Steak au Poivre


Adapted from Alton Brown’s recipe

Best. Steak. Ever.

I know. That’s quite the claim. But it’s true.

This week, I made two French dinners, and one of them was Steak au Poivre. It sounds fancy but it’s a really simple dish. The recipe I adapted asked for cognac, which I did not have, so I was afraid the steak would be ruined. It wasn’t!

It was the juiciest, most flavorful steak I have eaten in a long time. And it took about ten minutes to cook on the stove. I think I might just rethink grilling steaks next time.

Print Recipe
Steak au Poivre
Instructions
  1. Take the steak out of the fridge and let it sit in room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Using a mortar and pestle, crush a teaspoon of peppercorns coarsely and spread this on a plate. Sprinkle salt on the steak then press both sides onto the peppercorn.
  2. Over medium heat, melt a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan for a couple of minutes and then sear each steak side for four minutes (for medium rare). It will probably sizzle and hiss and make a mess so cover the pan loosely with a lid.
  3. Remove steak from pan and foil it on a plate. Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup of cooking wine and swish around cooking it for a couple of minutes. Add a half cup of heavy cream and let it boil until it thickens (watch that it doesn't burn) for two to three minutes. (Or, if you are like me, you might have to try this three times and on the third try, after you drain all the oil residue, add the heavy cream, thus achieving that golden sauce color.)
  4. Take foil off and pour sauce over the steak. Bon appétit!

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