Dinner · 30 min · french

Steak au Poivre

French flavors, weeknight effort. Strip steaks meets whole black peppercorns in a 30-minute dinner worth keeping in rotation.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 2 Strip steaks
• 3 tbsp Whole black peppercorns
• 2 tbsp Unsalted butter
• 0.25 cup Cognac
• 0.75 cup Heavy cream
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

Steps

1. Take the steaks out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking — a cold center with a seared crust is how you get gray meat. Pat them very dry and season aggressively with salt.
2. Crack the peppercorns coarsely in a zip-top bag with the bottom of a heavy pan; you want shards, not dust. Press the crust firmly onto both sides of each steak so it adheres.
3. Sear in a screaming-hot cast-iron skillet with a slick of oil, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. The pepper will smoke — that is normal, open a window and commit. Rest the steaks on a warm plate while you make the sauce.
4. Pour off excess fat, add the cognac, and let it bubble 30 seconds, scraping up the browned bits. Those bits are pure flavor; leaving them behind is leaving money on the table.
5. Stir in the cream and Dijon and simmer until the sauce coats a spoon, about 3 minutes. Swirl in the butter off the heat for gloss, pour over the rested steaks, and serve immediately — pepper sauce waits for no one.

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