Perfect Skirt Steak Marinade with Chimichurri Recipe (2024)

by Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) · Updated

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Skirt Steak Marinade with Chimichurri Recipe – No grill is complete without my insanely flavorful skirt or flank steak marinade with chimichurri sauce! Easy, absolutely delicious and beyond flavorful!

Perfect Skirt Steak Marinade with Chimichurri Recipe (1)

Table of Contents

The Perks and Highlights for the Best Skirt Steak Marinade

Cuisine Inspiration: Latin American flavors

Primary Cooking Method: Marinating and grilling, baby!

Dietary Info: Gluten-free and absolutely full of protein.

Key Flavor: The dominant flavors are a tantalizing mix of zesty citrus, rich olive oil, salty soy sauce, tangy apple cider vinegar, aromatic garlic, and a splash of umami from the Worcestershire sauce. The chimichurri sauce adds a fresh, herby kick to round everything out.

Skill Level Required: Pretty easy

Sweet Highlights:

  • Zesty Citrus Magic: The citrus juices help tenderize the steak, ensuring every bite is mouth-wateringly soft.
  • Garlic’s Bold Embrace: Garlic adds a depth of flavor that transforms the marinade from good to “can I bathe in this?”
  • Chimichurri Charm: This sauce is the unsung hero of the recipe, adding a fresh, herby layer
  • Soy Sauce Savvy: A splash of soy brings all the ingredients together
  • Grill Marks for Days: There’s something undeniably magical about the smoky goodness that a grill imparts on steak, making this dish a summertime (or anytime!) favorite.

What is Skirt Steak?

Skirt steak is a long cut of beef that’s sliced thinly from the diaphragm muscles of the cow. It is one of the most flavorful cuts of beef but can be a little on the tougher side because of the connective tissue in the cow’s diaphragm muscles. That’s where marinades come in to help tenderize the meat.

Ingredients

The flavor is unreal. Because of the texture of skirt steak (I love to use it here in my carne asada as well) and flank steak, I wanted to make sure I used a marinade recipe that would really infuse a ton of flavor and also help to tenderize the meat. The texture is very different than this london broil, cube steak orribeye steak, which is much more tender.

The ingredients contained in this marinade including:

  1. olive oil
  2. orange juice
  3. lime juice
  4. soy sauce
  1. Worcestershire sauce
  2. apple cider or red wine vinegar
  3. minced garlic

Ingredients like lime juice and soy sauce add acid to really break down the toughness of the steak, and it couldn’t taste better if you ask me. That citrus essence gets right down in each and every bite. Put your completed marinade in a resealable plastic bag and add your steak pieces. Refrigerate and marinate for 6 to 7 hours.

Perfect Skirt Steak Marinade with Chimichurri Recipe (2)

Can You Marinate Too Long?

Optimally, for tough steaks like skirt and flank, it’s best to marinate it no longer than 24 hours in the refrigerator. Beyond overnight marinating is overkill. Also, never re-use a marinade.

How to Cook Skirt Steak

Before placing your marinated skirt or flank steak on the grill, it’s important to liberally season the meat on both sides with salt and pepper. Allow your charcoal or gas grill to get good and hot.

Place your steak on the grill and cook both sides for 4 to 6 minutes. The meat should be perfectly charred with wonderful grill marks and have a golden brown color. Remove from the grill and allow the meat to rest for around 5 minutes.

After grilling your steak and allowing it to rest is the best time to cut it. Take your steak and always cut against the grain in thin slices.

Adding Chimichurri Sauce

Adding my chimichurri sauce, takes this recipe to a whole new level y’all. This chimichurri sauce is so fresh with clean flavors. Cilantro and parsley are already so fresh but when added with fresh lime juice, the essence is just so wonderful. It is a lovely accent to this dish.

You can whip this chimichurri recipe up in your heavy duty blender or food processor. The flavors just come together so perfectly with the steak.

Perfect Skirt Steak Marinade with Chimichurri Recipe (3)

More Grilled Recipes

  • This Grilled Ribeye Steak with Tequila Glazeis everything!
  • These BBQ Baby Back Ribs are incredible!!!
  • Grilled Proscuitto Arugula Pizzais necessary!
  • What’s a grill without chicken? ThisTequila Lime Chickenis necessary.
  • ThisCarne Asadamakes my life every time I grill it!
  • And finally get this Grilled Catfish recipe on the grill immediately.

*Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating and leave comments below!*

Perfect Skirt Steak Marinade with Chimichurri Recipe (4)

Skirt Steak Marinade Recipe with Chimichurri Recipe

Skirt Steak Marinade with Chimichurri Recipe – No summer grill is complete without my skirt or flank steak marinade with chimichurri sauce! Easy, absolutely delicious and beyond flavorful!

4.44 from 387 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 6 hours hours

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 6 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 678kcal

Author: Jocelyn Delk Adams

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
  • 1 pound 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

After grilling your steak and allowing it to rest , is the best time to cut it. Take your steak and always cut against the grain in thin slices.

Nutrition

Calories: 678kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 58g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 1359mg | Potassium: 743mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1610IU | Vitamin C: 50.8mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 4.7mg

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Perfect Skirt Steak Marinade with Chimichurri Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long can you marinate skirt steak for? ›

How Long to Marinate a Steak? How long to marinate your steak depends on the size and variety of the cut you're using. Thinner cuts, such as skirt or flanks steaks, should be marinated for 2-4 hours. Tougher cuts, such as top sirloin or sirloin tip, will benefit from marinating overnight (about 8 hours).

What cut of steak is best with chimichurri? ›

3. Best steak for Chimichurri Sauce - in South America, cuts such as flank, flat iron and skirt are popular for serving with Chimchurri Sauce because they have really great beefy flavour that pairs so well with this fresh, zingy sauce. However, Chimichurri will pair beautifully with ANY steak!

What is the best way to tenderize skirt steak? ›

It should be marinated or tenderized with a meat mallet and cooked hot and fast on the grill, skillet or stir fried to maximize tenderness. How should you cook skirt steak? Skirt steak should be marinated for maximum tenderness then cooked hot and fast – either grilled, broiled or pan seared.

How long should I marinate steak? ›

How long should I let steak marinate? Marinate steak for at least 1-2 hours in the refrigerator. However, for best results, use a steak marinade for several hours or overnight. The extra time allows the steak fibers to break down and tenderize before cooking.

What flavors go well with chimichurri? ›

Roasted red potatoes are a hearty and comforting side dish that goes well with chimichurri steak. You can season them with rosemary, thyme, and garlic for a deliciously aromatic dish that complements the bold flavors of the chimichurri sauce.

How to make Chimichurri Sauce Bobby Flay? ›

He starts by adding flat-leaf parsley to the processor and tops it with a bit of fresh oregano. He then adds fresh cilantro, red wine vinegar, lots of black pepper, fresh garlic and smoked paprika to the processor. He tops it off with salt and a healthy amount of olive oil and purees it.

Should you let chimichurri rest? ›

It's important to let the chimichurri rest for at least 20 minutes before using it; this allows the garlic, fresh herbs, and crushed red pepper flakes meld with the oil so your chimichurri is extra flavorful.

How do restaurants tenderize skirt steak? ›

Pounding. Using a meat mallet (or kitchen mallet) to pound steaks helps soften and tenderize the meat. Simply place the meat in between pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper and pound it prior to cooking.

What does Texas Roadhouse do to make their steaks so tender? ›

How does Texas Roadhouse tenderise their steaks? Season each side of the steak well with the seasoning and set aside to rest for about 40 minutes. This causes the salt to infiltrate the surface (through osmosis) and actually aids in the breakdown of muscle fibres, resulting in more tender meat.

How do you make skirt steak not tough? ›

Cook it fast with high heat, instead of low heat for slow cooking. Slicing the meat thinly across grain will provide enough tenderization, especially if you don't overcook your skirt steak to make it tough and dry.

What are the three main ingredients when marinating? ›

A typical marinade is made up of three essential components: an acid (such as vinegar, wine, or citrus), an oil (such as olive oil or sesame oil), and a flavouring agent (such as herbs and spices). These elements work together to transform the taste and texture of your dish in different ways.

Should you poke holes in steak before marinating? ›

Take a fork and prick some holes into the meat before marinating it so that the meat will absorb the sauce more easily. Using a knife works too, especially when you want to marinate bigger steak cuts. The meat should be covered evenly with the marinade from all sides.

What not to marinate steak with? ›

Don't use too much salt. Salt will draw moisture out of your meat causing it to dry out and prevent flavor from absorbing in. Salt can be added later, after cooking to taste. Don't reuse marinades or use marinades as a sauce after cooking.

Can you leave steak in marinade too long? ›

However, acidic marinades can also break down the meat's proteins, potentially causing it to become mushy if marinated for too long. To avoid this, it's recommended to marinate beef with acidic marinades for no more than 24 hours.

Is it OK to marinate steak for 2 days? ›

Marinate tough steaks like flank, skirt, sirloin and round to tenderize the meat. Most marinades call for 24 hours, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service notes that you can marinate for up to five days. Experiment with different marinade ingredients to customize the flavor.

How long can you keep flank steak in marinade? ›

How Long to Marinate Flank Steak. The ideal amount of time is 12 hours, but you can marinate it for up to 24 hours. You should let it sit in the marinade for a minimum of 2 hours, even if you're pressed for time.

How long should skirt steak sit before cutting? ›

A meat thermometer should read 130°F. Rest your Skirt steak for 5 minutes before serving, covering lightly with foil.

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