Recipe Source: Clements, Carole and Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen. French. Anness Publishing, London, 2006 p. 153
Steak au poivre, or pepper steak, is a dish that has intrigued me for a long time. I never had the chance to try it until recently. My husband finds the concept of steak cooked indoors, in a pan, to be downright blasphemous, and so I never had the chance to make it. Well, one recent Friday I found myself on my own for dinner. This was the perfect opportunity to try the dish.
Unfortunately, it didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to. I'm not sure why. It could be that the pan I used was too big, which prevented the sauce from coming together the way I wanted. I also didn't have proper peppercorns on hand. I substituted grains of paradise, which tasted great and had a great texture so I don't think that was the problem. I really think that halving the recipe may have had something to do with my disappointment as well. I used garlic butter instead of regular for the recipe, and scattered some crushed garlic over the top of the finished product for a little extra garlic. (I did mention that I was alone, right?) At any rate, I tried it once, satisfying my curiosity. I can now go back to eating steaks on the grill, which is how they should be done in the first place.
Steak au Poivre (serves 1; approx. $10.06/serving)
1 tablespoon grains of paradise
1 8-oz sirloin steak
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons brandy
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 garlic clove, crushed
Equipment:
- Plastic zip-top bag
- Rolling pin
- Various plates
- Saute pan
- Put the grains of paradise in the plastic bag, then crush them lightly with the rolling pin.
- Rub both sides of the steaks with the grains of paradise and set aside.
- Melt the butter with the oil in the pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the meat and cook until your desired degree of doneness is reached. I like mine quite rare. The book says 6 - 7 minutes. Turn the steak halfway through cooking.
- Transfer the steaks to a plate.
- Turn off the heat. Add the brandy to deglaze the pan, then return the pan to the heat.
- Add the cream and boil gently until the mixture has reduced by one third.
- Top the steak with the sauce and serve hot.
