For the longest time, I quickly passed over any recipe I found for Steak au Poivre. I was under the mistaken impression that poivre was the French word for pear and steak with pears did not impress me as something I would enjoy eating! Turns out, I was not remembering my high school French classes very well! Eric really likes pears so recently, when I wanted to make a special dinner for him, I decided to check out a Steak au Poivre recipe I had saved to my massive online recipe collection some time ago. I read through the recipe and found no pears in it whatsoever. Not even pear juice! I pulled up a few other versions of the recipe from the internet. No mention of pears in any of those recipes either. That’s when I knew my French vocabulary was at fault. Poivre actually means “pepper.” With the spelling of pear (poire) being very similar to pepper, my confusion between the two words is certainly understandable. High school was a long time ago!

Once my French food terms were straightened out, I knew we had to make this dish. Father’s Day is the ideal time to serve this!

Steak au Poivre

Steak au Poivre (adapted from recipes on thejudylab.com and seriouseats.com) Time Required:  50 minutes, Prep Time: 10 minutes, Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 24 – 32 ounces boneless strip steak
• kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) freshly ground black peppercorns
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, divided
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1 cup beef stock
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Lightly sprinkle kosher salt on both sides of the steak.

Coat both sides lightly with salt.

Spread the cracked peppercorns on a plate and firmly press only one side of the steak into the pepper to encrust it well in an even layer. Set the steak aside, peppercorn side up.

Coat one side very well with cracked peppercorns.

When the skillet is hot and almost smoking, add 4 tablespoons of butter to the skillet and when it has melted, cook the steak, starting with the peppercorn side down, for 4 to 5 minutes per side. Set the steak aside on a clean plate. Cover it loosely with foil and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Start with the peppercorn crusted side down.

Flip the steak and cook the other side.

Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the cognac and beef stock. Boil the mixture for 5 minutes.

Combine the brandy & stock in the skillet.

Add the cream and simmer the sauce for 2 minutes.

Add the cream to the sauce.

Turn off the heat and add 4 tablespoons of butter. Stir the mixture to create a smooth sauce, then add the parsley.

When the sauce is uniform, add the parsley.

Pour the sauce over the steak and serve with your favorite sides.

Serve the sauce over the steak.

Dads (and many others!) will love this steak recipe!  ~Linda

Steak au Poivre (adapted from recipes on thejudylab.com and seriouseats.com) Time Required:  50 minutes, Prep Time: 10 minutes, Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 24 – 32 ounces boneless strip steak
• kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) freshly ground black peppercorns
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, divided
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1 cup beef stock
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Lightly sprinkle kosher salt on both sides of the steak.

Spread the cracked peppercorns on a plate and firmly press only one side of the steak into the pepper to encrust it well in an even layer. Set the steak aside, peppercorn side up.

When the skillet is hot and almost smoking, add 4 tablespoons of butter to the skillet and when it has melted, cook the steak, starting with the peppercorn side down, for 4 to 5 minutes per side. Set the steak aside on a clean plate. Cover it loosely with foil and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the cognac and beef stock. Boil the mixture for 5 minutes. Add the cream and simmer the sauce for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add 4 tablespoons of butter. Stir the mixture to create a smooth sauce, then add the parsley. Pour the sauce over the steaks and serve with your favorite sides.