Name: Steak au Poivre
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 8-ounce/225-g steaks; 2 ounces/56 ml olive oil; 4 ounces/110 ml strong, dark veal stock (right now, you really could use a tiny bit of that demi-glace I told you to keep in your freezer); salt and pepper; 4 ounces/112 g butter; 1 ounce/28 ml good Cognac; 2 ounces/56 g freshly cracked peppercorns (meaning crushed but not ground to powder!)

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Les Halles Cookbook

By Anthony Bourdain

Published 2004

About

You pick it, friend—whatever cut you want to use. Most restaurants opt for sirloin (at Les Halles we use the relatively obscure pavé), but because of the flavorful sauce it’s perfectly appropriate to use filet mignon for this one. Filet, while tender as all get-out, lacks somewhat in the flavor arena. A healthy wallop of crunchy black peppercorns more than compensates.