We all know about ribeyes and filets and NY strips but a steer is full of a bunch of other cuts (also known as butcher’s cuts) that are just as delicious and in some cases more delicious than those standard steakhouse cuts. I recently had my first experience with a bavette steak and it definitely falls in that category.
Here is a quick explanation on how to cook a bavette steak and after that I will talk a bit more about this particular cut, where it comes from, and where to buy it.
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How to cook a Bavette Steak
Since the bavette steak is a fairly thin cut the best way to cook a bavette is with direct high heat. This means direct heat on the grill, in a hot cast iron skillet, or even under the broiler in your oven.
- Cook your bavette with high, direct heat
- Shoot for around 130 degrees interior temperature
- Charcoal grill is best but a gas grill, cast iron pan, or even broiler will work.
On a charcoal grill I like to use some lump charcoal (Fogo Charcoal is my preferred brand) on my PK Grill. You can of course use a Weber kettle or any other charcoal grill but I like the PK for direct heat grilling since the coals are a bit closer to the cooking surface. I use a full chimney of charcoal, let it get fully lit, dump it in, and put the bavette steak on the grates.
Depending on how hot your grill is it should take about 5 minutes a side to get it cooked through. 130 degrees (you do have a good instant read thermometer don’t you?) is about where you want to take a bavette. Less than that and it is a bit tough to chew and much more than that (OK, you could probably go to 140 and be fine) it will start to dry out a bit and get stringy.
A gas grill or pellet grill could work too. Just get them as hot as you can and cook your bavette. You might not get the same Maillard reaction and crust on the outside of the steak but it should still be delicious.
If you don’t have a grill a hot cast iron pan will surely do the trick. Open your windows because things will get a bit smoky if you are doing it properly but add about a tablespoon of oil to the pan, get it hot, and throw the steak in. Flip it often until the interior is done and you have a nice sear on the outside.
Don’t have a good skillet? The broiler in your oven is basically an upside down grill. Move your rack to the higher part of your oven, crank the broiler, and cook your steak on a broiler pan or a cooking rack.
No matter which way you are cooking I am a fan of flipping the steak often. Many people are under the false assumption that the steak will cook better with only one flip but the steak will cook more evenly and develop a better sear with multiple flips.
The bavette is also a bit thicker in the middle than on the ends so if you are using charcoal or a gas grill get the middle of the grill a bit hotter than the outsides. Just pile a bit more charcoal in the middle or turn the outside burners down a click. If you are feeding people who like their meat medium or even medium well it is easy to achieve that with this particular cut since the ends will cook faster than the middle.
OK, now that we have the cooking part of it out of the way let’s get into some of the particulars of the bavette:
What is the bavette steak?
The bavette steak is a long, somewhat thin muscle from the bottom of the sirloin. Many people confuse it with flank steak (do a Google search for “bavette steak” and it pops up information about flank steak) but if you put these steaks side by side there is a definite difference.
Bavette is also referred to sirloin flap or flap meat here in the US and those are probably the most common other names you will see. You might also see bottom sirloin butt, flap boneless, or bottom sirloin flap but doesn’t bavette sound much better than flap? The bavette comes from near the belly of the steer near where you will find the flank steak.
The bavette has a somewhat pronounced grain in it similar to a skirt steak which you can see in the picture above. A full bavette will be around 3 pounds but is commonly cut in half so you might see it in 1-2 pound sizes as well.
You can see above that a full bavette barely fits on a sheet pan so that will give you some idea of the size. The middle of this particular bavette was about an inch thick and the ends are probably closer to 1/2 inch. This one was about 8 inches wide but another I had was wider in the middle and was closer to 10 inches which makes it wider than skirt steak.
The bavette isn’t regularly a heavily marbled cut of meat, similar to other cuts from the sirloin primal like tri tip or picanha. It will have a bit more fat than a standard flank but not quite as much as a skirt steak.
One of the most important things to keep in mind is how you cut your bavette steak. Since it is a very long grained piece of meat you really need to cut across the grain. I like to cook my bavette, cut it into 3 or 4 inch pieces with the grain and then cut those thin across the grain to make some bite-sized pieces.
Where to buy bavette steak?
I have seen rumors that some Costcos carry bavette or flap meat but I have never seen it. Some grocery stores will carry it but it isn’t anywhere near as common as other cuts. Take a look in the meat case at your local grocery store or butcher shop but don’t expect to see it. And remember, look for it to be labeled “flap meat” or “sirloin flap”.
Luckily if you can’t find it locally this is a cut you can order online. Here are three different merchants that carry it:
Snake River Farms – Snake River Farms sells their American Wagyu bavette steaks for $55. These steaks will be about 1 1/2 pounds so they are pretty much a half of a bavette. The American Wagyu bavettes will be much more marbled than other bavettes. Order a bavette steak from Snake River Farms.
Porter Road – The bavettes I cooked up were from Porter Road and they both came in right around 3 pounds. At a price of $42 each you are looking at $14 per pound which is a good price for high quality meat. The flavor of the bavettes I got from Porter Road was excellent and consistent with everything else I have had from there. Porter Road also ships free on orders over $100 so add a few to your cart. Order a whole bavette from Porter Road.
Crowd Cow – Crowd Cow has bavette steaks available from a number of different ranches with prices starting at $16 for a 1 pound steak. You can find pasture raised grain finished beef, 100% grass feed bavette, or pure American Wagyu bavette. Order a bavette steak from Crowd Cow.
How Should I Season/Serve a Bavette Steak?
With the great beefy flavor of a bavette steak there is nothing wrong with just seasoning it with salt and eating it like you would a regular steak. I have seen many people say it is their favorite cut of beef to eat and is a good change of pace from more common steaks.
But if you want to get a bit more creative here are two ideas that I did with my bavette steaks.
Bavette with a cognac garlic peppercorn cream sauce
For this steak I just seasoned the steak with some salt and just a very light pinch of granulated garlic and cooked it on a hot charcoal grill until it was about 130 degrees internal temperature. Then I sliced it up and covered it in a nice peppercorn cream sauce:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Cloves Garlic
2 TBSP Cracked Peppercorns (not ground pepper but very coarsely cracked pepper. I used a meat mallet to crush them)
1/4 C Cognac
1 Cup Beef Broth
1 Cup Heavy Cream
Heat the oil in a good skillet (if you are cooking your steak in a skillet use the same skillet and scrape up all the goodness on the bottom of the pan) and add the garlic and peppercorns for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the beef broth and cognac and bring to a boil for a couple minutes. Then add in the cream and simmer for 5 minutes or so until the sauce thickens a bit and coats the back of a spoon. Do you like garlic? Add a couple more cloves. Do you really like a peppery bite? Add another tablespoon or two of the peppercorns. Don’t have cognac? Whiskey or bourbon will work just fine.
This sauce adds a great peppery bite and smoothness to the bavette steak. The flavors in the sauce and in the steak go perfectly together.
Carne Asada Bavette Steak
I normally make my carne asada with skirt steak but since bavette is somewhat similar to skirt I decided to try it with my carne asada marinade.
This meat was perfect in some tortillas with cotiija cheese, chopped tomatoes, and sour cream. I am one of the anti-cilantro people but if you like cilantro I am sure it would be good as well. And I may have drenched a couple of my tacos in queso. The meat would be great on nachos, chopped up in an omelette, or just throw it on a plate and dig in. And remember to cut across the grain!!!
Pretty much any marinade or seasoning you would normally use on beef will be great with this cut. Chimichurri sauce would be great if you are a fan of that, a nice pico de gallo sauce would be good, blue cheese sauce would be good, or try a nice red wine sauce.
If you have never tried bavette steak I would encourage you to get your hands on one and get cooking. But be ready for it to become one of your favorite cuts of beef you have ever tried.
