BBQ Flank Steak Tacos
These BBQ tacos with bavette steak are really something special. Medium rare steak meets charred pepper salsa, creamy avocado and spicy mayo in this vibrant recipe. We love the unusual addition of grilled avocado inspired by Dan's trip to Mexico – it makes the colour and flavour really pop.
Ingredients
1kg/2lb 4oz bavette/flank steaks
12 tortillas
4 garlic cloves
25g/1oz thyme
1 fresh jalapeño
3 green bell peppers
3 mild green chillies
1 red onion
1 bunch of coriander/cilantro, stalks and leaves
2 avocados
100g/3½ oz hot sauce
100g/3½ oz mayonnaise
Salad
Olive oil
Method
Trim off any sinew or unwanted fat from the steaks.
Finely chop the garlic, thyme, jalapeños and coriander/cilantro stalks. Combine with a drop of oil and some salt, and rub into the steaks so they are covered in the marinade. Refrigerate for at least an hour but longer if possible.
To make the salsa, char the green bell peppers and chillies on the BBQ/grill until the skins of the peppers are black and blistered. Once the peppers and chillies are blackened, put them into a tub with a lid to steam the peppers and make sure they are cooked all the way through.
Once the peppers are soft, peel off the skin. Don’t worry if you can’t remove it all, but if there is too much burnt skin, it will make the salsa bitter. De-seed the peppers, then hand chop the flesh into bite-sized cubes.
Finely dice the onion, coriander/cilantro leaves and juice two limes. Combine with the roasted peppers and chillies. If it looks dry, add some olive oil to loosen up the salsa. Season with salt to taste.
Mix your favourite hot sauce with some mayo to create a spicy mayo for the base of the tacos.
Get your steaks out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
Chop some salad ready for building the tacos. We used lettuce and radish.
You want to cook the bavette steaks fast and hot so get the BBQ/grill to a high temperature. You are looking for the coals to be burnt down and glowing orange, almost white.
Once your grill is ready, put your steaks directly over the hottest part. The oil from the marinade should help the steak not stick and also cook a bit quicker. You may get a few flare-ups from the oil on the coals, but this isn’t anything to worry about.
Bavette steaks are very thin and cook very quickly, so make sure you have your Thermapen thermometer ready. For a medium-rare finish, cook the steaks until the internal temperature is 48°C/118°F in the thickest part. Remove from the heat and rest until the internal temperature reaches 55°C/131°F
While the steaks are resting, grill your avocado. This will make the colour vivid green and enhance the flavour. Once charred, slice the avocado and it use to garnish the tacos.
Once the steaks have finished resting, slice against the grain for softer meat. Build your tacos using the spicy mayo, steak slices, green pepper salsa, salad garnish and grilled avocado.