Last updated on August 7th, 2018 at 05:35 pm
Matambre: An Argentinian Stuffed flank steak with hard boiled eggs, bell peppers and a mixture of cilantro, garlic and olive oil. The matambre is then grilled to perfection and cut into thin slices before enjoying.
Well hello there, my friends. I feel like we need to expand our culinary skills and try different and interesting dishes so today I’d like to share with you an Argentinian dish called matambre. At first I thought Matambre meant rolled beef, but I’ve been correct and it literally means hunger killer! Well whatever it means, it does not matter! I love this because I don’t think I have any other Argentinian dishes here on Jo Cooks so this is a great first recipe.
Matambre is usually done with a very thin cut of beef sort of like a flank steak, so that’s what I used here because it’s easy to find. The most common ingredients to stuff matambre with are carrots, hard boiled eggs, garlic, and lots of black pepper, but again the ingredients can vary from province to province.
Here I made up my my own concoction with some olive oil, tons of garlic, cilantro, parsley, black pepper, salt and a bit of red pepper flakes. It’s sort of like a chimichurri sauce, but not really. Doesn’t matter because it smells phenomenal and I was almost tempted to brush it over some toast and eat it like that. Sometimes I’m just crazy.
You’ll have to butterfly the flank steak, so you’ll need a sharp knife. I basically cut a slit along the middle and sliced it so that you open it up like a letter. If you didn’t slice it evenly and some parts are thicker than others, don’t fret. Take a meat mallet and pound it to death until it’s even. That also helps with tenderizing the meat and it makes it nice and flat. I, however, thought I did such a great job, that I didn’t need the meat mallet, or I was just lazy.
Then you take that chimichurri look-alike sauce and spread it over the entire surface of the flank steak.
Take the quartered eggs and arrange them in 3 rows, like you see in the pictures above. Do the same thing with the bell peppers. Now just roll it up jelly-roll style as tight as you can.
You will need some butcher twine to tie up to make sure it holds together. I tied it up with about 5 strings just to make sure it’s nice and tight. Season it again with salt and pepper all around. All that’s left to do now is grill it. I heated my grill until the temperature said it was 400 F degrees. You will want to grill the matambre on all sides, 4 if you’re counting, about 5 minutes per side, about 20 minutes in total. Now for me this was done to my liking, but if you want the steak inside to be more cooked this is when I would place the matambre in a baking dish and continue roasting it in the oven for another 20 minutes or so at 400 F degrees. It just depends how rare you like your meat. Obviously the outside will be done more than the inside.
Let the matambre rest for at least 10 to 15 minutes before slicing into it. Now you finally can enjoy this tasty stuffed flank steak. The beauty of this is that it’s great cold or hot. You’re probably wondering what to serve this with, I personally always serve steak, any kind of steak, with a great salad.
Enough about matambre, I think you get it, it’s a stuffed flank steak with all kinds of goodies inside. Yum! But I’d like to move on to more important matters. I’d like to present you with my favorite cute little bum.
That cute bum belongs to my chubby little beagle Mia, in case you were wondering. And not only does she have the cutest bum, she also has the floppiest ears. Picture those going up and down, up and down as she comes running towards you. Yeah she may be an old girl, but she’s still my cute old girl.
And I just have to share this next picture with you because she looks like she has a beard here, too funny. This is after the long walk, she decided she needed a rest, so she parked herself in front of a car, not our car, just a car and relaxed. Ok I’m done now, on to the recipe.
If you guys love this recipe, and most importantly make it yourselves, please let us know. Take a picture and tag it #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
- 2 lb flank steak
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 2 hard boiled eggs quartered
- 1/2 green bell pepper sliced
- 1/2 red bell pepper sliced
- Prepare your grill for cooking over medium direct heat.
- Start by butterflying the steak by slicing it and opening it up like a book. If you want to make the meat thinner, you can pound it with a mallet to flatten it out and even out the thickness.
- In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, cilantro, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes.
- Pour the cilantro and parsley mixture over the flank steak, and brush it evenly over the entire surface of the steak.
- Arrange the quartered eggs in 3 rows across the flank steak at different intervals. Repeat with the sliced peppers. Carefully roll the meat up over the filling, I did it from left to right, across the grain, jelly roll style. Tie with butcher's twine to hold it together. Season the outside of the roll generously with salt and pepper.
- The temperature on your grill should read around 400 F degrees. Place the roll on the grill and grill on both sides for about 4 or 5 minutes per side, about 20 minutes in total.
- Let the roll rest for 15 minutes before slicing into it.
If the inside of the matambre is not done to your liking and prefer the meat more well done, place the roll in a baking dish and roast in the oven for another 20 minutes at 400 F degrees.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
More delicious recipes from my kitchen
Blue Cheese and Steak Crostini
Creamy Polenta with Grilled Steak and Roasted Tomatoes
Beter than butterfly: beat entire flank till about double in size. Smear/spread pesto, chimichurry, tapenade, peanut paste,etc…and lay accommodating fare to roll.
– even better to apply ( lightly ) dry rub for 24 hours them marinade for additional 8-24 hours before rolling
– even even better to add soaked wood chips to hot coals and grill 15-20 mins
Careful to ensure dry rud, marinade, spread and “ stuffing “ are related unless you are more than aquainted with fusion cooking.
Thanks for the tips!
We put together this recipe as a NYE treat!
Wow! amazing flavors, aroma and texture! It was fireworks ! everyone loved it and it will be a “go-to” recipe in 2018!
Thanks
I’m a bit confused which way to roll it from the pictures. I’m thinking of using thin roulade beef instead and making individual pieces. Flank steak is always tough.
This is just one big piece, which you have to butterfly so that it’s a thinner piece then just roll it jellyroll style.
Oh my this was delicious. Can’t wait to make it again. I want to try asparagus with it next time. Btw Mia is adorable..
Thank you!
Oh my dear lord, this is ah-maz-ing! I’ve been dying to try it and finally made it tonight. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be, and it tasted waaaay better than I imagined. I already want to make it again 💕💕
Yay! So glad you liked it!
I’m thinking about making this for Easter- something a little different. Can I make it ahead of time and just grill it before it’s ready to be served?
Yes that should be fine, just refrigerate it until ready to grill.
Is this a though piece of meat can I bake it and for how long.
The recipe shows to grill then bake but yes you could bake it as well. The grilling is what gives it the true Argentinian texture and flavour. Oven temperature and times vary, so depending on your oven, you could bake it but would give it a different texture and flavour.
Hi Jo,
This looks delish!
Just wanted to let you know that Matambre literally means “hunger killer”, and this is served as a very thin sliced, cold appetizer with bread and chimichurri on the side, much like sandwich meat. My mom also boiled hers, and it was all we could do to not eat it until the next day!
Hi! I made this for my family tonight. The flavors were amazing! This recipe was fun to make. I drizzled a small amount of good quality balsamic vinegar over the top. The only complaint from my family was I didn’t make enough for seconds. I have been collecting recipes for each of my 2 adult children. If I make something they love then it gets printed and added to their recipe book. They have all their favorites in one place and personalized for them. This is going in both of their books.
This dish would be excellent for a nice dinner party.
THANK YOU!
That’s such a great idea Juli. I’m so glad you guys enjoyed this recipe!
Your version looks insane! I haven’t had a heavenly slice of matambre in years, and craving it like crazy right now!
My mom used to make it every single Sunday night just because it was my absolute favorite meal on earth. So, between the asados for lunch and matambres for dinner, I’ll never forget the Sundays of my childhood.
Now that I’m living alone, have very little time to cook, and got used to more american-style foods, never attempted to make it myself. I’ll probably screw it anyway unless my mom is there with me to help me, because the thing is that she never cooked it in a grill, neither in the oven. She’d put the roll in a big stock pot filled with water to the top, let it boil, add some sea salt and let the water evaporate, about an hour, maybe a little more. So when the juices of the meat that were contained on the water started to reduce, it would form some sort of a sauce, that was the thing that would give to the matambre a gorgeous golden brown tone, plus it would be covered in that yummy, sticky, savory sauce that would make it feel like it was a resemblance to what food probably tastes in heaven. Does it sound like too much? LOL.
My mom was a genius.
Thank you for bringing me so many memories! Now I’ll have to make the attempt and try it, with my mom at the phone, of course.
Did I forget to mention that I’m from Buenos Aires, living in New York right now? Well, that.
Hi Mia, love the name, my dog’s name is Mia. 🙂 I have to say you’ve made me hungry at this late hour and now I’m craving asados and matambres! Glad I could help with the memories and I’m also the same way with some Romanian recipes, have my mom on the phone and she gives me instructions. 🙂
Hello Jo, Your MATAMBRE Roulade recipe looks delicious! A must make soon recipe indeed. Thanks! 🙂
Let me know if you try it, I’d love to know how you like it. 🙂
Hi! I’m a college student living in the dorms, and don’t have access to a grill. What changes would I need to make to properly cook this in the oven? Do I have to worry about it drying out or cooking improperly? My roommate and I were in the mood to cook something really nice next week but neither of us are terribly experienced.
Hi Vak,
If you’re not going to use the grill I would first sear it in a pan on all sides, so it gets a nice color then I’d roast the matambre in the oven for about 45 min to an hour at 375 F degrees.
This looks fantastic and I really want to try it. Do you think I could omit the egg and still get the gist of the thing? Obviously it won’t be exactly the same, but my fiance hates eggs so I kind of have to.
Oh yeah absolutely, you can add other veggies if you want, olives, mushrooms, whatever you prefer.
Just wondering how much should you do for 12 people? It looks so good. So go with 4lbs of meat & do the same. with seasonings. Thanks Golden
I would definitely go with 3 or 4 flank steaks.
Any idea what temp and how long of I put in the oven. Thanks
If you’re not going to use the grill I would first sear it in a pan on all sides, so it gets a nice color then I’d roast the matambre in the oven for about 45 min to an hour at 375 F degrees.
Oh Jo this looks wonderful!!! I love how gorgeous the eggs look in there…and that tip on how to butterfly is so gold! You make it look super easy! I find the word butterfly is typically very scary but you made it look easy as can be. And Mia… just the sweetest doggie ever 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Thank you Mila!!! She is sweet, the older she gets the sweeter she gets. 🙂
Could I possibly just put this in the oven to cook?
You could!
Yeah, this looks pretty darned amazing and delicious all rolled up into pure awesomeness. Great job on the recipe. Looking forward to trying something like this soon.
Thanks Mike!