Steak au poivre
Steak au Poivre: Serves 1
Ingredients:
1 4-6 oz filet
2 tbsp fresh ground peppercorns
2 tbsp butter
250 ml beef stock
50 ml cream (I like a darker sauce, but if you like it creamier you could add more cream here)
2 tbsp cognac
A few sprigs of thyme
For the frites, if making:
2 potatoes (I made precise knife cuts meaning I got rid of a lot of potato and needed 2, but you only need one potato for one person)
Oil and salt for frying and seasoning
For the green beans, if making:
About 1 handful of green beans
2 tbsp butter
Salt and Fresh ground pepper
The overall order:
Measure and prepare all ingredients
Take the steak out of the fridge (it needs to temper for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking)
Peel and cut your potatoes, let them soak in cold water
Grind peppercorns, heat frying oil
First fry of potatoes
Cook and baste the steak
The second round of frying the potatoes
Make the Au Poivre sauce
Serve
Instructions:
Remove the steak from the fridge, and let it temper for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour before cooking.
Peel and cut your potatoes into your preferred shape.
Set the potatoes in cold water to remove any starchyness.
Begin to bring a pot of neutral oil up to temperature as this takes a while. It should be around 170 Celcius/325 Fahrenheit for frying.
You can grind your peppercorns while the steak is tempering, the potatoes are soaking and the oil is heating. I used a spice grinder but you can also use a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have either you can experiment with pre-ground peppercorn, but I’ve never tried it.
Now you can continue the frites. You’re going to double-fry them to ensure they are crispy. Drain and dry your potatoes well before frying. Place the potatoes into the heated oil. Fry until they barely have any color, remove them from the oil, and onto a paper towel-lined tray and into the fridge. Before the second fry, you can move back to the steak.
Dry your steak well, salt it all over, and roll it in the peppercorn.
Heat a pan with a good drizzle of oil.
Place the steak into the pan. Let it cook on each side until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side, and a few seconds around the sides of the steak. At this point, it should be nearly done cooking before basting. Feel the steak, if it has a firm sponginess to it, it’s about ready.
Add the butter and thyme into the pan, and baste the steak.
Remove the steak from the pan, and let it rest on a cutting board.
Bring your oil back up to temperature for the second round of frying. Finish frying the potatoes until they reach a deep golden brown color. Place them on a paper towel-lined sheet and immediately salt the frites which will allow the salt to stick.
Now you’re going to make your Au Poivre sauce:
Pour off all but 1 tbsp of fat from the pan you cooked your steak in.
Slowly deglaze the pan with cognac and scrape the contents of the bottom of the pan.
Add the beef broth and reduce until it reaches a good concentration of flavor. Taste the sauce as you go. You will notice the sauce go from a saltwater-like flavor to a well-rounded flavor.
Add the cream and simmer until you reach a lightly syrupy consistency. You can check the consistency on the back of a spoon. It should coat the spoon but still have movement.
Do one last taste of the sauce and season with more salt or pepper if needed.
Serve the steak with sauce and frites!
If you’re making the green beans:
Bring a pot of salted water up to a boil
Add in the green beans
Cook in the boiling water for about 2 minutes or until cooked. You can taste one before turning the heat off to make sure it is cooked.
Drain the green beans and put them in a bowl of ice water to set the color.
Melt 2 tbsp butter in a pan.
Add in the green beans, salt, and pepper.
Cook for a few minutes or until the green beans feel heated up. They were already cooked in the boiling water, so you’re just warming up and seasoning at this stage.
