Argentine Tri-Tip and Chicken with Twice-Bake Potatoes on the Ugly Drum Smoker

This past summer we had a big family vacation down in Puerto Vallarta. One day for lunch, my nephew ordered an Argentinian steak with Chimichurri sauce -- it looked absolutely delicious. Finally, this past weekend, I put myself to the task. I found this recipe on the internet (Chowhound) and decided to give it a go.

At first I was focused on the tri-tip. Then I read about the chicken and decided to do both. And, why not throw in some twice-baked potatoes while I'm at it. All were first time adventures for me.

My daughter had a big group of friends over, and we had a little party. Always good to try out new things on the young-uns -- they're so forgiving.

So, here's how it went:

Recipe from the Chowhound link above for chimichurri sauce and marinade. I made both the day before, so the flavors could meld.

Chimichurri Sauce
• 2 cups packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 4 medium garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1/4 cup packed fresh oregano leaves (or 4 teaspoons dried oregano)
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Put everything (except the olive oil) into the food processor and pulse. Once ingredients are "processed," add in olive oil while pulsing until blended. Place in sealed container and refrigerate.


Marinade put on the tri-tip and chicken before cooking. Since I was doing two tri-tip and one chicken, I doubled the quantities listed below:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary leaves
• Juice of 1 medium lemon
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper


Chicken prepared following Chowhound instruction, with the marinade applied:

Tri-tip with marinade

Loaded on the Ugly Drum Smoker

Getting through the cook

For the twice-baked potatoes, I just sort of winged it. Once the potatoes felt cooked (poked with a fork) I pulled them from the grill. Cut an oval on top and scraped the insides out. Put it in a bowl and added a little half-n-half, cheese and crumbled real bacon bits. Put everything back inside the potatoes, and sprinkled a little more cheese on top.

After about 3.5 hrs running around 250 degrees I started pulling things from the drum

Here's the whole spread. In addition to the tri-tip, chicken, and twice-baked potatoes, I threw on a couple of zucchini squash. The wife made some beautiful cupcakes and frosting -- all from scratch.

My little starter plate. Meat with chimichurri sauce on top

I was pretty pleased with how everything turned out.