and olive oil. Stir in well until you get a smooth and spreading consistency. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add more lemon juice/olive oil if desired. Transfer into a serving bowl and set aside, covered.
- Heat the grill pan over high heat until very hot (water sprinkled on the grill pan will immediately sizzle and evaporate). While the grill pan is heating, season the steaks both sides with salt and freshly ground pepper. Drizzle olive oil on both sides and place them down on the grill pan. Turn the heat down to medium and grill, untouched, for 2 to 3 minutes (so that it will get the nice grill marks). Flip onto the other side and grill until the steaks reached just slightly below your desired doneness. Remove the steaks and place on a chopping board. Wrap the steaks loosely with aluminum foil and let it rest for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Unwrap the steaks, slice them thinly at a diagonal and transfer onto a serving plate. Spoon the reserved chimichurri sauce over and serve immediately.
NOTES
Super Naggy:
- I will opt for flank or strip-loin steak as they are cheaper cuts but still taste equally good! But feel free to use whatever cuts you like! I also increased the ratio of sauce to steak as Curtis' recipe doesn't seemed enough to me.
- Grilling: You want the grill pan to be really hot before you first add the steaks so that they will have nice charred marks on them. Turning down the heat after adding the steaks is to ensure that the steaks don't burn before they are cooked.
- Timing: I'm currently using the poke-the-steak method together with the timing method to test the doneness for steaks. You can refer to Bobbi from Bam's Kitchen for the poke-the-steak method! For the timing method, refer to here.
- Resting: Resting allow the steaks to retain their juiciness and since I wrapped them in aluminum foil, the steaks will continue to cook and stay warm until I serve them, hence I grill them just slightly before they are done to my liking so that they don't overcook during the resting period. Here's more information on why you let steaks rest.
- Cutting: Do remember to cut the steaks against the grain! Refer to here for more help if you are new to cooking steaks.
dentistvschef says
Tasty and refreshing accompanie for fatty bbq..
i would love it even more with a combo of parsley and cilantro...
Jasline N. says
Mmm I think parsley and cilantro sounds like a great combination!
eatwithnamie.com says
OMG, it looks so delicious. The green sauce reminds me of salsa verde, which I adore. Your photos are fantastic!
Jasline @ Foodie Baker says
Thank you very much Namie! 🙂 Glad you like it!
Baby Sumo says
Hi Jasline, u did a great job cooking that steak - it looks beautifully cooked. We are a steak loving family, I often cook it via the Heston method - check it out as it produces tender juicy steaks.
Jasline N. says
Hi Baby Sumo, thank you very much for your compliments! I'm off to check out Heston's method, thanks for sharing! 🙂
laurasmess.me says
Great post. Gorgeous photography! I am a huge fan of Curtis Stone so it's nice to see his recipe come to life on your blog. Chimichurri is a winner!
Jasline FoodieBaker says
Hi Laura, thank you very much! I first got to know Curtis Stone through his show Take Home Chef, I really wish I can bring home a chef one day! 😉
I Wilkerson says
This looks delicious--and perfect for the summer grilling season!
Jasline FoodieBaker says
Hi Inger! Thank you! Hope you will like the condiment! 🙂
Bam's Kitchen says
好久不见了! Love your new look! However I really love the look of this steak with that delicious sauce. I can't even imagine the heat in Singapore as it is already pretty hot in HK. Come on over to HK just to get out of the heat... LOL. I hope you are doing well. Take Care, BAM
Jasline FoodieBaker says
Hi Bobbi, yes it's been a long time! Thank you so much!
I wish I can head to Hong Kong too, it's been quite some time since I last visit there, I miss the food!
Do take care too! 🙂
Zoe says
Hi Jasline,
Love your new .com look! I'm contemplating this idea too but can't find any reasons for myself to do this.
I'm never good at grilling steaks and my husband is the one who is doing the cooking of steaks at home. Chimichurri? This is totally new to me and nice condiment that I learn today.
Zoe
Jasline FoodieBaker says
Hi Zoe! Thank you very much! You're very lucky, to have your husband doing the grilling for you!
Fig & Quince says
this looks startlingly and unfairly delicious! YUM YUM YUM!
Jasline FoodieBaker says
Hahah thank you! 🙂