This skirt steak marinade with chimichurri is so good it should be illegal, boos. It makes me wanna drag out the grill even when I swore I wasn’t cooking a thing! I came up with a garlic and citrus marinade that tenderizes the meat and infuses it with loads of flavor, but the best part is definitely the chimichurri sauce. Y’all HAVE to make it. If you’ve never had it before, think of it as a tangy, bright pesto. Latin America in a bite. Get into it.
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PRO TIP: Skirt steak is my pick here because it’s thinner, cooks up fast, and has a rich, beefy flavor. But a good flank steak marinade will give you tender and flavorful results too!
Skirt Steak Marinade Recipe with Chimichurri Recipe
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Ingredients
For the Marinade and Grilling:
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons apple cider or red wine vinegar
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2-3 pounds skirt steak
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the Chimichurri Sauce:
- 1 cup fresh parsley
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/4-1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Optional: 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
For the Marinade and Grilling:
- Whisk all of the ingredients together and pour into a large ziploc bag.
- Add skirt steak to ziploc bag with marinade and allow to marinade up to 6-7 hours max depending on how thick the meat is.
- When ready to grill, liberally season with salt and pepper.
- Grill until golden brown and perfectly charred then allow to rest before slicing on a cutting board.
For the Chimichurri:
- Add all of the ingredients to a heavy duty blender or food processor and blend until everything is chopped up and smooth then serve. Seriously that easy.
Notes
- Fridge: Wrap leftover skirt or flank steak in foil or store it in an airtight container, then pop it in the fridge. It will stay good for 3-4 days. Keep the chimichurri in a sealed jar or container in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freezer: Slice the steak, wrap it up tight in plastic and foil, then tuck it into a freezer bag. It will hold up for about 2 months. The chimichurri can be frozen too, just spoon it into an airtight container or ice cube tray for up to 2 months.
- Reheating: Let the steak sit out for 15-20 minutes, then warm it in a hot skillet or on the grill until heated through. Skip the microwave if you wanna keep it juicy. The chimichurri should stay chilled and be spooned on cold or at room temp, never reheated.
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Buy the best meat you can, boos. Go for top quality if you can swing it, or just grab the best your budget allows.
- Get that grill HOT! Let it smoke before you even think about dropping that steak on.
- Let the steak rest after grilling. That’s how the juices stay put instead of running all over your plate.
- Cut against the grain in thin slices. Look for those lines running through the meat and slice across them for the most tender bite. This works every time y’all, whether you’re making flank steak with chimichurri or chimichurri skirt steak.
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Serving Suggestions
- Veggies: Some easy sides for this grilled steak with chimichurri sauce are green beans with tomatoes, balsamic-glazed Brussels sprouts, garlic green beans, and honey-glazed carrots.
- Potatoes: Garlic mashed potatoes, smashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, roasted fingerlings, or sweet potato fries all give me life!
- Salads: A fresh vinegar coleslaw, Caesar salad, or a simple onion and cucumber salad balance out the richness of this skirt steak marinade with chimichurri.
- Bread: Warm yeast rolls, classic garlic bread, or a slice of roasted garlic bread are perfect for soaking up extra sauce.
Recipe Help
Yup. For tough cuts like skirt or flank, keep it under 24 hours in the fridge. Anything longer and the texture can get mushy. And NEVER re-use a flank steak marinade after raw meat has been sitting in it!
Nope. You can use a cast-iron skillet or grill pan on the stovetop. Just make sure it’s piping hot before the meat goes down.
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Thank you so much for this recipe! I made this dish for Valentine’s day and my boyfriend and I loved it! Also, I actually couldn’t find regular orange juice at a shop near me (I was short on time) and picked up orange pineapple juice for the marinade. It was still really delicious.
Oh fantastic!!! I’m so so glad you enjoyed it!
Ummm I’m pretty sure this is my favorite dish right now. I used the marinade on steak and chicken and it was delicious and the chimichurri sauce is amazing. I hate parsley so I just used cilantro and it is so yummy! The chimichurri is also delicious on scrambled eggs. Thank you!
Made this tonight and want to thank you for the great recipe! I put the marinade together last night and marinated the meat overnight. I made the sauce this morning and let it meld until dinner time. Received rave reviews from my family! The flavor and texture of the meat was excellent and we really enjoyed the chimichurri. Thanks, again!
Oh wonderful! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Dave!
Turned out great on our cast iron skillet, it tasted like summer! Beat the rainy day blues away! I have decent amount of chimichurri left, I may throw in on some grilled chicken.
Wonderful idea!!! It is fantastic on chicken.
Made this last night- my mouth is still watering. Thank you so much for sharing! We didn’t have company over last night, so we threw a bit more garlic in the chimichurri sauce…
Looking forward to trying out more of your recipes, Jocelyn!
I’m so glad you enjoyed! More garlic sounds great to me!
This is a keeper! The steak marinade was delicious as was the sauce. FYI.. I only had time to marinate the meat for 5 hours. To help tenderize the meat I pounded it first then put it in the marinade. But I think a flavor trick I had was to make the marinade with everything except the olive oil at first. Then put the meat in the bag and rubbed all that acidic marinade right into the meat. Then I went back and poured the olive oil into the bag.
I’m a mom of 3 so I look for easy and delicious recipes. This surpassed my expectations. I only have a few meals I cook when I entertain and this will be added to that list.
Wonderful! I’m so happy to read this.
Can I use apple cider vinegar again instead of red wine vinegar in the chimichurri? I don’t have red wine vinegar and I don’t want to buy it just to use a couple tablespoons.
Yep you totally can!