Easy Eats: Barbecue steak with cucumber and avocado salad

A nice long bath in a flavour-rich marinade followed by a quick burst of heat on the barbecue will transform rump steak.

Kelly GibneyChef
  • prepare
  • cook
  • 4 servings
  • Easy
A round white plate showing sliced steak and cucumber and avocado salad, with a grey linen serviette.
Caption:Marinating and resting makes a huge difference to cheaper cuts of steak.Photo credit:Kelly Gibney

An economical cut of steak can be transformed into something very delicious after 4-24 hours in a crowd-pleasing marinade, before being cooked to smokey perfection on the barbecue.

Resting the steak for 10 minutes after cooking is essential. Don’t skip this step – it makes a huge difference.

I prefer to serve steak like this sliced for sharing at the table, rather than in individual pieces for each person. It makes the meat go further and the presentation is much more appealing.

This fresh, crunchy salad takes advantage of how inexpensive cucumbers are during high summer. It’s the perfect balance to the rich meat.

Ingredients

  • For the marinade:
  • 3 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves (optional)
  • Generous grind of cracked black pepper
  • For the steak:
  • 700g rump steak
  • For the cucumber and avocado salad:
  • 1 medium telegraph cucumber, ends trimmed and chopped into small cubes
  • 1 firm avocado, cut into small cubes
  • 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • Handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Mix the marinade ingredients in the dish you’ll be marinating the steak in. Whisk together the garlic cloves, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, sugar, red wine vinegar, smoked paprika, rosemary (if using) and a generous grind of cracked black pepper. Add the steak. Toss until well-coated and place in the fridge for 4-24 hours.
  2. Make the salad by mixing together the chopped cucumber, chopped avocado, cherry tomatoes, parsley and lemon juice. Season really well with salt and pepper. Place in the fridge until needed.
  3. Heat the barbecue. Cook the steak over a very high heat for 2 minutes on each side. This will change a little depending on the thickness of the steak you’re cooking.
  4. Remove the steak and rest on a warm plate under a very loose piece of foil for 10 minutes. Reserve any juices that collect on the resting plate.
  5. Slice the steak thinly and arrange on a serving plate. Drizzle with the resting juices and sprinkle with a little sea salt.
  6. Spoon some of the cucumber and avocado salad on top and serve immediately with the rest of the salad on the side.

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