Bife de chorizo, the Argentine sirloin.
It is not a sausage. It is the boneless sirloin strip, the steak my mother's family put down first on every grill, and the one most ordered in any Argentine steakhouse. Here is how I cook it: thick, hot, and rested, with the edge fat rendered and the center still pink.
The name throws people off. Chorizo here points to the shape, not to sausage. Bife de chorizo is the sirloin strip, very close to a New York strip, and it is the heart of the Argentine asado.
You will see it on every parrilla because it earns its place: a clean band of fat down one edge, a beefy center, and a forgiving thickness that takes a hard sear. It is one cut in a bigger order; if you want the whole sequence, here are the cuts of an asado and how to run the fire start to finish. This page is the steak itself. Salt, fire, rest, and a spoon of chimichurri on the side.
Five steps, in the order that matters
Cut thick and salt
Have the steaks cut at least an inch and a half thick; a thin bife de chorizo overcooks before it crusts. Coarse salt on both sides, nothing else.
Build a hot ember bed
This is the one asado cut you cook hot. A three-count of heat over the grate, hotter than the slow cuts, with the grate dropped lower for a hard sear.
Hard sear both sides
Lay the steaks down and leave them to build a deep crust, 3 to 4 minutes a side. Do not move them early. The crust is the flavor.
Pull at medium-rare to medium
Bring the center to about 130 to 140 degrees, until the band of fat on the edge has rendered and softened. Past medium you lose what makes this cut a pleasure.
Rest, then serve whole
Rest 5 to 8 minutes and serve the steak whole, not sliced, the way an Argentine steakhouse plates it. Chimichurri on the side, never on top before it rests.
What you need
The fire
- Cut thick, at least 1.5 inches. Salt both sides.
- Hot bed, a three-count of heat.
- Hard sear both sides, 3-4 min each.
- Pull at 130-140F, the edge fat rendered.
- Rest 5-8 min. Serve whole, not sliced.
It is a steak, not a sausage. Cut it thick or it overcooks before it crusts, and serve it whole the way the steakhouse does. The band of edge fat is the reward.
From Kocinero · Experience you can't fake. Verdicts you can't buy. · kocinero.com/bife-de-chorizo
Best on the grill it was built for
A bife de chorizo wants heat you can control. A real parrilla with a crank-height grate lets you drop the grate close to the embers for the hard sear, then lift it off when the fat starts to spit. Here is how to choose one.
Argentine grills (parrillas)
The crank-height parrilla made for this: drop the grate low over the embers for a hard sear, then raise it to finish without flare-ups.
Read the guideThe best Argentine grills
Which parrillas are worth the money, what an adjustable grate really buys you, and what to skip. The picks I would actually cook a bife de chorizo on.
Read the guideCommon questions
Is bife de chorizo a sausage?
No. Despite the name, bife de chorizo is a steak, the boneless sirloin strip (similar to a New York strip). The word chorizo here refers to the shape of the cut, not to sausage.
What cut is bife de chorizo in English?
It is the boneless sirloin strip, very close to a New York strip steak. It has a clean band of fat along one edge and is the most popular steak in Argentine steakhouses.
How do you cook bife de chorizo?
Cut it thick (at least 1.5 inches), salt it, and sear it hard over a hot ember bed, 3 to 4 minutes a side, to medium-rare or medium so the edge fat renders. Rest 5 to 8 minutes and serve it whole.
Why is it called bife de chorizo if it is not sausage?
The name comes from the shape, the cut roughly resembles a chorizo sausage in form. The meat itself is sirloin strip steak, with no sausage involved.
Thick, hot, rested. Serve it whole.
Render the edge fat, keep the center pink, and let it rest before the chimichurri ever touches it. Cook it over the grill it was made for.