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This authentic churrasco recipe is served with flavorful chimichurri sauce. It's fast and easy to make with incredible flavor thanks to a quick marinade in Cuban mojo. Churrasco is the perfect dish for your upcoming barbecues and summer cookouts.
As a kid living in Miami, Florida, I grew up eating churrasco. You can find mom and pop eateries who speak no English but make the best grilled chicken and steaks with rice and beans on every street in South Florida, and churrasco is incredibly common here.
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What is Churrasco?
Churrasco (pronounced chur-rahs-co) is a Portuguese-Brazilian term for a barbecue, created by the gauchos who ran the cattle ranches, where they would gather their families and communities for a big meal of barbecued meats.
The men would dig huge pits to grill over and while they were preparing and roasting the meat, the ladies and children would bring ingredients from their gardens to make sides dishes and accompaniments.
While churrasco originated in Brazil, it's made in several countries in South America: in Argentina and Uruguay churrasco is any boneless grilled steak that's sliced thin and often served with chimichurri sauce.
In Equador, the grilled steak is seasoned with chimichurri sauce and served with avocados and fries.
The dish churrasco shown here was brought to the US through Nicaraguan immigrants who came to Miami in the 1950's, served with chimichurri sauce.
What is Chimichurri Sauce?
As you can see, the preferred churrasco sauce is chimichurri.
Chimichurri sauce is a bright, herbaceous sauce originating in Argentina, made with parsley and other herbs, olive oil, garlic, red chilis, a little vinegar or lemon juice, some coarse salt, and other ingredients.
I absolutely love this stuff on steak, chicken, vegetables, it basically elevates the flavor of any dish you put it on.
How to Make Churrasco and Chimichurri Sauce
Churrasco most popularly uses skirt steak, a cut of beef that is easily found at your local grocery store. It's a long, skinny cut that comes from the 'plate' area of the cow, under the ribs. It's lean and can be tough, meant to be cooked to medium rare, prized more for its beefy flavor than it's tenderness.
That's where a quick 30 minute marinade in mojo comes in. Mojo is a Cuban marinade made with citrus, oil, and lots of garlic, imparting a ton of vibrant flavor and tenderizing the skirt steak.
Skirt steak does great with any marinade so if you've got your favorite marinade in mind, use it!
Next up, the chimichurri. I like making it in advance, but it tastes good freshly made as well. I have a full recipe for chimichurri sauce already, so go take a peek! It's literally just a medley of fresh herbs for a sauce and it possibly will be the best sauce you'll ever have. Like, ever.
You can make this steak inside on a hot grill pan or cast iron skillet, or throw the skirt steak on the grill for your barbecues this year. It's really that simple!
Pro Tip: Let your steaks rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking. Letting them shake off the cold makes sure that the steaks cook evenly and the proteins don't tense up.
Ingredients for Churrasco
Mojo Marinade, optional. It's definitely not a must, but I love me a good marinade, honey. And the flavors of mojo definitely add a nice tropical flavor with the citrus in it, tons of garlic, too.
Skirt Steak. Make sure to ask for the 'inner skirt' from your butcher. The outer skirt is wider and has a tough membrane you'll have to pull off.
Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper. Simple seasoning is all you need!
Chimichurri. If you have a blender or food processor, making this sauce is a breeze. It's still a breeze if you don't but you'll be mincing and finely chopping all your herbs and garlic by hand.
Churrasco FAQs
Can I use other cuts of meat?
Flank steak, which is another long muscle coming from the belly area, is a cut that is a perfect substitute for skirt steak. It's lean and tough like skirt steak that does well being cooked quickly to medium rare, so its a perfect cut for churrasco and other dishes like steak fajitas.
Another cut I love is flat iron steak, which is a cut from the top muscle blade in the chuck (shoulder) area of the cow. It's a slightly tough cut but it has way more marbling than skirt and flank steak and is a smaller steak size.
It's great served with chimichurri and given a little marinade, too. I served it with the chimichurri and some amazing beef tallow roasted potatoes and it was incredible.
How long should I marinate the skirt steak?
Skirt steak is a loose muscle, you can literally kind of pull it apart when raw, so marinades permeate it very easily! You can give it a quick 30 minute soak in marinade and see a real impact in flavor, though I wouldn't marinate more than 3 hours otherwise you'll relax the proteins too much and the steak will start to get mushy.
How should I cut skirt steak or flank steak?
Flank and skirt steak should be sliced thinly and against the grain. What that means is that you'll see the muscle lines on your steak (they're easier to see when the steak is raw) and you want to cut it perpendicular to those lines; so not cutting along them, but against them like you're crossing t's.
Cutting your steak against the grain is cutting the muscle fibers into shorter pieces, making them more tender to eat. If you cut them with the grain the steak slices will be impossibly chewy.
Love Latin Dishes? Check out:
- Arroz con Pollo
- Brazilian Caipirinha
- Authentic Carne Asada + Marinade
- Crispy Instant Pot Pork Carnitas
- Birria QuesaTacos con Consome
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📖 Recipe
Churrasco Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
This authentic churrasco recipe is served with flavorful chimichurri sauce. It's fast and easy to make with incredible flavor thanks to a quick marinade in Cuban mojo. Churrasco is the perfect dish for your upcoming barbecues and summer cookouts.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup mojo criollo
- 2 lbs skirt steak, inner skirt preferred
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
- Chimichurri Sauce, to Serve
Instructions
- Marinate the skirt steak in a plastic zip top or large mixing bowl with the mojo criollo marinade for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours in the fridge. This step is optional, but it does impart tenderness to the skirt steak.
- Take the bag out of the fridge 45 minutes before cooking to rest. Before cooking, pat the skirt steak dry and season evenly with the kosher salt and ground pepper.
- If using a grill, make sure the charcoal coals are white and hot. Grill 3-4 minutes on each side for medium-rare. On a grill pan on the stove, use high heat. Sear the skirt steak on each side for 3 minutes for medium-rare.
- Let the steak rest on a cutting board or plate, covered with aluminum foil, for at least 5 minutes before cutting.
- Serve thinly sliced against the grain, topped with chimichurri sauce.
Notes
Can I use other cuts of meat?
Flank steak, which is another long muscle coming from the belly area, is a cut that is a perfect substitute for skirt steak. It's lean and tough like skirt steak that does well being cooked quickly to medium rare, so its a perfect cut for churrasco and other dishes like steak fajitas.
Another cut I love is flat iron steak, which is a cut from the top muscle blade in the chuck (shoulder) area of the cow. It's a slightly tough cut but it has way more marbling than skirt and flank steak and is a smaller steak size.
How long should I marinate the skirt steak?
Skirt steak is a loose muscle, you can literally kind of pull it apart when raw, so marinades permeate it very easily! You can give it a quick 30 minute soak in marinade and see a real impact in flavor, though I wouldn't marinate more than 3 hours otherwise you'll relax the proteins too much and the steak will start to get mushy.
How should I cut skirt steak or flank steak?
Flank and skirt steak should be sliced thinly and against the grain. What that means is that you'll see the muscle lines on your steak (they're easier to see when the steak is raw) and you want to cut it perpendicular to those lines; so not cutting along them, but against them like you're crossing t's.
Cutting your steak against the grain is cutting the muscle fibers into shorter pieces, making them more tender to eat. If you cut them with the grain the steak slices will be impossibly chewy.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 371Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 67mgSodium: 986mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 1gSugar: 7gProtein: 29g
Eden Westbrook is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind Sweet Tea and Thyme. A classically trained chef, Eden has inspired home cooks into the kitchen with cultural comfort foods, easy family-friendly eats and sweets, and glorious spreads for date night and entertaining since 2015.
Christy Hoover says
Hello Britt Anne,
I could eat this through the screen. It looks amazing! I've never had chimichurri sauce, however, I will now. Thank you for sharing and stopping by my Facebook page! Returning the love.
Thank you for stopping by hun. I hope you'll try the chimichurri sauce, it'll change your life!