Flank Steak with Chipotle Chimichurri Steak Sauce

To me, a flank steak needs something.
It's not a BIG beef steak, but sliced thin it can be very tender and at $7.99 a pound it's in the middle of the pack.
Before the popularity of skirt for fajitas, most were made with flank steaks. They are a great steak to pound, stuff and roll onto skewers for shish ka bobs and the Cubans use it for ropa vieja.

Tonight I grilled it very simple with a good dose of Adobo. I recently dug up and redid my herb garden and the parsley, chives and thyme are growing so well, they needed a haircut and I used the trimmings to make a Chipotle Chimichurri-Style Steak Sauce.

A traditional chimichurri sauce is basically an herb vinaigrette so by adding tomato juice and chipotle chilies in adobo instead of the red pepper, it traveled up from Argentina by way of Mexico.

I also simmered the tomato juice with the garlic and the chipotles to take the edge off the rawness but the rawness is necessary with the herbs so I added them after the tomato mixture cooled off.
I transferred everything to a processor and blended until it resembled a very loose pesto but a thick dressing.

The amount of herbs makes it unappealing as a salad dressing but as a sauce for roasted/grilled meats it is perfecto. I toyed with the idea of adding capers but since it already had vinegar I settled on lemon zest for adding a note of brightness. I determined it needed a touch of honey, a touch of adobo sauce (for more heat) and another tablespoon of vinegar right at the end but you should taste and adjust to your liking.

Chipotle Chimichurri Sauce
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Unattended Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 1 cup


* 1/2 Vidalia onion, chopped
* 1 (4oz) can tomato juice
* 3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
* 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
* 1 teaspoon chopped lemon thyme
* Zest of one lemon
* 1 teaspoon minced fresh cilantro
* 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar + more if needed
* Salt & pepper to taste


1. Heat olive oil in small saucepan. Add chipotle pepper, garlic and onions and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Add tomato juice and simmer another 15 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and cool.
4. Place the parsley, thyme, lemon zest, cilantro, and tomato mixture in the bowl of a processor or blender.
5. Process until it is smooth and thick.
6. Add salt, pepper and vinegar to taste. Adjust if needed.


Serve room temperature. Will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks.