Marmite Butter-Braised Bavette
This barbecue steak bavette by The Beefy Boys is basted in a savoury marmite butter. A simple recipe full of flavour, this is a must-have at your next barbecue.
Introduction
The Marmite baste on this is insane. It works with any cut of beef and doesn’t scream ‘Marmite’ – it just makes the steak taste more, er… steaky. That deep, savoury, meaty hit you can’t quite put your finger on. Bavette is a great cut for BBQ. It’s cheap, cooks quickly, and while it’s not as tender as your fancier steaks, it more than makes up for it in the flavour department.
Ingredients
| 1 whole | bavette steak |
| Salt and ground black pepper or SPG (4 parts rock salt (smoked or regular), 1 part cracked black pepper, 2 parts garlic granules) | |
| For the Marmite butter baste | |
|---|---|
| 100g (scant ½ cup) | salted butter |
| 2 | garlic cloves, peeled and squashed to release the flavour |
| 2 tsp | Marmite |
| 1 | herb basting brush (see below) |
Method
Season your steak generously, ideally the night before for a dry brine in the fridge.
Set your BBQ up for 2-zone direct grilling.
To make the baste, melt the butter in a small pan over a gentle heat, add the garlic cloves and Marmite and stir until combined. Keep it warm and ready for basting.
Oil up your grill grates and place the bavette directly over the searing hot coals. Sear for 1–2 minutes per side, moving it every few seconds to build up a crust.
Flip the steak and immediately start basting with your Marmite butter, using the herb brush (see below). Keep flipping, basting and turning until you’ve built up a deep, dark, glossy crust.
Once you’re happy with the colour, move the steak to the cooler side of the grill to finish gently. Remove it when it hits 52–55°C/125–131°F internal temperature. Note: bavette can be uneven in thickness, so if the thicker part is taking longer, fold the thinner parts above it to even out the cook.
Let the steak rest for a few minutes, then slice against the grain. For an extra umami kick, brush the slices with any leftover Marmite butter.
BBQ setup: 2-zone direct grilling.
Fuel source: Lumpwood, briquettes, or wood burnt down to embers.
Making a Basting Brush
I like to use a wooden spoon turned upside down with butcher’s string. Take a selection of herbs; the general go-to is thyme and rosemary, and that will be a solid herb brush for almost everything you cook on the grill. You can switch things up by adding other semi-woody herbs like oregano, mint or marjoram. Experiment and see what works.
Get your herbs into a large bunch, insert the bottom of the wooden spoon into the centre and wrap tightly with butcher’s string. Make sure you wrap it tight; you will be battering and basting your meat with this brush, so it’s got to hold together. Once you are happy with it, it’s time to get your basting liquor together.
Basting Liquor: Our go-to basic basting liquor is butter and garlic. From there you can take it where you like; put the butter and any other ingredient in a pot or pan and melt the butter over the heat, then keep this warm or basting throughout the cook.
A little acidity goes a long way, a squeeze of lemon or a glug of vinegar will help get those tastebuds tingling. Other herbs will work well with a butter-garlic basting liquor and so will whole chilli for a bit of heat. Think about any flavour that might complement what you are cooking, ideally avoiding anything too sugary, as sugars may burn. Try different things out, let your imagination run wild; sometimes it’s the craziest ideas that work out the best.
Reviews
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