Steak au Poivre brings fancy (and peppery!) French cuisine right to your own kitchen.
This romantic dish pour deux (for two) is classic bistro staple that is surprisingly easy to make at home.
Why is Steak Au Poivre the book-inspired recipe for The Housemaid?
One of the ways that main character Millie wins over The Man She Wants is with her cooking. She’s got some decent culinary skills, and one of the more memorable meals she prepares in the Winchester home is Steak au Poivre.
Given all that happens after Millie makes this dish, I had to make it the book-inspired recipe for The Housemaid.
You can use any cut of beef for Steak Au Poivre, but since this is a “fancy” meal, I splurged a bit and used beef medallions. aka, filet mignon. I love this cut because it has almost zero fat, and it also has a nice, flat surface that will hold onto the peppercorn crust.
Steak Au Poivre is served with a side sauce that’s traditionally made with cognac or brandy. However, I used red wine for this book-inspired recipe because that’s Millie does in The Housemaid.
Is Steak au Poivre spicy?
I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me – but Steak Au Poivre is spicy!!
Not, like, sign-a-waiver spicy. But, there’s a definite kick to this meal. Which is to be expected when the recipe name translates into “Pepper Steak.”
For some reason, I didn’t realize that beef fillets coated in crushed black peppercorns would be spicy. But it sure is, especially when you get a mouthful of those peppercorns.
For those of you who like spicy dishes – this dish is gonna be great for you. Eat up!
For those of you (like me) who are little less adventurous with spice: the Steak Au Poivre sauce is going to be your friend.
Pour copious amounts of the red wine cream sauce over your meal before serving, and make sure you have some sauce in each bite to negate the power of the peppercorns.
What I like about Steak au Poivre
All talk of surprising spiciness aside…I really enjoyed Steak Au Poivre. It’s a different type of dish for me, and I loved how so much flavor came from so few ingredients.
New ways to prepare beef and steak are great, and this meal is something I could make easily and quickly for company, or just for an elevated weeknight dinner.
I also realized that I’m having a moment with the humble pepper, Tartlets. I avoided peppers like the plague for years. But, I’ve recently started appreciating green peppers in dishes like Cajun Shrimp, Philly Cheesesteaks, Beefy Tater Tot Casserole, and Kung Pao Chicken.
I feel like I’m leveling up my pepper appreciation game with Steak au Poivre. A dish that embraces peppercorns instead of green peppers feels a lil’ more sophisticated.
What do you serve with Steak au Poivre?
I’m a classic meat-and-potatoes girl when I eat steak, so I think a perfect side dish with Steak Au Poivre is creamy mashed potatoes or roasted/baked potatoes. Maybe with a side of Broiled Broccolini. This dish also goes great with cheesy Polenta, Mushroom Risotto, Herbed Orzo, or Thyme and Caraway Biscuits.
If you don’t want to drink the rest of your red wine, you can cook (or bake!) with it in these recipes: One Pot Red Wine Pasta, Coq au Vin, and Red Wine Chocolate Cake.
If you can’t get enough spicy foods, try Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup and Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches.
Steak Au Poivre
Ingredients
- 4-6 beef fillet medallions 1 lb total
- ¼ cup whole black peppercorns crushed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 shallots minced
- ¼ cup red wine
- 1 cup low sodium beef broth
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Instructions
PREP INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Place whole peppercorns in a resealable plastic bag and seal it shut. Use a meat tenderizer, hammer, or cast iron pan to hit the peppercorns until they crack into smaller pieces, but not a fine dust. Shake the cracked peppercorns into a shallow bowl/plate and set aside.
- Season the beef fillets on each side with salt.
- Dredge one side of each fillet in the cracked peppercorns to create a thin crust. Set fillets aside.
- Mince the shallots and set aside.
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Add olive oil to a large, oven-safe skillet set over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmery and near smoking, place the fillets, peppercorn-side down, into the hot pan. Let fillets sear until golden-brown and crusty, about 4 minutes, then flip and sear on the other side, about 2 minutes.
- Turn off heat under the skillet, then place the hot skillet in the oven to finish cooking the fillets. For medium, cook for 5 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the fillet reads 130F.
- Remove skillet from oven and turn off the oven. Carefully transfer seared fillets to a plate. Wrap plate loosely with foil and place on the back of your stove so the beef can rest but stay warm.
- Time to make the sauce! Place the same skillet over medium-high heat without cleaning it out. Add the minced shallots and stir to coat in the beef drippings. Let shallots cook down, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add the red wine to the skillet and deglaze the pan, then let cook until the wine is mostly evaporated, 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the beef broth and bring to a simmer, then lower the heat and stir in the heavy cream, Dijon mustard, and thyme springs. Let mixture simmer into a silky sauce. Taste, then add any additional salt and pepper to your taste. Remove thyme sprigs before serving.
- Serve Steak au Poivre sliced and covered with the cream sauce, or leave beef fillets whole over a puddle of cream sauce. Great with potatoes, rice, pasta, or polenta, or salad.
