New York Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Welcome to my latest foodie obsession: chimichurri sauce. If you haven’t had it before, you need to try it. I can see endless possibilities when it comes to chimichurri. It is amazingly delicious and simple at the same time. You can dress up almost any meat with this sauce and you’ll be licking your plate clean. No joke. A few weeks ago we were at a restaurant and I ordered an item with chimichurri sauce. The waitress said it was super good and used a special herb from Argentina. I had to stiffle my laughter. There’s no super secret special exotic herb. It’s just parsley. But know what? I don’t blame her for thinking it must be something special. This combination transforms parsley into something so scrumptious it is hard to equate it with parsley in ways you might be accustomed to eating parsley. Today I’m just sharing a basic recipe for a very traditional way of enjoying chimichurri. That’s right, just throw it on a delicious steak. So simple, yet so incredibly delicious.

Time to Make It: About 20 minutes

Yield: 4 Steaks

Ingredients

4 New York Strip Steaks

1 TB olive oil

2 tsp salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp paprika

2 cups fresh flat leaf parsley leaves

5 garlic cloves

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 TB red wine vinegar

3 TB lemon juice




Instructions

1. Remove steaks from refrigerator and any packaging. Rub each side with the olive oil to coat. Sprinkle both sides of each steak with salt, pepper, and paprika. Let steaks sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before cooking. 

2. Make the chimichurri sauce by combining parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice in a food processor. Puree. 

3. Cook steaks on a hot grill until desired done-ness is achieved. About 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare (see chart below)

4. Let steaks rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve topped with chimichurri sauce. 

Get ready because I’m about to bust out a couple secrets to a great steak!

Grades of Steak

There are three grades of steak that you will find in a US supermarket: Select, Choice, and Prime. Select is generally the grade of sale-priced, or advertised meat. If it is choice grade, it will be advertised as such. Select grade is just above what the USDA deems edible. So if you buy Select grade meat, don’t be surprised when it isn’t that great. It will always be worth it to pay the extra money per pound for the Choice grade. If your supermarket carries Prime grade, lucky you! 

Lesson: Only buy Choice or Prime Grade steaks. 

Levels of Doneness




Whether you like your steak bleeding on the plate, or dry as a bone, this steak doneness chart should help you out. The chef’s standard level of doneness is medium-rare. At this point it won’t be bleeding, but will be tender, juicy, and if you do it just right the steak will melt in your mouth. With practice you can tell how cooked a steak is just by feel alone. Every steak has a different cooking time due to varying thicknesses of the cuts. Be wary following anything that tells you a cooking time rather than a temperature. 

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