Motxo / Plancha
Bife sando,
chimichurri
& criolla.
My version uses two Argentine table staples—chimichurri and salsa criolla—with hot beef and bread warmed in the pan. Keep the build direct.
Serves 2Time 30 minMethod plancha
Method
- Salt the steak well. Make the criolla first: finely cut tomato, onion, and pepper with vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Drain off any puddle before building the sandwich.
- Heat a plancha or cast-iron pan until smoking. Cook the steak hard and fast, then rest it for five minutes. Warm the cut sides of the bread in the fat left in the pan.
- Slice the steak across the grain and season the cut faces. Layer chimichurri, steak, a spoon of criolla, and provoleta if using. Eat while the bread is still crisp.
Read the cut
Skirt and bavette have a visible grain. Turn the rested steak so your knife crosses those long fibers; that matters more to tenderness than cutting the slices paper-thin.
Keep the bread alive
Toast only the cut face in the pan drippings. Put the juicy criolla against the meat—not against the crumb—so the roll stays crisp long enough to eat.