Little Red Bavette With Real Herby Chimichurri

Grilled bavette makes a simple, crowd-pleasing centerpiece—as long as you remember to slice it against the grain. (Ken Goodman)

Some people, mostly on the internet, believe bavette and flank are the same steak. They’re wrong. Bavette is actually from the bottom sirloin, a totally different section of the cow. For us, this steak cooks and tastes like the best parts of skirt steak and sirloin. You get the deep, deep beefy flavor of skirt with the girth of a sirloin. How you slice this cut will be the difference between a tender delight and delicious ball of rubber bands.

Prep Time: 1 hour Cook Time: 15 minutes

Serves 6, makes about 1 cup chimichurri

For the Steak

• 4-pound bavette, thick skirt, or flap steak
• Kosher salt, for seasoning
• Flaky salt, for finishing

For the Real Herby Chimichurri

• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup (35 grams) green capers, drained
• 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup (30 grams) packed fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup (12 grams) packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup (12 grams) packed fresh oregano leaves
• 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flake

Remove the steak from the fridge at least an hour before cooking to take the chill off and get it to room temperature. Season well on all sides with kosher salt, and set aside while you prepare the chimi and grill.

Combine the garlic, capers, vinegar, and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse three to four times to chop. Add the parsley, basil, and oregano to the food processor, and turn on. Let the mixture form a thick paste before streaming in the olive oil. Stop the machine, scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl, and add the kosher salt and red pepper flakes. Pulse three to four more times to combine. Set aside.

Heat the grill to medium-high direct heat. When the grill is hot, cook the steak for 2 minutes over direct heat on the first side, then flip. Continue flipping and moving the steak every 2 minutes until it has a nice char and reaches an internal temp of at least 125 degrees F for rare, about 8 minutes total. Remove the steak from the grill and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Season with the flaky salt and serve with the herby chimi.

Tips

If you have a mortar and pestle, you can skip the food processor for the chimichurri.

The key to a tender bavette is to slice it against, or perpendicular to, the grain of the meat.

This sauce is a great pairing with any steak. If you can’t find a bavette, feel free to sub in your favorite cut (maybe a New York strip!).

Recipe reprinted with permission from “The Best Grilling Cookbook Ever Written by Two Idiots“ by Mark Anderson and Ryan Fey. Published by Page Street Publishing Co. 2022.