Skewered Street Food Around The World

Argentinian Churrasco Beef Skewers with Chimichurri(GF) is a great way to use the cilantro and parsley from your garden. The sauce is assembled quick in a food processor. Marinate beef, chicken or even shrimp to add instant flavor to your dish.

Chimichurri is a staple for grilled meats in Argentina and the surrounding countries. There are probably as many variations of chimichurri as there are cuts of meat that could be grilled.

The recipe I have for chimichurri is a blend of cilantro and parsley, garlic and red chili flakes, along with the acidic bite from red wine vinegar all blended together with olive oil.

It is a great condiment on the side for grilled meats but as a marinade it pulls all those flavors into the meat. Amazing!

Marinating to Impart Flavor vs Brining

If you read the recipe, Tea Brined Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Hot Honey Drizzle you already know some of the basic science behind brining. For those who don’t know, brining is the process of using salt to act as a catalyst to tenderize meats.

You may have heard that brining uses osmosis to infuse the brine into the meat. Actually, salt with the liquid unwinds or relaxes the protein strands. Allowing the process of diffusion to absorb and exchange the brining liquid in the meat over time.

This imparts flavor in the brine into the meat as well.

Marinating Science

Imparting flavor is one goal when marinating. But marinating meat acts as a tenderizer by an enzymatic reaction denaturing the proteins by disrupting their hydrogen bonds.

This happens when high percentage acids such as vinegars, lemon juice, wine, beer are introduced into marinades. Even lower acidic ingredients as milk or yogurt can act as a tenderizer over a longer period of time.

Be careful not to over marinate, leaving the meat in the marinate too long, because this will actually reverse the process and toughen up the meat.

Grilled Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

I love to grill potatoes, as a kid we would foil wrap wedges of russet tossed in oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. They come out soft with some crispiness on the edges.

I still do this on occasion but with the versatility of my Kamado Joe grill and my Traeger I have found that there are many ways to roast, sear or grill potatoes that don’t require heating up the house with the oven.

Read More About the Origin of Sweet Potatoes

Since sweet potatoes are part of the South American cuisine, pairing them with the chimichurri beef made sense.

I tossed the peeled and wedged sweet potatoes in enough olive oil to coat add salt, granulated garlic, granulated onion and some chipotle powder.

Careful with the chipotle powder, it will catch up to you if you add too much.

Season to Your Taste

You don’t really need a recipe, just toss together and either smoke in the pellet smoker, indirect grill so the flame doesn’t burn them or roast in the oven until tender. If grilling, turn occasionally to get an even roast on them.

Serve on the side, they pair well with the chimichurri as well!

Enjoy!