MH's Chimichurri Sauce - Question

[The Burn]

Thinking of making some of this as a side option for the prime rib roast with Cow Crust I'm doing Friday night. In the ingredients it says: "1/2 cup (packed) fresh basil and oregano leaves." Is this a half-cup of each or of both together?

Also, did "we" decide whether it could be made a few hours ahead of time and refrigerated or is that a botulism no-no?

Thanks

[fzxdoc]

Burn, I asked Meathead and he said that with all of the chopped up herbs in his chimichurri sauce, there was essentially no risk because oxygen could still get in to the components. His exact words were

"Good thinking! But the key is that bot hates oxygen. So things like garlic or basil in a bottle of oil is risky, but in chimi there is so much air mixed in the risk is low."--MH

He says on his recipe page that you can store it for a week or more, as I recall.

About the basil/oregano mix, I'd make it with 1/2 cup (chopped) combined, and go heavier on the basil. I'm always lighter-handed with oregano than with many other herbs.

I don't use MH's recipe, I use my own, and the ratio in mine is about a cup of chopped herbs to half a cup of oil (along with everything else in the recipe). It has a nice consistency.

FWIW, here's the recipe I use. I usually double it because my family loves it so much and loves it on the leftover steak, if there is any.

Chimichurri Sauce Ingredients:
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves (about 1 cup before chopping)
1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley leaves (about 1 cup before chopping)
3 cloves minced garlic
3 T fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. Aleppo pepper flakes ( 1/4 tsp guajillo pepper, ground, is good too)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 cup olive oil

Also, I chop everything by hand. I don't like using a food processor/blender for fresh herbs. It bruises them too much, IMO.

Kathryn

[Huskee]

Interesting. I've never made this. It seems like a jazzed up (vinegar, cumin, and lemon juice) board sauce. I think I would like it. Thanks!

[The Burn]

Thanks Kathryn. I had read the exchange you had on the main site, but couldn't decipher the eventual answer. I picked up some Italian parsley and some "fresh" oregano, but they were out of basil. And, alas, my little cilantro plant didn't make it - I think I underwatered it. So I may just skip sauce for tonight's meal but then make up some chimichurri if there are leftovers or for the next roast/steak. I may do a batch of both versions and see what I like.

[fzxdoc]

They almost always carry cilantro at my local grocery store, but basil availability is hit/miss. You can make the sauce with parsley/mint combo for a Middle Eastern flavor profile too. My family is nutz for the cilantro/parsley combo, so I won't be changing it any time soon.

About making it up ahead of time, I've made it up ahead of time for years and only when I read Meathead's comment about Board Sauce (make and serve immediately if not sooner, to paraphrase) did I twig to the fact that his concern about botulism might extend as well to chimichurri sauce. I had googled it and found that people have ingested botulinum toxin from pesto, which really shocked me since I used to keep a jar of it in the fridge for a week or more in the high basil season for my herb garden.

Anyway, his comment sort of mollified me and I have since resumed making it up a few hours ahead of time and storing the remainder for steak leftovers as well.

Kathryn

[The Burn]

I like cilantro quite a bit myself, which is why I bought a little plant I saw at the Walmart grocery in a "self" watering pot - fill the bottom and it takes care of itself. It didn't work that well so I placed it in a different, yet similar pot, and it still died. My rosemary plant of the same type is still growing. I must admit, I'm one of those people who can kill an air plant.

[Huskee]

Hey Burn, come work your magic on my dandelions this May!