#Steak au Poivre
Serves: 4
Time to cook: ~ 1 hour
#Ingredients
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2 New York strip steaks (~ 1½ lb. total)
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Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
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1 Tbsp. ground pepper or whole black peppercorns
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Some neutral oil (vegetable, avocado, etc) or ghee (which I prefer)
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4 garlic cloves, 2 smashed, 2 thinly sliced
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A couple springs of thyme
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4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
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1 large shallot
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⅓ cup cognac, dry sherry, or brandy
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½ cup heavy cream
#Mise
- Salt the steaks
Season the steak with salt. If you have the time, let it sit uncovered in the fridge overnight.
- Bruinoise the shallot
Think dicing, but even finer. We want the shallot to melt into the sauce.
- Measure out your liquids
Pour the heavy cream and liqour into separate containers and keep them handy.
- De-stem the thyme
This is incredibly annoying and it's better to do it before there's any heat going.
- Crush the peppercorns
If you decided to use whole peppercorns (good for you!), now's the time to coarsley crush them up. I recommend using a mortar and pestle, but a ziploc bag will do just fine too.
#Cook
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Season your steaks with salt again, and let it sit for 10 minutes or so. This will pull the moisture to the surface of the steak, leading to a better sear and crust.
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Pat the steaks dry with paper towels.
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Start heating a cast iron or carbon steel pan over medium-high heat.
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Add your oil of choice into the pan and let it heat up for a minute or two.
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If your steaks have fat caps on the side, start by searing that. Hold them with tongs and let the fat render out for a couple mintues. Once the fat is golden brown, place the steaks down and let them cook undisturbed until a beautiful, golden crust has formed.
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Flip the steaks over and repeat on the other side.
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Reduce the heat to low, and add 2 Tbsp. butter to the pan, along with the thyme and smashed garlic cloves.
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Baste those suckers with the butter for a couple minutes.
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Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and let them rest while you make the sauce.
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Add the remaining butter, shallots, sliced garlic, and pepper to the pan and cook until they're fragrant and have some color.
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Turn the heat off, and add the cognac (or your liquor of choice).
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If you're really feeling badass, you can try lighting the cognac with a stick lighter to flambe it. If you're not feeling badass, just let it cook down until it's almost evaporated.
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Turn the heat back on to medium and scrape the bottom of the pan to achieve maximum flavorfulness from the fond. Let the cognac cook off a bit, until you can leave a trail in the pan with a spatula.
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Add the cream and bring it to a simmer until it reaches a sauce-like consistency.
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Slice the steaks against the grain, transfer to plate, and pour the sauce over.
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Pretend you are a snotty French chef and serve with a side of pommes frites and a martini.