What is Gremolata?
Gremolata or Gremolada, is a green sauce made of parsley, lemon zest, and garlic. It’s simple and provides a nice zesty taste to Milanese braised veal shank, the common dish that uses gremolata.
Gremolata can be used for a lot of other dishes besides veal, including poultry, beef, fish, soup, and anything else you want to have an Italian zesty kick.
Although the ingredients mainly used are parsley, lemon, and garlic, alterations are made sometimes that work just as well. For example, replacing the lemon with other citrus fruit like lime or orange will work as a substitute.
What is Chimichurri?
Chimichurri is a delicious sauce (or marinade) made with parsley, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, and chili flakes. It’s mostly common in South America and Mexico or dishes from there.
One of chimichurris uses is as a barbecue sauce, although it’s not your average barbecue sauce. Most BBQ sauces you’ve tried probably aren’t a green, garlicy, and spicy combination. Chimichurri on the other hand is exactly that and while not for everyone, is a great sauce to try!
Gremolata vs Chimichurri: When To Use Which?
Based on their definition, gremolata and chimichurri are clearly not the same kind of sauce. There are some similarities between them and they could be interchangeable in some dishes, but they won’t offer the same taste and shouldn’t be treated as substitutes for each other.
Gremolata is a sauce to add if you want an Italian zest added to your meal and will have a garlicy and citrus centered taste. The alternative chimichurri, will be best used to spice up South American dishes. The two sauces both have a similar base of green and garlic, but that’s where the similarities end. Gremolata will add a citrus zest and chimichurri will add vinegar, a oil, and chili flakes, which has a drastic change on the taste of the sauce.
Can You Substitute Gremolata For Chimichurri?
If you’re looking for a close taste match, the two sauces won’t work as great substitutes. Gremolata will give you a zesty citrus taste and chimichurri will be more of a barbecue sauce with a spicy kick.
The two sauces do share a parsley (or green spice) and garlic base, but that’s the only similarity between the two sauces that could make them close substitutes.
