Matambre (Rolled Beef)

Matambre is a South American rolled Beef Flank, stuffed with Chimichurri, vegetables and hard boiled eggs in it's traditional form, for my version I'm just using the Chimichurri.

This is a massive feed, great for a party or a bunch of blokes watching a game!

I like to borrow from Vietnamese culture and turn it into a Bahn Mi by stuffing it into a crusty bread roll, like this it will feed an army!

For the chimichurri sauce:

1 bunch fresh parsley leaves, stalks and all

1 bunch of coriander (cilantro)

6 large cloves of garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons water

1 red onion

1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt

2 fresh chillies (deseeded)

1 whole skirt steak

1 tablespoon dried oregano

3 or 4 fresh Bay leaves chopped

This can be done the day before.

It's dead easy to make and great on a mixed grill BBQ, so I make it up and keep as jar in my fridge all summer!

To Make it, just blend all the Chimichurri ingredients together in a food processor.

It will keep up to a week in your fridge if you can resist using it on everything you eat!

Carefully slice through the skirt steak from the thin end, work with the grain as much as possible to butterfly it.

Stop just short of the edge so it remains one piece.

The idea is to "butterfly" the beef length-ways.

Fold the skirt out flat, cut side up and completely smother it with the Chimichurri.

Place in a container and pour over the remaining Chimichurri.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the beef from the marinade, using your hands wipe as much of the marinade off, back into the container.

Keep the Chimichurri Marinade for the next step.

Drain the Chimichurri through a sieve or muslin cloth to remove the excess moisture. I push mine through a sieve.

This forms the Chimichurri into a thick paste.

Lay the beef out flat, cut side up.

Cover with the drained Chimichurri.

Roll the Beef so the grain of the meat is running the length of the roll.

This is the secret, this will mean you are cutting against the grain when you serve and the slices will eat well.

Tie the Matambre tightly every inch along the length of the roll using butchers twine, with one tie about, like you were preparing it for a rotisserie, in fact cooking Matambre on a rotisserie would be a good thing!.

Season with salt and pepper.

BBQ at Low Temperature, roughly 130°C (266°F) for 8-9 hours till the meat is soft when probed with a skewer.

I'm just using my Weber kettle with a medium heat indirect fire on both sides.

Remove from the BBQ and let rest for 10 minutes.

Remove the twine and slice into thin slices.

I’m taking a bit of a liberty here, but I love Bahn Mi and Matambre both and I have some left so I’m borrowing the Vietnamese Bahn Mi idea and bringing it home to Agrentina.

First mix some Mayonnaise, Sweet chilli sauce and Siracha together.

I like to add chopped fresh chilli and coriander (cilantro) to that, it stops the small pieces from falling out of the roll.

Spread the Mayo mixture onto a crusty roll.

Add sliced hard-boiled egg, sometimes I’ll add avocado slices as well.

Slice the Matambre thinly and add plenty to the roll

Now it needs some crunch for texture, I’m adding strips of cucumber, capsicum (bell pepper) and pea shoots.

Fold it over and prepare for a taste explosion!