“Because without peppercorns, it’s not steak au poivre.”
— Sterling Archer
Steak au poivre or pepper steak is an exceptionally delectable and sexy food made with premium steak coated with coarsely cracked peppercorns, without which, it would never be Steak au poivre. “Poivre” literally translates to pepper, one of the key players.
According to French steak specialist, Francis Marie, steak au poivre originated in the 19th century in the bistros of Normandy, where high society figures took their dates to impress the ladies and score some of the pepper’s purported aphrodisiac properties. Myth or reality this steak is simply outstanding and everyone needs to treat themselves to it once in their life.
As we cook, remember that our overarching goal is to get the peppercorns to form a crust on your premium steak so that its pungent flavor can provide a nice contrast to the steaks sweetness, which we imagine, was pretty expensive to purchase and possibly making you apprehensive about overcooking it.
Take the anxiety out of preparation. Skip France’s traditional cooking and opt for France’s more modern sous vide cooking. As huge fans and proponents, we don’t mind tackling the street corner preacher for a chance to proselytize the sous vide to everyone. Find out why here.
After following our sous vide instructions and once the meat is done, pull it from the water bath, and sear it in a hot skillet with a small amount of butter to help form a nice crust that adds flavor and shelters the rare to medium-rare interior from overcooking. Keep the temperature high and once you’re done searing top your steak with a very rich and very delicious pan-peppercorn sauce whipped together with shallots, heavy cream, and drippings from the bottom of the pan. Oh, don’t forget your glass of wine.
If that wasn’t enough for you, serve it with Pomme Frites, the common side dish for this steak in France and most French-speaking countries. Don’t dare call them French friends because these thick fried potatoes are pretty distinctive from the small and thin Aiguillettes or allumettes aka “matchsticks” aka “french fries”. Plus you don’t want to piss off the French. Keep the skin on your potato to get an extra crispy crust, and again, keep the temp high to minimize the amount of fat that seeps through your food. Now we’re ready.
