Steak Au Poivre

I am a “saucy” kind of girl.  I just love sauces on top of my foods. If the sauce is good enough, it almost makes the meal in and of itself.   Steak au poivre starts out with filet mignon, which is my favorite cut of steak, but the sauce just made it absolutely divine.  We eat well on a regular basis, but we don’t often eat filet mignon.   This was the first time in a very long time that we had filet mignon.  But it was so worth the wait.    As many of you know, there are a lot of French influences in the world of cooking.  An au poivre sauce is just such an example.  Au poivre means with pepper, so steak au poivre is a steak made with crushed peppercorns, both as the seasoning for the steak itself, and also in the sauce.

Crush whole peppercorns and really press them into the filets on both sides.  Some people crush their peppercorns by using the bottom of a skillet and kind of rolling them on the peppercorns.  I have never had much success doing it that way, so instead, I used a hand-held meat tenderizing “hammer”.  I put the peppercorns in a plastic back and wrapped a towel around the bag than just started pounding the peppercorns until I got them to the right consistency.

In a very hot skillet, coated with enough oil to brown the steaks and to prevent them from sticking, sear the steaks on both sides.   I love my steaks on the rare to medium rare side, so I seared the steaks for about 4-5 minutes per side.  If you like your meats more cooked, just cook them a little longer longer; about 6-7 minutes will give you a medium steak.  With this flavorful cut of meat, you definitely DO NOT want to over cook it.

When the steaks are cooked to your desired doneness, remove them from the heat and keep them warm in the oven set at 200* F.  Drain off the extra oil, keeping the peppercorns, and add minced shallots and 2 TBSP butter.  Saute the shallots for about 3-5 minutes or until they are translucent and slightly browned.  Add 1/2 cup of cognac or brandy.  Be careful, because it will flare up and flambe, but the flames will die down within a few seconds.

Add the cream and Creole spices, Creole mustard and any additional meat juices from the pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and reduce by half.  This will take about 3 minutes.  Whisk in the remaining butter and serve over your steaks.

Steak Au Poivre

4 6 oz filet mignon steaks

1 TBSP Kosher salt

2 tsp whole black peppercorns

1 tsp olive oil

1/3 cup shallots, minced

4 TBSP butter, divided

1/2 cup cognac or brandy

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp Creole seasoning

1 TBSP Creole mustard

 

Top with fresh chopped parsley.

I served my steak au poivre with a vegetable galette and mashed potatoes, finishing the meal with a beautiful Strabilante Verdot.  This is definitely a five star meal.  As my idol an mentor would say, Bon Apetite!