Live the Live ™

A classic French beef dish, Steak au Poivre is the perfect example of delicious simplicity. If you love black pepper, you can make this wonderful dish with just a few ingredients. My personal twist was to add porcini mushrooms to the mix because…well…why not?

The classic Steak au Poivre uses a tender, lean cut of beef like filet. But I had a couple of grass-fed sirloins in the fridge, and they worked out just fine.

 

2 sirloin steaks, about 6 oz. each
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/3 cup Cognac, plus 1 teaspoon
1 cup heavy cream
dried porcini mushrooms (optional)

 

If you’re using the porcinis, place them in a sauce pan, and add water to cover them. Bring the water to a boil, set the pan aside, and let the porcinis rehydrate. Once they’ve rehydrated, remove them from the pan (save the liquid) and chop them up finely. Set them aside.

 

 

Remove the steaks from the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking, so they are at room temperature. Season them on all sides with the salt.

Coarsely crush the peppercorns. (I have a pepper mill that makes coarsely crushed pepper, so I used that.) Spread the peppercorns evenly on a plate, and press the sirloins, on both sides, into the pepper so that it coats the surface of the meat. Set them aside.

 

 

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and the olive oil. As soon as the butter and oil start to smoke, place the steaks in the pan. Cook them for about 4 minutes on each side. Once they’re done, remove the steaks, place them on a plate, and cover them with foil to keep them warm.

 

 

Pour off the excess fat from the pan, but don’t wipe the pan clean!

Back to the porcinis: in a separate skillet, add 1 tablespoon of butter and the chopped porcinis, sautéing them for a few minutes over medium heat. Slowly pour in the mushroom liquid from the sauce pan, making sure any sediment at the bottom gets left behind. Cook this liquid down with the mushrooms until it has reduced almost completely.

 

 

 

Back to the steak pan: off the heat, add 1/3 cup of Cognac to the pan and carefully ignite the alcohol with a long match or lighter.

 

 

Gently shake the pan until the flames die. Return the pan to the medium heat and add the cream. Bring the mixture to a boil and whisk it until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes or so. Add the teaspoon of Cognac. (If you’re using the mushrooms, add them to the sauce at this point, stirring them in.)

 

 

Add the steaks back to the pan, spooning the sauce over the meat.

 

 

Serve!