Chacarero — Chilean steak sandwich with green beans, tomato and green chilli
Chacarero step by step: thin griddled beef, blanched green beans, tomato and green chilli in a round frica roll. Which cut to use, and is there mayonnaise?
Recipe in testing. We published it before cooking it in our kitchen. Once we cook it, we will adjust whatever it needs and remove this note.
What a chacarero is and why it is called that
The chacarero is one of the classic churrasco sandwiches of Chile's fuentes de soda, the country's casual diners: thin-sliced beef, browned on the griddle and served hot, with tomato, cooked green beans and green chilli, in a round roll such as the frica or in a marraqueta. What sets it apart from the Barros Luco, made with melted cheese, and the italiano, with avocado, tomato and mayonnaise, is the green beans and the chilli. A chacarero is someone who owns or works a chacra, a small farm (from Quechua chakra), and the name is usually explained by those farm-plot vegetables; there is no firm record of who invented it. The classic version has no mayonnaise, though many people add it. Chacarero Day is celebrated every 17 February.
Instructions
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Cut the green beans lengthwise
If you are slicing the beef yourself, put it in the freezer before you start: 20 minutes firms it up so it slices thinner and more evenly (step 3). Wash the green beans, trim both ends and pull off the side string if they have one. Split them lengthwise in half, or into three strips if they are wide, then cut them into pieces of about 8 cm, roughly the width of the roll. This is how they go into a chacarero: thin strips cook evenly in a few minutes, lie flat on the tomato and do not slide out of the roll as you bite. If you are using frozen French-cut beans, skip this step.
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Blanch the green beans and chill them
Bring 2 litres of water with 1 tablespoon of salt to the boil in a large pot and set a bowl of iced water alongside. Add the beans once the water is at a rolling boil and cook for 3-5 minutes (4-6 if frozen), until they bend without snapping and are tender with a slight crunch when bitten. Drain them and move them straight into the iced water for 2-3 minutes: it stops the cooking and keeps the green bright. Drain again and dry them very well with a clean tea towel or kitchen paper, because any water left on them would soak the bread. Dress them with the oil and a pinch of salt; in a chacarero they go in cold or at room temperature.
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Slice the beef thinly
The easiest option is to ask the butcher to slice the beef for churrasco. If you slice it yourself, use a very sharp knife and cut across the grain into 4-5 mm slices: cutting the fibres short makes the meat feel tender even though it cooks for only a couple of minutes. If any slice comes out thicker, flatten it between two sheets of plastic with the base of a pan, without tearing it. Allow about 150 g per sandwich, in two or three slices that cover the roll. Pat the slices dry with kitchen paper just before cooking: surface moisture stops them from browning.
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Slice the tomatoes and chop the chillies
Cut the tomatoes into slices about 5 mm thick and salt them lightly. Finely chop the chillies or cut them into thin strips. The heat of green chillies varies a lot from one batch to the next, so taste a small piece first: if it is too hot, remove the white ribs and the seeds, where the heat is concentrated, or use less. Wash your hands after handling them and keep them away from your eyes. Have everything ready next to the beans, because from here the recipe moves fast.
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Sear the churrasco on the griddle
Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan over high heat for about 3 minutes, until very hot, and brush it with a little of the oil. Season the beef with salt and pepper just before cooking and add it in batches, without overlapping the slices: if you crowd the pan, the meat releases its juices and stews in them instead of browning. Cook each batch for 1-2 minutes per side, until well browned outside and just pink inside; at this thickness it overcooks in seconds and turns dry and tough. Move it to a warm plate, cover with foil and carry on with the rest, adding oil if needed. Do not wash the griddle.
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Toast the bread
Split the rolls in half horizontally; open a marraqueta along its side. Lower the heat to medium and set the bread cut side down on the same griddle for 1-2 minutes, until golden and crisp. That way it picks up the flavour of the juices the meat left behind, and the toasted face holds up better against the moisture of the tomato and the beans. If you have two pans, toast the bread in the second one while the last batch of meat browns, so everything is assembled hot.
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Assemble the chacarero and serve
If you are using mayonnaise, spread it on the top half of the roll. On the bottom half, lay the hot beef, then the tomato slices, then the green beans and finally the chopped chilli: that is the usual order for a chacarero. Close the roll, press down with your palm to settle the filling and serve at once, with napkins. It is eaten freshly assembled, with the beef hot and the beans fresh and crisp; if it sits, the bread turns soggy and the meat goes cold.
Nutrition information
| Calories | 570 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 44 g |
| Carbs | 58 g |
| Sugars | 7 g |
| Fat | 18 g |
| Trans fat | 0 g |
Values per serving (1 of 4).
Frequently asked questions
What goes in a chacarero?
Churrasco, meaning thin slices of beef browned on the griddle; sliced tomato; cooked green beans cut lengthwise; and chopped green chilli, all in a toasted frica roll or marraqueta. Mayonnaise is optional. What sets it apart from the other churrasco sandwiches, such as the Barros Luco, with melted cheese, or the italiano, with avocado, tomato and mayonnaise, is the green beans and the chilli. It is also made with lomito, thin-sliced pork, instead of beef, with the same toppings.
Why is it called chacarero?
A chacarero is someone who owns or works a chacra, a small farm or market garden; the word chacra comes from Quechua chakra. The most common explanation is that the sandwich is named after its farm-plot ingredients: green beans, tomato and chilli. There is no firm record of who invented it or when it first appeared, and the stories about its origin circulate without documents to back them. What is clear is that it is a classic of Chile's fuentes de soda, and that Chacarero Day is celebrated every 17 February.
What beef is used for a chacarero?
A lean, tender cut of beef, sliced thin: the cuts most recommended for churrasco in Chile are asiento, posta rosada and posta negra, while lomo liso (striploin) or fillet make a more tender and more expensive version. Thickness matters more than the cut, 4-5 mm, sliced across the grain, because the meat cooks for only 1-2 minutes per side and has no time to soften. Outside Chile, thin-sliced top sirloin or top round work well. There are versions with pork lomito or chicken, but the classic chacarero is made with beef.
Does a chacarero have mayonnaise?
It is optional. The classic version leaves it out: the juices from the beef and tomato already moisten the bread. Even so, many fuentes de soda offer it, plenty of people always add it and some prefer to spread the bread with butter instead. If you use it, spread a thin layer on the top half of the roll so it does not mask the chilli and the beans. The nutrition information for this recipe does not include it: each tablespoon adds about 95 kcal per sandwich.
What bread is used for a chacarero?
The most typical is the frica, a round, soft Chilean roll; a marraqueta, crisper, is also very common. In both cases the bread is split and toasted on the griddle before assembling, so it can stand up to the meat juices and the moisture of the tomato. Outside Chile, use a large round bun that is not sweet, a short ciabatta or any white roll with a thin crust and a soft crumb.
How do you cook the green beans for a chacarero?
They are cut lengthwise into thin strips and cooked in boiling salted water for 3-5 minutes, until tender but still slightly crunchy. Then they go into iced water to stop the cooking and keep their colour, and are dried very well so they do not soak the bread. They are used cold or at room temperature, dressed with a little oil and salt. Frozen French-cut beans work well: cook them straight from frozen for 4-6 minutes. Cooked and dried, they keep covered in the fridge for up to 2 days, so you can get them ready the day before.
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