Amazing Steak au Poivre Recipe

Hey I’m John Cannell and today we’re making easy delicious steak au poivre so let’s get started.

Preparing the Steaks

First off you’ll want to grab four six-ounce tenderloin steaks and let them sit out on the counter for about 45 minutes. You do not want to cook ice-cold steak; that is not going to be delicious, so just set them aside and let them warm up.

Cracking the Peppercorns

I broke my mortar and pestle, but you don’t need one for your coarsely cracked black pepper; we’re going to do this by hand with a hammer. Grab your peppercorns—I need about two tablespoons—placing them into some folded parchment paper. Give them a good smash; you want them cracked and broken into pieces, not finely ground. Open your paper up; that’s what you want to see: coarsely cracked black pepper.

Seasoning the Steaks

Grab about half a teaspoon of salt for the first side, sprinkle it on top nice and even. This dish tests my ability to pronounce anything in French—little rusty—and it is so delicious and easy. All you’re gonna do is cook these steaks up really fast and make a very delicious creamy peppercorn sauce flavored with cognac. Salted appropriately, now we’re gonna grab about half of the pepper and really press it on. Flip them over and continue pressing all the pepper on; get that nice and covered, just press it in.

Searing the Steaks

Set your steaks aside and grab a large pan; I’m using a cast-iron today but really any heavy pan will work. Place this onto medium-high heat; I’m adding two tablespoons of vegetable oil and two tablespoons of butter. Heat this up until everything is melted and the butter is just beginning to brown.

Preparing the Shallots

Grab a shallot and finely chop one up—dare I say a mince. If you haven’t used shallots before you are missing out; they’re like onions’ sophisticated sibling. Keep an eye on that butter; you don’t want it to burn. If you’re using a much larger or thicker cut of beef you can, but you will be finishing this off in the oven, so set your oven to broil in that case.

Cooking the Steaks

Pop our steaks on; cook each side for three to four minutes over medium-high. You want it to look brown and crusty—caramelized and delicious. Flip your steaks over and keep cooking them; you want them nice and golden, crusty, amazing on both sides, not gray at all. If you want, use a thermometer; the internal temp should be 130 to 140 °F before they’re done. Take them off heat and let them rest on a platter.

Making the Cognac Cream Sauce

Put the pan back on heat; add the minced shallot right into the pan. Cook this for about two minutes until it’s nice and softened. Take it off heat and add one-third cup of cognac; ignite it. Return the pan to medium heat and whisk in half a cup (120 ml) of heavy cream. Bring this to a boil and whisk until it’s thickened; it’ll coat the back of a spoon. Taste the sauce and add salt if needed.

Serving

As soon as your cream is thickened, pour it right over your steaks and serve immediately. That caramelized crunchy exterior with all the peppercorns bursting with pecan flavor really gives you a wonderful finish; that cream sauce is amazing. I hope you get a chance to make this recipe.