TLOU2 Inspired: Espresso and Chipotle Rubbed Steak Sandwiches with Fresh Chimichurri

The Chimichurri

This chimichurri recipe is very quick and easy to make – and can be made for under $5. When it’s done, you’ll have enough to use as a sauce to top your meats or it also works beautifully as a marinade for steaks before grilling them! This method is for a rustic, chopped texture, but you can also speed up the process by just throwing all the ingredients into a food processor.

• 1 Shallot
• 2 Jalapeños
• 5 Garlic Cloves
• 1/2C Fresh Cilantro
• 1/4C Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley
• 2Tbsp Fresh Oregano
• 1/3C Red Wine Vinegar
• 2/3C Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt and Cracked Black Pepper to Taste

1. Start by roughly mincing the shallot, jalapenos, and garlic cloves and placing them in a medium bowl.
2. Roughly mince the Cilantro, Parsley, and Oregano – add these to the bowl with the other ingredients.
3. Add the Red Wine Vinegar and Olive Oil to the bowl along with the salt and pepper, stirring the ingredients. Make sure you pull anything off the sides of the bowl back into the mixture.
4. Cover the bowl (plastic wrap, a lid, a plate that is slightly larger than the bowl, whatever) and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes – the longer it rests, the better it gets.

The Steak

The hardest part about this steak recipe is the waiting.

For the rub:

• 1tsp Instant Espresso Powder
• 2tsp Chipotle Chili Powder
• 1/2tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2tsp Dried Oregano
• 1/2tsp Black Pepper
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt

1. Mix the ingredients thoroughly and rub the mixture into all sides of two room-temperature steaks. For this recipe I used American Wagyu Sirloin, but if you don’t live in Southern California where Wagyu is everywhere, I highly recommend using flank steak.
2. After the steak has been rubbed down, let it rest for about 15 minutes before cooking.
3. While the steak is resting, heat a large pan (cast iron if you’ve got it) with a small amount of olive oil.
4. When the pan is nice an hot place the steaks in to sear all sides. You’re not fully cooking it just yet, so you want to get it to a nice rare temperature, around 115*-120* if you’re a big temperature enthusiast.
5. When the steak gets to temperature, remove it from the heat and let it rest for about 10 minutes. After it has rested, slice the steak into as thin of slices as it’ll let you get.
6. Return the slices to the pan and hit them with the heat to finish to your desired temperature. I really hope Medium Rare is your desired temp because it will give the best results (that’s about 130*, temperature fans).
7. Remove that steak from the heat – it’s sandwich time!

The Sandwich

Here we go, it’s sandwich time! You can use any bread you like for this – if you’re a fan of a hoagie, use a hoagie. For my version, I used small seeded sourdough slider buns, but I just recommend something that will hold up to some juices.

For the Sandwich

• The steak you have beautifully prepared
• The chimichurri probably still chilling in the fridge
• Bread of choice – I used Six (6) Seeded Sourdough rolls
• Slices of Havarti cheese
• Some fresh Arugula
• A lil butter

1. Heat the over to about 350*
2. Open the bread you are using – slice it in half if you need to – and smear a small amount of butter on each side.
3. Place the bread on a sheet pan and place into the oven. It will live here for about 5 minutes just until it gets a little toasty.
4. Carefully pull the bread from the oven and get ready to build your sandwiches (still on the sheet pan)
5. Layer your cheese first on whichever side you determine is the bottom of your sandwich and top the cheese with a few slices of the steak. Do this for each sandwich.
6. Return the pan to the oven just until the cheese melts.
7. Remove the pan from the oven and you can now spoon on some of your chimichurri and a little fresh arugula before topping the sandwich with the other half of the bun.
8. Eat.