Bavette Steak (Broiled Garlic Flank Steak) is a juicy cut of beef that broils perfectly medium rare in just a few minutes. Stuff the steak with garlic cloves, season, broil, and slice! Serve it with your favorite steak sides, on top of a salad, or with eggs for brunch!
When the weather is warm, we love to broil or grill steaks -- especially with minimal cleanup! Bavette is a thin and flavorful steak that is great for just that. After only a few minutes, it is perfectly cooked, flavor-packed, and ready to share.
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About Bavette Steak
- Taste - Broiled bavette steak is packed with flavor. Before broiling it, we stuff it with garlic to add a robust aroma.
- Texture - Once broiled, it has a tender juicy inside and lightly caramelized outside.
- Effort - This steak recipe is effortless! All it takes is a few kitchen essentials, 5 ingredients, and minimal effort.
- Time - Broiled flank steak takes 5 minutes to prep then about 8 minutes to cook.
What is Bavette Steak?
Bavette is the French word for flank steak. Flank steak is a flat cut taken from the belly (abdominal muscles) of the cow. It is thin, richly flavored, and very tender. Given how thin the steak is, you should use a high-heat cooking method to ensure it is nicely browned on the outside before it overcooks on the inside. Methods like grilling, broiling, and pan-searing are best.
Ingredients
- Bavette steak - Bavette (flank) steak is a delicious cut that is perfectly tender when broiled.
- Garlic - Garlic adds the quintessential aroma to the steak.
- Salt - Salt accentuates the rich flavor of the steak.
- Freshly Ground Black pepper - Black pepper adds a little spice.
- Olive oil - Olive oil helps to cook the steak evenly and adds flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Wagyu bavette steak - Try a wagyu bavette steak if you want a richer and more buttery steak. However, it is significantly more expensive than regular bavette steak.
- Top Round - Flank steak is a cut from the cow underbelly while top round comes from the inside of the cow leg. Since top round is extracted from a muscle that isn’t as heavily worked as a flank steak, it has a slightly lighter flavor than flank steak, but is still richly flavored.
- Hanger Steak - Hanger steak is cut thin, like flank steak, but has a higher fat content so it is a little more tender.
Variations
- Garlic Herb Butter - Our Garlic Herb Butter is a robustly flavored topping that melts perfectly.
- Spicy - Add paprika or chili powder to make the steak spicy.
- Garlic Powder - Add ½ teaspoon of garlic powder to add extra aromatic flavor.
- Onion Powder - Add ½ teaspoon onion powder for a pungent and sweet flavor.
- Brown sugar - Seasoning the steak with brown sugar will give it a sweet slightly caramelized crust.
- Thyme - Thyme adds a minty and slightly lemony flavor.
- Ground mustard - Ground mustard adds tanginess.
- Cumin - Cumin adds a slightly sweet nuttiness.
- Marinade Steak - Marinate the steak in your favorite marinade prior to cooking it.
Instructions
- Set oven to broil - Place the oven rack about 6 inches from the top of the oven (typically the first tier of the stove) and set to broil on high.
- Make incisions in steak for garlic - Use the tip of the knife to make around 20 small incisions in the steak. Place a sliver of garlic into each incision.
- Season steak - Place steak on a foil-lined baking sheet. Season with salt and ground pepper and brush with olive oil.
- Broil steak - Cook bavette steak in the oven for 7-8 minutes for medium rare (130°F to 140°F).
- Slice and serve - Remove the steak from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.
Pro tip: Let the meat temper on the kitchen counter for about 15 minutes before you cook it. This ensures the steak will stay tender and juicy when cooked. If it is too cold, the steak will dry out.
What to Serve with Flank Steak
This garlic steak bavette recipe is an approachable, flavorful weeknight dinner that tastes delicious on a salad or with sides. Check out these great side dishes that pair well with steak.
- 10 -Minute Sautéed Broccoletti
- Elotes Corn
- Parmesan Baked Asparagus
- Herby Fried Potatoes
- Easy Shishito Peppers
FAQ
Flank steak and skirt steak are very similar. The main difference between them is where they are located on the cow. Both are in the underbelly of the cow, but flank steak is located directly under the cow's loin while skirt steak is in the cow's diaphragm. Also, flank steak is a heavier and thicker meat cut while skirt steak has a slightly richer flavor.
You should always slice it against the grain, which means against the direction that the muscle fibers run. This will ensure the meat is tender and easy to chew once cooked.
Yes! While we choose not to marinate the steak in our recipe, marinated flank steak is delicious. We suggest marinating it in an Italian dressing or shoyu (soy sauce) marinade.
When compared to other cuts, flank steak is on the cheaper side. If you are on a budget and want a similar cut for even cheaper, skirt steak is usually cheaper per pound.
Bavette steak is available at most grocery stores. If you want a really high quality bavette steak, you can go to your local butcher shop.
Other Ways to Cook a Steak
This recipe will cook steak perfectly medium rare. However, you can alter the recipe slightly if you prefer your steak rare, medium, or well done.
- Rare - A rare steak will have a cool center that is mostly red. In order to make the steak rare, cook it for only about 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, use a meat thermometer to check the temperature to see if it's rare (internal temperature of 125°F to 130°F).
- Medium - A medium steak will be slightly pink in the middle. Cook the steak for about 9 minutes (internal temp. of 140°F to 150°F).
- Well done - A well done steal is completely cooked through with no pink. Cook the Steak for about 10 minutes (internal temp. of about 160°F).
Equipment
This garlic steak recipe calls for a few kitchen essentials that can be used for countless other recipes. For this recipe, you will need a baking sheet, cast iron skillet (use an oven mitt), or broiler pan; wire rack; tongs; knife; cutting board; and meat thermometer.
Storage
Store this flank steak in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. In order to reheat the steak, let the steak rest for 15 minutes to reach room temperature, then heat the oven to 300°F and reheat for 5-10 minutes.
Top tips
- Be sure to let the meat rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing to ensure the juices are reabsorbed into the meat.
- Drizzle any leftover juice in the pan onto the meat when you serve it.
Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Bavette Steak (Broiled Garlic Flank Steak)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb flank steak
- 2-3 cloves garlic sliced into slivers
- kosher or sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Set oven to broil - Place the oven rack about 6 inches from the top of the oven (typically the first tier of the stove) and set to broil on high.
- Make incisions in steak for garlic - Use the tip of the knife to make about 20 small incisions in flank steak. Stuff a sliver of garlic into each incision.1 lb flank steak, 2-3 cloves garlic
- Season steak - Place the steak on a foil-lined baking sheet. Season with salt and ground pepper and drizzle with olive oil.kosher or sea salt, freshly ground pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Broil steak - Place in the oven and broil on high for 7-8 minutes for medium rare (130°F to 140°F).
- Slice and serve - Remove the steak from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.
Notes
- Let the meat temper on the kitchen counter for about 15 minutes before you cook it. This ensures the steak will stay tender and juicy when cooked. If it is too cold, the steak will dry out.
- Be sure to let the meat rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing to ensure the juices are reabsorbed into the meat.
- Drizzle any leftover juice in the pan onto the meat when you serve it.
- Store this flank steak in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. In order to reheat the steak, let the steak rest for 15 minutes to reach room temperature, then heat the oven to 300°F and reheat for 5-10 minutes.
Becca C
Loved this recipe! We added some of the suggested spices for extra flavor. This was amazing and SUPER easy, even though looking at the picture it looks like it takes a lot of effort. You could do this even in a time crunch and make people believe you slaves over it! This is a must try.
Kathleen Higashiyama
Hi Becca,
Thanks for making our recipe & leaving a rating! So happy you liked it -- we love it as well because it is so easy!