Choripán con chimichurri is one of the best sandwiches ever! Uruguayan or Argentinian street food at its best!
Choripán con chimichurri - isn't that a wonderful name? It just fills your mouth with all those ch-s and r-s, love it! And what I love best is the way this choripán tastes. Amazing! Top of the list when it comes to sandwiches.
If you would like more Argentinian or South American food, have a look at these Spicy Beef Empanadas, these Colombian Vienna Sausage Appetizers with Coke, or this Peruvian Aji de Gallina. Or learn How to Cook Frozen Sausages!
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What is Choripán?
Choripán con chimichurri is a popular street food in many South American countries, including Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Brazil, Chile, and Puerto Rico. It's also well-loved in the U.S., especially in areas with large Cuban communities, like Miami.
Choripán is a sandwich made with chorizo and crusty white bread, similar to a baguette. The name combines the two main ingredients: "chori" from chorizo and "pan" meaning bread.
Chimichurri is a flavorful sauce made with olive oil, garlic, parsley, vinegar, chili, and oregano, generously slathered on these sandwiches. The sauce is believed to originate in Argentina and Uruguay but is popular throughout Central and South America.
What can I say about the choripán con chimichurri? It is delicious, I could eat it every week!!! My whole family loved it, and the guests we once had, who got to taste my choripán con chimichurri, said that eating at my place was better than going out. 🙂 That's nice to hear, isn’t it? 🙂
Recipe ingredients
Chimichurri sauce: You'll need fresh parsley and oregano. Fresh parsley is widely available, but if you can't find fresh oregano, you can use dried oregano as a substitute. Try this refreshing Mint Chimichurri, or make some Chimichurri Rice, too.
Chorizo: Buy fresh small sausages. If you have more, make these Mexican Chorizo Tostadas, too.
White, crusty bread: I used small French-style baguettes, but any similar white bread will work. My baguettes were about 5-5.5 inches/ 12-14 cm long, which was perfect for the sausages to fit snugly inside. One sandwich made a perfectly sized portion.
Tomatoes and onions for the salsa.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make choripan con chimichurri?
Well, it is just a sandwich, after all, so you will not really have any difficulties making it.
Make the chimichurri sauce: Chop the fresh herbs finely but don’t puree the sauce. Mix the other ingredients first, then add the fresh herbs at the end. Let the sauce sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.
Cook chorizo: I cooked the chorizo sausages on a grill pan. First, I browned them all over, and when they were really brown, I split them lengthwise and grilled the cut side until cooked through. This is the typical way to serve chorizo in a choripán in Uruguay, and it also reduces cooking time.
Make the salsa: Deseed and dice the tomatoes, and chop the onion finely. Combine them in a bowl, then add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Build a choripan con chimichurri: Assemble the choripánes just before serving. Cut the baguettes lengthwise and grill or toast them slightly on the cut side. Alternatively, you can warm them in a hot oven at 400°F/ 200°C for 5-8 minutes until hot and slightly crispy.
Add a generous spoonful of chimichurri sauce on one half of the bread, place the chorizo halves on top, and add more sauce over the sausages. Add tomato and onion salsa and top with the second baguette half. Enjoy!
Try another baguette sandwich, this delicious Zapiekanka - Polish Sandwich.
Good to know!
You can make the sauce a day in advance. Just cover it well and store it in the fridge. Take it out 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving to let it return to room temperature. The oil may look strange after being in the fridge, but it will return to normal once it warms up.
Choripán con Chimichurri – Uruguayan or Argentinian
Ingredients
Chimichurri sauce:
- 1 cup fresh parsley chopped
- ½ cup fresh oregano chopped or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 small red chili pepper or 1 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt as needed
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup olive oil 125 ml
Tomato and Onion Salsa:
- 2 medium ripe tomatoes 12 oz/ 350 g
- 1 small red onion about 65 g/ 2.5 oz
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice to taste
- fine sea salt and pepper
Choripán:
- 6 small fresh chorizo sausages
- 6 small baguettes about 4.5-5.5 inches/ 12-14 cm long
Instructions
Chimichurri:
- Chop the fresh parsley and oregano. Set aside.1 cup fresh parsley + ½ cup fresh oregano
- Combine sauce: Grate the garlic cloves and place them into a small bowl. Add the finely chopped chili or the chili flakes. Add the red wine vinegar, water, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Stir well.5 garlic cloves + 1 small red chili pepper + 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar + 2 tablespoons water + 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt + ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper + 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Slowly add the olive oil while stirring so that the mixture emulsifies slightly. Stir in the chopped herbs. Adjust the taste with more salt and lemon juice, if necessary.½ cup olive oil/ 125 ml
- Cover and let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.
- The chimichurri sauce can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. Take out of the fridge about 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving to allow the sauce to reach room temperature (Note 1).
Tomato and onion salsa:
- Salsa: Deseed the tomatoes and dice them. Chop the onion finely. Mix the tomatoes and the onions in a bowl and add the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.2 medium ripe tomatoes + 1 small red onion + 2 tablespoons olive oil + 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice + fine sea salt and pepper
Choripán:
- Cook chorizo: Heat a grill pan. Brown the chorizo sausages on all sides, turning often. When deeply brown all over, remove them from the pan, cut them lengthwise, and place the halves back into the pan, cut side down. Grill for another 2 or 3 minutes until cooked through. Remove them from the pan and wipe the grill pan clean with paper towels.6 small fresh chorizo sausages
- Heat bread: Cut the baguettes lengthwise. Grill them in the grill pan, cut side down, until lightly crispy on the cut side. Alternatively, you can split them and warm them in the hot oven at 400°F/ 200°C for 5-8 minutes or until hot and slightly crispy.6 small baguettes
Assemble sandwiches:
- Add a generous spoonful of the chimichurri sauce on one of the bread halves, place the chorizo halves on top and add some more sauce over the sausages. Add some tomato and onion salsa and top with the second baguette half.
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
The Portuguese chourico is popular in my area. It is garlicky and liberally seasoned with paprika. My family loves it! Needless to say, these choripánes would get devoured around here! We have never had it served with chimchurri but this looks and sounds deliciuos!!
Monica says
Love that you had a world food series!! We had world cup fever in this house as well (my son loves following it) and it was fun having things like empanadas and waffles and such at our house, too! We tired but no where as extensively as you did. Way to go. It's so fun to eat internationally and diversify, learning at the same time. What fun and deliciousness.