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Chimichurri sauce is said to be as common in Argentina as ketchup is in the United States. But it is only now showing up on restaurant menus in America.

I had one of my first tastes of chimichurri in a San Juan restaurant in 2004, and developed an immediate affinity for it. The flavor was both piquant and herbal, a little spicy, a little salty, and well, just delicious.

It’s also a sauce that’s likely to appear on Florida menus.

The Food Lover’s Companion defines it as a mixture of olive oil, vinegar, finely chopped parsley, oregano, onion, and garlic all seasoned with salt, cayenne, and black pepper. It is a must on grilled meat.

Chimichurri sauce is a great end of the summer and early fall condiment to add to your grilling repertoire. Serve it with pork or beef.

There are many versions of chimichurri, whether you find yourself in South America, the Caribbean, or North America.

Pork Chimichurri is a fabulous, easy recipe that’s not too spicy, even though crushed red pepper flakes are in this recipe. The pork is cut in cubes and marinated in the sauce. Serve it with grilled skewers of sweet potato pieces and poblano peppers.

Grilled Steak & Potatoes with Chimichurri Sauce is made with round steak and grilled sweet potatoes and Yukon Gold potatoes, but you can also use sirloin steak. This chimichurri sauce is flavored with white vinegar, garlic, olive oil, Italian parsley, and salt.

Not only are there countless versions of chimichurri, the sauce can be served with other entrees. In Bistro Laurent Tourondel: New American Bistro Cooking by Laurent Tourondel (Wiley, $34.95), the author recommends chimichurri sauce be served with sea salt-crusted pink snapper, any grilled meat, or chicken, and recipes for Spiced Veal Hanger skewers or Grilled Lamb T-Bones. Note that his version is made with cilantro and parsley as well as olive oil, white wine vinegar, roasted red peppers, garlic, Spanish onion, red pepper flakes, and freshly squeezed lime juice.

Chef Tourondel is a partner in the BLT Restaurant Group, with restaurants in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Grilled steak and potatoes with chimichurri sauce.

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Red vs. green

Norman Van Aken, in New World Kitchen: Latin American and Caribbean Cuisine (ECCO, $34.95), makes a distinction between chimichurri rojo (red) and verde (green).

The Argentine Green Sauce is favored to give zest to meats. You can even mix some of the sauce into mayonnaise to add Nuevo Latino style to a sandwich or salad.

He uses Italian parsley, olive oil, cayenne pepper, garlic, cumin, pepper, and kosher salt plus the important ingredient of Spanish sherry vinegar.

For Argentine Red Sauce, which he calls “a sort of Argentine Worcestershire” which is more herbaceous, he recommends using it to marinate chicken pieces. For this sauce, either Spanish sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar is added to olive oil, hot paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic black pepper, cumin, broken bay leaf, and kosher salt.

Elizabeth Luard, in The Latin American Kitchen (Kyle, $19.95), has a completely different take on chimichurri: she says that thyme is the essential herb for the oil-and-vinegar sauce that accompanies barbecue. Her recipe has fresh thyme, onion, garlic, flat-leaf parsley, wine vinegar, and olive oil.

Marinating times

While some recipes for chimichurri use it as a sauce, using it as a marinade opens up new flavors and tenderizes less tender cuts of meat. In order to tenderize, a marinade must contain acidic ingredients such as lemon juice, yogurt, wine, or vinegar, or a natural tenderizing enzyme found in fresh papaya, ginger, pineapple, and figs, according to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

Always marinate in the refrigerator, never at room temperature. Tender beef cuts need to be marinated from 15 minutes or up to two hours to impart flavor. Less tender beef cuts should be marinated 6 hours or up to 24 hours.

The Wishbone Marinating & Grilling Guide recommends three to 24 hours for pork; up to three hours for skinless, boneless chicken breasts; three to 24 hours for chicken parts; 15 minutes for delicate fish such as flounder, cod, and halibut, and 30 minutes for stronger fish such as tuna, shrimp, and salmon. Sliced vegetables may be marinated for 15 minutes to an hour.

A tenderizing marinade penetrates about ¼ inch into the surface of the beef.

Never reuse a marinade. Allow ¼ to ½ cup per 1 to 2 pounds beef. Marinate in a food-safe plastic bag or a nonreactive container. If the marinade is to be used for basting or as a sauce, reserve a portion of it before adding the meat or poultry or fish.

In the September issue of Food & Wine magazine, an article on the 30 Best Fast Recipes Ever includes Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce, a 2004 recipe from Mark Bittman. The sauce is not used as a marinade, although skirt steak can be a less tender cut of meat; instead, when the grilled steak is sliced across the grain, the sauce is passed at the table to serve with the meat.

Whether you use chimichurri as a sauce or a marinade, its a great addition to grilled meat and poultry. It’s fast and easy and full of flavor.

Contact Kathie Smith at: food@theblade.com or 419-724-6155.

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