Description
With an extremely distinctive flavour and a handful of different uses, bavette steak can be a really tender and delicious cut when cooked the right way.
Notes:
Each marinade option makes enough for roughly two steaks.
If you are planning on thinly slicing and stir-frying the steak then see tips in the main recipe post.
The prep time indicated does not include time to marinade (at least 3 hours)
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 bavette steaks, around 175g each
- 1 tbsp canola oil (see note 1)
Marinades (each will make enough for around 2 steaks)
Option 1 – Red wine & Rosemary
- 125ml / 1/2 cup red wine (see note 2)
- 2 cloves garlic – crushed or finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Rosemary leaves (stripped from stems) (see note 3)
- Salt and pepper – a pinch or two of each
Option 2 – Honey & Bourbon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 60ml / 1/4 cup bourbon
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper – a pinch or two of each
Option 3 – Soy Sauce & Garlic
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 60ml / 1/3 cup light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 clove garlic – crushed or finely chopped
- Salt and pepper – a pinch or two of each
Instructions
- First make the marinade by mixing together all of the ingredients in a wide bowl from your chosen option above. Place the steak in the marinade and turn to cover with the liquid and then cover with cling film and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours, but ideally overnight.
- One hour before you are going to cook the steaks remove from the fridge to allow to come to room temperature.
- Transfer the steaks to a few sheets of paper towel and blot down thoroughly so there is no liquid left on the surface. Rub a little oil on one side and season well with salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan / skillet (see note 4). Place over high heat until the oil is smoking hot (see note 5).
- Place the steak seasoned side down into the oil, laying it away from you as you gently put it in. Leave for around 2.5 minutes (for a medium-rare steak) before seasoning the exposed side well and flipping and cooking for a further 2.5 minutes. (see note 6)
- Place the steak on a cutting board or plate and cover with foil. Leave for 10 minutes to rest before serving.
- Make sure to slice the cooked steak against the grains running through the steak rather than in the same direction – this will make sure each piece is tender and succulent.
Notes
- You can use any oil with a high smoke point
- Although any wine will work, use one with a higher acidity such as pinot noir or grenache.
- You can use dried rosemary instead of fresh, use around 1 tsp of dried for every 1 tbsp of fresh
- For best results use a cast iron pan. The worst kind to use is non-stick, which won’t give as deep a sear.
- When you properly sear a steak (or other meat) there will be smoke! An extractor fan or open door is highly recommended.
- For the best results use a kitchen thermometer to check the internal temperature of the steak. For a rare steak remove from the pan at 55C/130F or 60C/140Ffor medium-rare (rare or medium-rare is the best doneness level for this type of steak).
- You can serve the steaks with your choice of sauce. I can strongly recommend this Diane sauce or this red wine jus.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Fry
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 360
- Fat: 25g
- Carbohydrates: 0g
- Protein: 33g
Keywords: steak, bavette, French, dinner, indulgent, meat, beef