How to Cook · Sauces

Sauce au Poivre

Name: Sauce au Poivre
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons coarsely cracked black peppercorns; 2 tablespoons butter; 2 tablespoons minced shallot; ¼ cup brandy or cognac; ½ cup beef stock; ¼ cup heavy cream; Salt to taste

Published July 8, 2026

Sauces

A creamy, punchy black-pepper pan sauce for steak or pork chops, built right in the pan the meat seared in. Coarsely cracked peppercorns are bloomed with shallot, flamed with brandy, then simmered with beef stock and cream into a rich sauce with a warm, spicy bite — the classic French steakhouse finish.

Prep: 5 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 20 min
Yield: ~1 cup
Category: Sauce
Cuisine: French

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Ingredients

Directions

Deglaze the pan

In the same pan used to sear your steak or chop (see Part 5), melt the butter over medium heat, add the shallot and cracked pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the brandy, then return to the heat and let it simmer briefly to cook off the alcohol, scraping up any browned bits. Add the beef stock and simmer until reduced by about half, 3–4 minutes.