Transcription
How to cook a perfect steak au poivre, aka the famous French peppercorn steak. I used to be a line cook at a French restaurant, and this was our number one dish.
You take whole peppercorns and coarsely grind them. It has to be done fresh for the best flavor, and then season filet mignons with salt and pepper on all sides, very generously.
To cook the steaks, you sear on medium-high heat on all sides until you get a good crust. The pepper adds a nice crust and texture by doing this, and the flavor is so good. Then you just butter-baste until the internal temp is around 125, and remove it from the pan.
In the same pan, we make the sauce by sautéing shallots, garlic, and yes, more pepper and butter. Deglaze the pan with cognac and reduce it until it's dry. This will both cook off the alcohol and pick up the delicious steak fond. Then stir in the heavy cream and season with salt. You want to simmer that until it's quite thick, what we call "nape" in the industry, aka thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and not move.
And that is how you make a French peppercorn steak with sauce. Find this recipe and many more on my website. Link at bio.