Steak au Poivre

Steak au Poivre – a classic French dish that features perfectly seared steak coated with coarsely crushed peppercorn and served in a rich, creamy and flavorful sauce. Fancy restaurant-quality meal made at home. Perfect for Father’s Day and on special occasions!

You probably know by now that I’m a huge steak lover. Steak au Poivre was one of those fancy steaks that I tried to make at home during my first few years here in the U.S. until I finally nailed it. I usually make this elegant and delicious steak recipe on very special days like our anniversary, Mother’s Day and this time for Father’s Day. Although hubby is not a big meat eater, this dish could somehow convince him to dig in happily.

What is Steak au Poivre?

Steak au Poivre, also known as Pepper Steak is a classic French recipe of perfectly seared steak coated with coarsely cracked peppercorns and served in a creamy cognac-based sauce. It is usually served with small fried potatoes or mashed potatoes in most French restaurants. And to answer that burning question in your head on what “au poivre” is, it simply means peppered. In this case, a steak generously coated with cracked peppercorns.

Everything in this dish -from texture to flavor- is on point! No wonder it’s priced so high in restaurants. If you’re a fan of beefy flavor, this is the ULTIMATE recipe to showcase how wonderful beef can be.

How to Make Steak Au Poivre?

I’ve tried a couple versions of Steak au Poivre – from Alton Brown’s to Serious Eats’ – all of them are great except that none I’d found had hit the spot yet. And so I went ahead and made a few adjustments; looking for that little sweet spot in my taste buds. Then finally here it is – a restaurant-quality steak made with a few simple ingredients.

I started off by seasoning my steak with salt. This makes the meat well-seasoned enough while allowing the surface of the meat to dry out for the peppercorns to stick better. Moreover, make sure though to let the steak sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes before you start the whole process.

Using a mortar and pestle (or the bottom of a heavy skillet, in case you don’t have one), coarsely crush the peppercorns and spread them evenly on a plate. Then press the steaks into the peppered plate to evenly coat both sides.

Then heat a 12-inch cast iron or stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes before you add the oil. I’m using oil since butter has a low smoke point and so we can properly sear the steaks nicely and evenly. Gently place the seasoned steaks and sear for about 4 minutes each side for a medium-rare. As always, adjust cook time based on your preferred doneness. Use a meat thermometer to check internal temperature of meat; it should read around 130°F for a medium-rare steak. Check HERE for meat internal temperature chart.

Au Poivre Sauce

After you’ve cooked the steak, set it aside and use the same pan for the sauce. Just pour off excess fat from the pan since we’ll also be adding butter to it. Now let the butter melt in the same pan over medium heat and saute shallots and garlic for 2-3 minutes until shallots are brown and fragrant.

Personally, I love having that hint of onion and garlic flavors in the sauce as it makes an aromatic base. 

This is where the fun part is. 😉 Once the onion and garlic flavors start to bloom, you take the pan off the heat, add cognac (or any brandy would be fine) and carefully ignite the alcohol with a long match or fire stick. (You can turn off the gas to avoid unexpected flare up when lighting the alcohol. And then just reignite it once you’re done adding the alcohol.) Gently shake the pan until the flame dies or until that raw alcohol smell has burned off or evaporated. Be very careful when doing this process.

Return the pan to the heat and add heavy cream and beef stock (chicken stock is fine, too). Bring it to a boil while stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened or reduced based on your preference. Heavy cream makes for a more delicate, sweeter kind of sauce. But if you want a note of tanginess to the sauce, crème fraîche is a better option.

Season it with salt and pepper and add the steaks back to the pan and allow it to cook over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately with your favorite side dishes.

What to Serve with Steak au Poivre?

Honestly, the steaks alone and its creamy sauce are a perfect meal already. But to take it to the next level, you may serve it with mashed or roasted potatoes, steamed veggies and green beans. This is the ideal presentation of a Steak au Poivre. And of course, you wouldn’t dare leave out the wine, eh! A fantastic classy and elegant dish made in just less than an hour.

Enjoy!

How To Cook Steak au Poivre

Pat dry steaks and season both sides with salt. Coarsely crush peppercorns with a mortar and pestle (or bottom of a heavy skillet). Spread the peppercorns evenly on a plate then press the steaks into pepper on both sides until it coats the surface evenly. Heat a 12-inch cast iron over medium high heat, about a minute or two, and then add in the oil.

Gently place the steaks in the pan and sear turning over once, about 4 minutes on each side for medium rare.

Remove steaks to a plate, pour off the excess fat but do not wipe down the pan. Set aside then make the sauce. Melt butter in the cast iron over medium heat then add shallots and garlic. Sauté for about 2-3 minutes stirring and scraping up brown bits until shallots are brown.

Take pan off the heat, add cognac and carefully ignite the alcohol using a long match or fire stick. Gentle shake pan until the flame dies. Return the pan to heat, add cream.

Followed by the beef stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sauce is thickened (sauce coats the back of a spoon), for 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the steaks back to the pan including meat juice accumulated on the plate. Cook over low heat for 1-2 more minutes, swirling skillet until steak juice is fully incorporated. Serve steak with sauce.

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Steak au Poivre

Steak au Poivre - a classic French dish that features perfectly seared steak coated with coarsely crushed peppercorn and served in a rich, creamy and flavorful sauce. Fancy restaurant-quality meal made at home. Perfect for Father's Day and on special occasions!

5 from 4 votes

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Total: 25 minutes mins

French

Servings 2 steaks

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 (3/4-1 inch thick) boneless beef top-loin steaks , (8-10 ounce each)
• ▢ ½ tablespoon (8.5 g) salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon (10 g) whole black peppercorns
• ▢ 1 tablespoon (14 ml) vegetable oil
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter
• ▢ ¼ cup (29 g) finely chopped shallots
• ▢ 1 teaspoon (5 g) minced garlic
• ▢ ¼ cup (55 ml) cognac or brandy
• ▢ ½ cup (120 g) heavy cream
• ▢ ¼ cup (60 ml) beef stock
• ▢ Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Pat dry steaks and season both sides with salt. 
• Coarsely crush peppercorns with a mortar and pestle (or bottom of a heavy skillet). Spread the peppercorns evenly on a plate then press the steaks into pepper on both sides until it coats the surface evenly. 
• Heat a 12-inch cast iron over medium high heat, about a minute or two, and then add in the oil. Gently place the steaks in the pan and sear turning over once, about 4 minutes on each side for medium rare.
  
• Remove steaks to a plate, pour off the excess fat but do not wipe down the pan. Set aside then make the sauce. 
  
• Melt butter in the cast iron over medium heat then add shallots and garlic. Sauté for about 2-3 minutes stirring and scraping up brown bits until shallots are brown.
• Take pan off the heat, add cognac and carefully ignite the alcohol using a long match or fire stick. Gentle shake pan until the flame dies.
  
• Return the pan to heat, add cream and beef stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sauce is thickened (sauce coats the back of a spoon), for 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  
• Add the steaks back to the pan including meat juice accumulated on the plate. Cook over low heat for 1-2 more minutes, swirling skillet until steak juice is fully incorporated.
  
• Serve steak with sauce. 

Tips & Notes:

1. You can use either heavy cream or crème fraîche on this recipe; each with different effect on the flavor of the sauce.
2. The boneless beef top-loin steaks has a great flavor combination of a rib-eye steak and the tenderness of a filet mignon. Feel free to use rib eye steaks, filet mignon, strip steaks or even flank steak for this recipe. Make sure to adjust cooking time depending on the thickness of your meat and the heating ability of your cooktop and pan used.
3. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature of your steaks and ensure doneness of the meat. You can check the meat temperature chart HERE.
4. Heavy cream makes a more delicate, sweeter kind of sauce. But if you want a note of tanginess to the sauce, crème fraîche is a better option.
5. Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1steak| Calories: 759kcal (38%)| Carbohydrates: 5g (2%)| Protein: 52g (104%)| Fat: 51g (78%)| Saturated Fat: 30g (188%)| Cholesterol: 249mg (83%)| Sodium: 1958mg (85%)| Potassium: 939mg (27%)| Fiber: 1g (4%)| Vitamin A: 1250IU (25%)| Vitamin C: 0.5mg (1%)| Calcium: 124mg (12%)| Iron: 4.2mg (23%)

Author: Imma

Course: dinner, Main

Cuisine: French

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