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Easy Steak au Poivre recipe
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Steak au Poivre Recipe

If you are looking for a meal to impress, you can’t really go wrong with steak au poivre. It is just as easy as making any other steak and the pan sauce is not as challenging as you may think.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Entree
Cuisine: French

Ingredients

  • 2 steaks
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 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.