When it comes to producing these ‘How to…’ articles on the T&G Blog, there is always the risk of teaching your grandmother to suck eggs in the approach. Our customer base are very experienced and adroit chefs after all. And in fact, we were caught out the other day after posting some images of glorious bavette on our socials, grilled to perfection on the BBQ, and then presented all carved up on a rustic chopping board.
All carved up on the grain, as opposed to against the grain, which is a bit of a no-no.
This was pointed out by @nialljohnhearty on Instagram by the way, which led to a collective facepalm at T&G towers when we saw the comment.
Now, it is perfectly reasonable to go for the first approach, as the structure of the bavette can mesmerise and guide you toward slicing down into the distinctive grain that runs across this flat piece of beef.
But it is worth remembering that bavette, or ‘flank steak’, is a cut of beef that comes from the abdominal muscles of the cow and will have done a LOT of work. So, to ensure an appropriate degree of tenderness (as opposed to chewiness) you would do well to slice it up properly after grilling fast and furious.
As a result, we have decided to show you in four easy steps how to cook our signature 1kg bavette cut.
Because as everyone* knows: cooking with larger steaks also gives you a lot more control.
*Even we know that.
HOW TO COOK AND CARVE A BAVETTE STEAK
Right, first of all, set your BBQ up to grill to high heat and remove the bavette steaks from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Pat them dry with paper towels and season both sides with Maldon sea salt and ground black pepper. You could also rub in a little olive oil to help to prevent any sticking.
Once the fire over your grill is raging hot, place the bavette down onto the grills and sear for about 6-8 minutes for medium-rare or until the thickest part reaches 55°C, turning consistently to develop a crust.
When done, rest in a warm place, for at least 20 minutes .
THE CARVING PART
The length of the bavette makes things tricky to carve totally against the grain in one go, so you will need to divvy it up first. By slicing along the grain and dividing up in three parts.
Once you have the three pieces, simply cut each one into even slices against the grain and serve.
See that was easy now, wasn’t it.
IS THAT IT?
Not quite. As the final element for any journey towards steak nirvana, is deciding what to pair it up with. The mantra at T&G is often to leave things well alone - apart from the addition of some extra seasoning, chips and a decent bottle of red.
A little bit of sauce on the side is also a fine thing to have though and to round things off, we’ve got this simple recipe for a piquant, rich and creamy jus by Anoop Singh, who goes by the name of Hungry Singh on socials.
Again, we do place a lot of faith in our customer’s collective knowledge base and this pairing works very well.
That said, Richard H. Turner always says that bone marrow butter is the perfect accompaniment for any steak. If you are in disagreement with that, then you’ll just have to have a word with him at Meatopia on the 31st August - as we’ll be having our own pitch on the first night.
More details to follow!
GREEN PEPPERCORN SAUCE
Ingredients
25g butter
75g shallot, very finely chopped
25g green peppercorns
50ml verjus (white wine or vermouth is fine as a substitute)
150ml of chicken stock
150ml of double cream
Method
1. Cook the shallot in the butter on a low heat until translucent
2. Add the green peppercorns and the Verjus/Vermouth/Wine. Cook until almost dry.
3. Add the stock and reduce by half
4. Add the cream and cook until the sauce covers the back of a spoon
5.Season to taste with a little sea salt
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