Steak au Poivre

Here is a fantastic retro dish that was all the rage in the 80’s and seems to have fallen off the menu somewhat.

It goes without saying that you need to buy the best quality steak you can for this dish. My personal preference would be for rib-eye, I just like the taste of more fat through my steak, but tradition demands a good sirloin.

You will need:

4 sirloin steaks
2 tbsp mixed peppercorns (black, red and green)
1 tsp butter
2 tbsp brandy
2 tbsp red wine
4 tbsp double thick cream


And then you need to:

Crush the peppercorns in a mortar and pestle and then press the peppercorns into both sides of each steak.

Heat a large frying pan (or a cast iron griddle if you have one) over a medium high heat and add the butter. It will foam pretty much immediately. Throw in the steaks and cook them for 3 minutes on each side. Depending on thickness this will likely give you medium rare steaks.

Pour in the brandy, hold a lighted match over the pan and stand well back.

FLAMBE!!!!

Put on extractor fan to remove smell of singed eyebrows and remove steaks and put on a warmed plate.

Add the wine to the pan, scraping up all the crispy bits. Add the cream and stir. If it looks like it is curdling add a little water and stir vigorously, it’ll be fine.

Let it bubble and thicken a little, and then pour gently over each of the steaks. Serve with my fantastic pomme frites and some crisp green salad leaves.