Dominican Chimichurri Burger

Dominican Chimichurri Burger is traditional Dominican street food. The burger patties are made with ground beef and seasoned with Dominican flavors. This flavorful burger is topped with tomatoes, slightly pickled red onions, shredded cabbage, and a big spoonful of mayo-ketchup sauce.

Why is this burger named like an Argentinian sauce? One of the stories about the name is that in the '70s an Argentinian immigrant opened a business in the Dominican Republic to sell Choripán, which is a traditional sandwich from Argentina. They use to add the chimichurri sauce to this sandwich and people started calling the sandwich Chimichurri (then, it was shortened to 'Chimi'), which has evolved to the sandwich that we know today.

What is a Dominican Chimi

The Dominican Chimi is a burger popular in the Dominican Republic typically sold by street food vendors late at night. The burger is made with a simply seasoned beef patty topped with slightly-cooked cabbage, onions, tomato, and a yummy Mayo-Ketchup sauce between two buns of Pan de Agua, a delicious bread similar to Italian and Frech bread. 

The beauty of this burger is that no two recipes will ever taste the same. There’s an art to cooking this dish and every place (or food truck) you visit, will have its own unique way of making it, although the structure of the recipe is always the same. 

How to make Dominican Chimichurri Burger

To make this amazing burger, first, you want to season the meat. For that, you need to add garlic, onion, bell pepper, salt, and ground black pepper to a food processor and pulse until you obtain a coarse paste. Add this mixture to the meat plus a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Mix to combine. Divide the meat into three parts. Shape each part into a ball and then flatten slightly to make into patties. 

Brush a stove-top grill with some olive oil and heat over high heat. Grill the patties, rotating until they are cooked through, about 5-6 minutes each side. If cooking on an outdoor grill, I recommend that you cover the grill rack with aluminum foil before placing the patties. 

Once the patties are cooked, add the cabbage to the grill pan and sprinkle with a little salt. Cook the cabbage slightly, no more than 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

To make the sauce, in a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, ketchup and garlic powder until well combined. 

Toast your burger bun and then assemble. Put meat in the bun, top with tomatoes, onions, cabbage, and mayo-ketchup sauce. 

Tips for cooking Dominican Chimi Recipe

1. Before cooking, soak the cabbage in water with a little salt and apple cider vinegar. 
2. After slicing the onion, place it in a small bowl and add about 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, sprinkle with a little salt and let it sit until ready to use. This will give a slightly pickled taste to the onions and add lots of flavor to your burger. 
3. If cooking the patties on an outdoor grill, I recommend that you cover the grill rack with aluminum foil before placing the patties. Otherwise, the patties could stick to the grill and slightly melt into the fire. (This may or may not have happened to someone writing this post.)
4. You can make the mayo-ketchup sauce ahead of time and reserve in the fridge until ready to use. 
5. If you cannot find Pan de Agua where you are, you can also use roll bread buns as I did for this post, Portuguese buns, Italian bread or burger buns. 

Now that you know how to make your own Chimi recipe, go ahead and impress your family and friends with the best burger they’ll ever taste. 

Enjoy! 

Other recipes you might like: 

• Queso Frito Burger
• Easy Dominican Style Flatbread Chimi Pizza
• Dominican Style Hot Dogs
• Fried Rice (Dominican Chofán)

Pin Recipe

Dominican Chimichurri Burger

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time25 mins

Servings: 3 servings

Calories: 670kcal

Print Recipe

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Dominican

Author: Vanessa

5 from 15 votes

Dominican Chimichurri Burger is traditional Dominican street food. The burger patties are made with ground beef and seasoned with Dominican flavors. This flavorful burger is topped with tomatoes, slightly pickled red onions, shredded cabbage, and a big spoonful of mayo-ketchup sauce.

INGREDIENTS

For the Sauce

• ▢ 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoons ketchup
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garlic powder

For the beef patty

• ▢ 1 garlic clove
• ▢ 1 small onion, quartered
• ▢ ½ bell pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoons salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1 pound ground beef, lean

For the burgers

• ▢ 1 small onion, cut into rings
• ▢ 1 tomato, cut into slices
• ▢ 2 cups cabbage, shredded
• ▢ 3 panes de agua or roll bread buns

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, ketchup and garlic powder until well combined. Reserve.
• Pulse garlic, onion, bell pepper, salt, and pepper in a food processor until you obtain a coarse paste.
• Add this mixture to the meat plus a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Mix to combine. Divide the meat into three portions. Shape each portion into a ball and then flatten slightly to make into patties.
• Brush a stove-top grill with some olive oil and heat over high heat. Grill the patties, rotating until they are cooked through, about 5-6 minutes each side. Reserve.
• Add the cabbage to the grill pan and sprinkle with a little salt. Cook the cabbage slightly, no more than 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Toast your burger bun on the grill pan and then assemble. Place meat in the bun, top with tomatoes, onions, cabbage and mayo-ketchup sauce.
• Serve warm with an ice-cold beer.

NOTES

1. Before cooking, soak the cabbage in water with a little salt and apple cider vinegar.
2. After slicing the onion, place it in a small bowl and add about 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, sprinkle with a little salt and let it sit until ready to use. This will give a slightly pickled taste to the onions and add lots of flavor to your burger.
3. If cooking the patties on an outdoor grill, I recommend that you cover the grill rack with aluminum foil before placing the patties. Otherwise, the patties could stick to the grill and slightly melt into the fire. (This may or may not have happened to someone writing this post.)
4. You can make the mayo-ketchup sauce ahead of time and reserve in the fridge until ready to use.
5. If you cannot find Pan de Agua where you are, you can also use roll bread buns as I did for this post, Portuguese buns, Italian bread or burger buns.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 670kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 113mg | Sodium: 1319mg | Potassium: 857mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 1047IU | Vitamin C: 55mg | Calcium: 147mg | Iron: 5mg

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