Steak Au Poivre is one of my husband's "signature" dishes to serve me on special occasions.
The story behind Steak Au Poivre
Steak Au Poivre is really such a simple dish.
Take a steak, any steak, smash in some coarse ground black pepper, cook it in a pan over a bed of salt, add booze, and flame!
What man doesn't like to bring a little fire into the kitchen?
French in origin, this dish has been around forever. While many recipes call for filet mignon, you really can use any cut of steak you desire, we have used both filet mignon and New York steaks with equal success. And many recipes call for a cream sauce finish, we did not use that. We did not need that cream. Our combination of Worcestershire, Tobasco, lemon juice, butter, and Cognac made a great sauce.
Another thing we do when making steaks inside is to finish them in the oven. This all-around heat cooks the steak to perfection, and I don't have to worry about burning the steak or too much smoke in the house.
It is best to use a cast-iron or other heavy ovenproof skillet to get a good sear.
This simple steak is one of my husband's "signature" dishes to serve me on a special occasion.
Always use caution when flaming a dish...
A video of the making of Steak au Poivre
My son was his sous when they made this for me on Mother's Day. I was such a happy mom! Serve this with roasted potatoes and fresh steamed green beans. And by the way - the potatoes in the photo came fresh from our garden...delish!
Steak au Poivre
Ingredients
- 4 beef tenderloin filets or steak of choice about 5 ounces and 1 inch thick
- 2 tablespoons coarsely ground pepper
- kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons butter cut into 4 pieces
- now for the exact science part
- a few dashes Tabasco sauce to taste
- a few dashes Worcestershire sauce to taste
- a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to taste
- a nice pour of cognac or a few dashes if you prefer, about 2 tablespoons
- Fresh chopped parsley
- Fresh chopped chives
Instructions
- Sprinkle the pepper evenly over both sides of each steak, pressing it in well with the heel of your hand. Let stand 30 minutes.
- Heat oven to 450º F.
- Place a heavy ovenproof skillet, preferably your cast-iron one (you do have a cast iron fry pan right? If not, get one and season it well, you will LOVE it) over high heat. When the pan is hot, put a layer of salt on the bottom, once the salt just starts to brown, add the steaks. Cook until browned, about 3 minutes; then turn and place a pat of butter on the top of each steak, place in the oven, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes more. Remove the steaks from the pan to warmed plates, then add a dash of tabasco, Worcestershire, lemon juice, and the cognac into the pan, stand back, and carefully pull the pan down to ignite the cognac, once the flame subsides swirl the drippings around and pour over the steak. Sprinkle with the parsley and chives and serve
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