If there was only one thing, to eat, for the rest of my life. I am torn between two things. One is pizza. Which is fair, because pizza is amazing. Literally, even bad pizza is still good.
But the one true competitor for pizza, would be Churrasco.
What is Churrasco?
One day, I was tailgating in Miami with my cousins before a Miami Hurricanes football game. My brother had recently dislocated his shoulder and was walking around with his arm strapped to a box so it wouldn't move and my cousin Delvis was trying to convince that his arm still worked well enough to play corn hole. There was music, and tons of my Cuban family singing, dancing, and or course, eating. And in the midst of this craziness, someone handed me a piece of meat.
What is this, I asked? ... foolishly.
I ate it and now, whenever Chruassco is on the menu, I order it.
It was so incredible I cannot tell you. The meat, pull apart tender, the flavor, incredible. I still to this day remember eating that tiny bit of meat.
Between my husband and I, I am the bigger meat fan, but I am not crazy picky about the cuts. I love a good top soirloin, NY, tri-tip and can be just as happy with those as I am with a fancy rib eye or fillet.
My husband once took me to Fogo de Chao, the Brazilian all you can eat steakhouse with his squadron. I had never been to one before but had always wanted to go. It was a freaking dream come true. I literally was mesmerized by the men carrying endless meat around on swords.
What is the world! it was incredible. Like life changing.
Three things happened that night. 1. Fogo de Chao did not make any money on me. Though pricey, if you eat enough, it is worth the money, and I did. 2. I out ate the other 12 guys there. And they were aware and were trying to keep up. 3. I experienced the true meaning of the meat sweats.
But all of that two say, I ate every cut imaginable, and the Churassco won straight out.
My husband, as I have mentioned before, is also a grilling savant, so he is used to eating meat that is always perfect. He also only eats ribeye. So that's two stipulations I have to compete with. Expensive cuts and perfect cooking. It's only money.... so you can buy better meat, but perfect cooking, of steak, that is hard.
A couple of years ago, I finally got a sous vide for Christmas. It was life changing of course. Until about last year, finding skirt steak in Hawaii was difficult. Stores just never had it or they never had very much. My cousin Delvis was blown away by not being able to find it and then instead switched a family dinner to pork chops last minute and created our now very popular Spiced Pork Rub. But that is a another story.
When Amazon bought Whole Foods, the sales at Whole Foods really kicked in and i found myself doing more and more grocery shopping there, which I am guess was the point with the sales. One day, skirt steak was on sale and I was thrilled! Not only was it available but it was one sale. I bought a ton.
I came home and Hood finds me putting his least favorite steak in a bag to cook in water. Yes!
There is not much to say. My parents came over that night for dinner, I had made chrurrasco for 8 because it was on sale, and we ate it all. Blown away was the term I would use. Blown away.
From now on, that is what we make when company comes over. We literally have had people come over, see skirt steak and see their hopes of a delicious meal dashed, only to take a bit and be blown away. Dying to come over again.
This is something you really should try, like tonight.
Churassco is easily made with skirt steak but you can also use flank or flap cuts as well. Sous vide for as long as you can, an hour at least, six hours at the most, and then finish on a super hot grill to get a crispy crust. Serve with our delicious Chimichurri sauce and you are set!
📖 Recipe
Sous Vide Churrasco Skirt Steak with Chimichurri
- Prep Time: 35 Minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Sous Vide
- Cuisine: South American
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs skirt steak (you can also use flank or flap steak depending on availability)
- salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp. MarnaMaria Carne Criolla
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Using a sous vide cooker, heat water to 131ºF.
- If the skirt steak is in long strips, cut to about 6 inch pieces. Then season the steak with salt and pepper.
- In a ziploc or vacuum bag, combine MarnaMaria Carne Criolla and olive oil.
- Add meat and massage herb mixture all over.
- Seal bag, remove air, and cook submerged for at least one hour and up to six hours.
- Remove from bag, discard juice, and allow to dry on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Alternatively, you can refrigerate or freeze the meat until ready to finish.
- To finish, heat grill or pan to high heat. Sear on both sides until a crust has formed, about 2 minutes.
- Slice against the grain and serve with our favorite chimichurri sauce!
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