Steak au Poivre

This recipe combines

Pan-Seared Steak Sauce au Poivre

A pan-seared steak served with sauce au poivre — a creamy black-pepper pan sauce built on cracked peppercorns, shallot, brandy, beef stock, and cream. This is the pan-seared steak and the sauce made as one dish: sear the steak in butter, rest it, and build the sauce right in the pan it left behind so the fond goes straight into the sauce. Both parts also stand on their own if you'd rather make them separately.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 2 steaks (ribeye, strip, or similar), about 1–1¼ inches thick
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter, for the steak
• 2 tablespoons coarsely cracked black peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons butter, for the sauce
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• ¼ cup brandy or cognac
• ½ cup beef stock
• ¼ cup heavy cream

The sauce comes together fast, so have everything measured before the steak comes out of the pan. Building it in the same skillet is the whole point — the browned bits left from searing dissolve into the brandy and stock and carry most of the flavor.

Pan-Frying

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Browning Food and Building a Sauce→

Method

Sear the steak

Pat the steaks dry and season generously with salt and pepper on both sides, letting them sit at room temperature 20–30 minutes if time allows. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until foaming and just beginning to brown, then add the steaks and cook 2–3 minutes before flipping. Continue flipping every 2–3 minutes until the internal temperature reaches your desired doneness (about 130°F for medium-rare), 8–10 minutes total. Move the steaks to a plate and let them rest at least 5 minutes while you build the sauce — resting matters more for steak than almost anything else, since cutting too soon lets the juices run out onto the board.

Build the sauce

In the same pan, melt 2 tablespoons 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.

Finish

Stir in the cream and simmer until slightly thickened, 2–3 minutes, then season with salt. Spoon the sauce over the rested steaks and serve immediately.