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If you are a frequent reader of our recipes, you know that we are big fans of chimichurri sauce. We keep looking for new ways to incorporate this delicious sauce onto food, and in our search, we came up with this incredible Argentine Chimichurri Burger recipe. We never thought of using chimichurri as a burger topping before, but now that we’ve tried it, we’re definitely making this Argentine Chimichurri Burger one of our go-to burgers.
Chimichurri is a sauce common in Argentinian and Uruguayan cuisine that has made its way around the world. It is based on freshly chopped parsley, then other ingredients like garlic, olive oil, oregano, and red wine vinegar. There are endless variations, and cilantro, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, shallot, and other ingredients are common additions. It’s fresh and zingy – the perfect complement to richly flavored grilled beef dishes.
For our Chimichurri Burger recipe, I made a batch that’s a little different than my standard sauce – it has a little less oil and vinegar so it stays on the burger better! I personally like to add cilantro and red onion to the mix. I think particularly on a burger it adds more flavor that is quite welcome. If you don’t like cilantro, you can omit or swap with fresh oregano. Also, if you like a spicy burger, try adding more red pepper flakes to the mix!
Argentina is well known for their beef. Beefy beef beef. So for this Chimichurri Burger, it’s important to use a great quality of ground beef for your burgers. I would suggest trying to use a blend of ground chuck that is in the 80 – 85% lean range for this recipe. Using lean ground beef for burgers means that you lose a good deal of flavor (at least in my opinion) but I also don’t love using anything much fatter than 80% lean. It’s just too much grease for me!
We decided to make freshly hand patted 1/3 pound burgers for this recipe, but you can use pre-made burgers or make smaller burgers if you prefer. It is important to not season the burger until you are ready to cook it. Unlike other meats that we like to season and let rest, salt will break up the burgers and make them mushy if we season them too long before cooking!
In addition to their beef, Argentina is well known for “provoleta” a grilled provolone cheese dish that will be served as an appetizer with bread. Check out this NY Times Cooking recipe to see how to make it yourself. I love grilled cheese, and thought that using a grilled provolone slice on this Chimichurri Burger would bring a bit more “Argentina” to the burger.
In my opinion (along with my wife and daughter’s opinion), the grilled cheese was an awesome addition to the Chimichurri Burger and we really enjoyed the unique grilled cheese flavor. If you don’t want to grill the cheese, you can skip grilling the cheese and just put normal slices of provolone on the burger. If you don’t like provolone, Swiss or mozzarella cheese would also work, but I don’t recommend cheddar or American cheeses for this burger. The flavors just don’t match!
Going along with the idea of using the grilled provolone on this Chimichurri Burger, I thought a rich, crusty bread would be a more appropriate choice of base rather than a standard burger bun. We used slices of toasted bread and I’m really glad we did. I think the crunchiness of the bread went well with the richness of the sauce, and it also soaked up the juices from the cheese, sauce, and burger. You can use standard burger buns, but I do recommend toasting them!
If you’d like to further top this Argentine Chimichurri Burger beyond the chimichurri sauce and grilled provolone cheese, here are some ideas. I don’t think the burger needs anything else, but if you would like more toppings, go ahead:
If you try this recipe and decide that you really like chimichurri sauce, here are more recipes from Lake Geneva Country Meats that use chimichurri sauce:
That’s it from us on this recipe. If you have unanswered questions, or would like to share what you think of this Argentine Chimichurri Burger recipe, please leave us a comment down below. We love to hear from you. If you’ve made any tweaks, or have your own take on chimichurri sauce, we’d like to see your recipe too.
Cheers – we’ll see you soon at Lake Geneva Country Meats!
Combine the first 10 ingredients (parsley – red pepper flakes) in a bowl to make your chimichurri sauce. Let sit in the refrigerator while you do the next steps.
Cut the bread into “burger patty” sized pieces. Brush bread on both sides with olive oil, and arrange the slices on place on a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes at 350ºF until lightly toasted. Once the bread is lightly toasted, remove from the oven and let rest.
Split the ground beef into 4 equal size balls, and form into approximately 6 oz (1/3 pound) patties. Generously season with Steak & Roast Rub, or your favorite burger seasoning. Place onto a grill heated to medium-high heat and cook for about 4 – 6 minutes per side until the burgers reach your desired doneness. Once done cooking, remove from the grill, and bring inside to assemble burgers.
When the burgers are done cooking, heat a large cast-iron (or non-stick) skillet to high heat. Add the provolone slices to the skillet and cook for about 30 seconds, just until they start to melt. Flip, and cook for another 30 seconds to brown the other side of the cheese. Remove from heat once browned.
Once the cheese is cooked, assemble your Argentine Chimichurri Burgers by putting a cooked burger patty on a slice of toasted bread, then adding a slice of cheese, and finally a spoonful of chimichurri sauce. Put a slice of bread on top, and serve with french fries and a glass of Argentinian wine! Enjoy!
