You are supposed to celebrate New Year’s Eve with a gargantuan surf and turf meal. Apparently it is a tradition that harkens back to the days when the Pilgrims were planning an end of year party but couldn’t decide on whether to have Red Lobster or Texas Road House cater. After intense bickering, a wise Indian chief finally stepped in and said, “Why don’t you hire both?” And thus the Pilgrim’s most famous holiday tradition was born.
I however failed to honor this annual tradition on New Year’s Eve. My year end meal consisted of a succulent summer sausage sandwich on stale bread with a side of week-old leftover appetizers from Christmas. It was delightful.
Today however I am going to start the New Year right, with a nice fat juicy steak. Not just any steak, but Steak au Poivre , a recipe I originally gleaned from my hero Alton Brown. Steak au poivre basically means pepper steak in French. You can trust me on that, I was friends with a high school student once who took French class, so I’m kind of an expert. The “pepper” portion of the name is referring to the deliciously peppery pan sauce that smothers the steak.
If you are looking for a meal to impress, you can’t really go wrong with this steak au poivre recipe. It is just as easy as making any other steak and the pan sauce is not as challenging as you may think. Plus when you tell your friends/partner/husband/cat that you are making Steak au Poivre, you just sound all fancy and awesome. You may even need a step stool so you can look down your nose at all the simpletons from a better vantage point.
Steak Au Poivre Recipe
2 steaks,
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
⅓ cup brandy plus a teaspoon, divided
1 cup heavy cream
Directions
Set the steaks out on the counter 30-60 minutes prior to cooking to allow them to warm up a bit. However, you can still use the frozen steak cooking method as well for this if you would like. I would just let the exterior thaw slightly so the pepper in the next step adheres well to the steak.
After sprinkling the steaks generously with salt on both sides, coarsely grind fresh cracked pepper onto a plate (do not use pre-ground pepper from your pepper shaker), spreading evenly. Press the steaks into the pepper and turn to coat all sides, and then set the steaks aside. Feel free to use more pepper than the recipe states if it is needed to get complete coverage over all of your steaks.
Melt butter and oil in a medium cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted and is threatening to smoke you can set the steaks in the pan. You want to ensure the pan is hot so you create a good sear and get a nice crust of the meat. I won’t pretend to tell you how long to cook the meat on both sides because it will vary depending on your steak thickness and your cooking temperature. Get a meat thermometer if you want to ensure success. However if you are winging it and not comfortable cooking steaks to medium rare you can test the doneness by gently pressing on the steak with your finger. The steak should still be moderately springy. If it feels fairly firm, it is likely overcooked. If it bounces like a springy sponge, it is still raw.
If you are cooking thawed steaks you can cook them to completion in the pan, if you are cooking frozen steaks, seer them as my recipe says, and then finish them in the oven.
Once the steaks are done, remove them from the skillet and tent with foil to keep them warm. Steaks need to rest in order to keep their juices from completely spilling out when you cut into them. So this provides you with plenty of time to make your pan sauce.
You can pour off any rendered fat or excess oil that is leftover in the skillet. Then add ⅓ cup of brandy to the skillet and carefully use a long match or lighter to ignite the brandy in a flambé. As the flames die down, gently shake the pan until no flame remains. At this point you can add the cream, and bring the sauce to a boil to begin reducing the sauce.
Wisk the sauce continually until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take around 5 minutes. When it is finished add the teaspoon of brandy for a kick of flavor.
At this point the steaks can be plated and topped with the pan sauce.
As always, if you like my steak au poivre recipe please consider sharing it on Pinterest or following me on Facebook to stay on top of all of the latest Fox Valley Foodie posts!
Steak au Poivre Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 steaks
- Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ⅓ cup Cognac plus 1 teaspoon
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Set the steaks out on the counter 30-60 minutes prior to cooking to allow them to warm up a bit.
- After sprinkling the steaks generously with salt on both sides, coarsely grind fresh cracked pepper onto a plate (do not use pre-ground pepper from your pepper shaker), spreading evenly.
- Press the steaks into the pepper and turn to coat all sides, and then set the steaks aside.
- Melt butter and oil in a medium cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Once the butter has melted and is threatening to smoke you can set the steaks in the pan.
- Cook steaks until reaching your desired doneness, flipping half way.
- Once the steaks are done, remove them from the skillet and tent with foil to keep them warm.
- Pour off any rendered fat or excess oil that is leftover in the skillet.
- Then add ⅓ cup of brandy to the skillet and carefully use a long match or lighter to ignite the brandy in a flambé. As the flames die down, gently shake the pan until no flame remains.
- At this point you can add the cream, and bring the sauce to a boil to begin reducing the sauce.
- Wisk the sauce continually until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take around 5 minutes. When it is finished add the teaspoon of brandy for a kick of flavor.
- At this point the steaks can be plated and topped with the sauce.
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