James Peterson

Steak with Green Peppercorn Sauce

Preparation info

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • yield:

    4

    servings

Appears in

top 1000Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making

Sauces

By James Peterson

Published 1991

  • About

Any good cut of steak, such as beef tenderloin (filet), sirloin strip, or rib steak, can be lightly cooked in a straight-sided sauté pan, with the drippings used as the sauce base. This recipe calls for glace de viande and a reduction of cream as a liaison. It can also be made as a butter-enriched version by replacing the cream with 1½ ounces (45 grams) butter, or as a classic version by leaving out both cream and butter and finishing with demi-glace.

Ingredients

steaks 4 4
clarified butter (see note) 3 tbsp 45 ml
shallot, finely chopped 1 1
port 2 tbsp 30 ml
cognac ¼ cup 60 ml
glace de viande 3 tbsp 45 g
heavy cream 6 tbsp 90 ml
green peppercorns in brine, drained 1 tbsp 15 ml
butter 1 oz 30 g
salt and pepper to taste to taste
red wine vinegar a few drops a few drops

Method

  1. Dry the steaks thoroughly. In a straight-sided 2-quart (2 liter) sauté pan, sauté the steaks in the clarified butter. When they are cooked to the desired doneness, remove them from the pan and keep warm.
  2. Pour off the fat from the sauté pan. Whisk in the shallot. Let the pan cool slightly, then add the port and Cognac to deglaze the pan. Tilt the pan and ignite the fumes. Reduce the liquids until the flames die out.
  3. Add the glace de viande, cream, and green peppercorns. Reduce the sauce to the desired consistency and swirl in the butter.
  4. Season with salt and pepper and add a few drops of vinegar.

Copyright © 2017 by James Peterson. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.