Steak Au Poivre A.K.A. Hell Yes

Steak au poivre is one of the best things you can do to a steak. Sure, it translates to steak with pepper but the pepper takes a backseat to the delicious sauce. Then again, since it's a French thing, and since the French love their sauces and always have one handy, I guess to them the sauce is a given and the pepper is what is unusual. Now my brain hurts.

Onward. This is such a quick and easy recipe and it's got a major wow factor. I highly recommend eating this with a starch such as bread or oven potato fries, because wasting even a droplet of sauce is sacrilege.

Steak au Poivre
serves 2


2 steaks, your choice of cut (we used NY strips, but ribeyes, even chuck steaks are great)
Coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup whiskey, brandy, port or sherry (we used Evan Williams)
1/4 cup beef broth
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup heavy cream or whole milk

Heavily pepper your steaks on one side (you'll do the other when they're in the pan), set them aside and let's make our sauce mixes. Here are the players:

You'll be adding the whiskey and broth together, and then when the booze cooks off, the dairy and mustard, so what I like to do is pre-mix each set, so to speak. It's handier than frantically measuring stuff on the fly.

Whiskey and broth:

What's funny though is that I added the Better Than Bouillon directly to the whiskey, and didn't even add water to make the broth, so to speak, but the sauce was delicious all the same. It's pretty fool proof stuff.

Mustard first in the other Pyrex:

We love our mustard and likely use more than just 2tbsp. Add your milk and whisk together with a fork:

Now, let's heat the skillet. I strongly recommend cast iron. Add butter and when it's super hot and the butter is sizzling, add the steaks pepper side down. Take this time to pepper the other side:

Todd's was bigger and thicker, so I waited two minutes before adding mine.

After four to five minutes (for bone in), flip your steaks:

Amahzing! Give it another 4 to 5 minutes. Do the press test:

Double check, maybe?

Nah, not yet. After another minute or so, remove and keep warm.

My Pyrex dishes came in a set with rubber lids, so I just covered those bad boys up and got down to business with the sauce. Take the skillet off heat for 2 minutes and add a bit more butter:

Now, add your spirit and broth:

Instant sizzle! When it cooks down...

Add your milk and mustard:

Keep stirring for a few minutes. As you stir, watch how your spoon parts the sauce. We'll call it the Moses Spoon. Now it's parting it, but not enough:

Nope, not ready yet.

Almost, but not quite:

Presto! Sauce perfection:

 Plate your food pronto and get someone strong to hold the skillet so you can spoon out the sauce. Tip: When you plate the steaks, add any juices to the sauce for a flavor bonus.

So delicious! We had this with roasted mushrooms, broccoli and french fries, as well as some French bread (not pictured), and it was utterly divine. I haven't made steak au poivre in ages so there were a lot of suggestive moaning going on while eating this last night. I hope you make it and love it!