Steak au poivre

beefbox

name=Beef Cuts

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caption=
beefcut=Short Loin
steaktype=Strip Steak
footnotes=(also known as: "New York strip steak, Kansas City strip steak, strip loin, shell steak, Delmonico, boneless loin, boneless club steak"):"For the Chinese American dish made with sliced steak and bell peppers, see Pepper steak"."Steak au poivre" (“pepper steak”) is a French dish that consists of a steak, traditionally a strip steak, coated on one side in loosely cracked peppercorns and then cooked. The peppercorns form a crust on one side of the steak when cooked and provide a pungent but complementary counterpoint to the rich flavor of the high-quality beef. The peppercorn crust itself is made by basting the steak in softened butter and then placing it into a bed of cracked black (or mixed) peppercorns. Once a thick coating has stuck to the steak, it is refrigerated for a short time to harden the butter once again. Typically, the steak is seared in a hot skillet with a small amount of clarified butter to cook it. The steak is seared at a high temperature to cook the outside quickly and form the crust while leaving the interior rare to medium rare. The steak is then left to rest for several minutes and then served.

"Steak au poivre" is often accompanied by a pan sauce or other sauce. Common pan sauces to "steak au poivre" include cognac, brandy, red wine, sherry, or meat stock reduction based sauces (or a combination thereof). Also, chopped shallots are added. Then, the accompanying sauce can be finished with cream, butter or "demi-glace".

Common side dishes to "steak au poivre" are various forms of mashed potatoes and "pommes frites" (small fried shoestring potatoes). "Steak au poivre" may be found in traditional French restaurants in most urban areas.