Perfectly cooked steak with the most delicious peppercorn pan sauce.
Fillet Mignon Stakes with Peppercorn Sauce
4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalIngredients
2 filet mignon steaks less than 1.5 inches thick (other high-quality steaks such as ribeye could be used)
2 tbsp oil, for searing the steak
2 tbsp unsalted butter
- For the peppercorn sauce:
3 tbsp shallots, finely minced
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
¼ cup cognac, bourbon, or whiskey to deglaze the pan
1 tsp crushed peppercorns (plus more if desired, to taste)
½ cup chicken or beef stock
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP unsalted butter, cold
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
- Dry the outside of the steak well with a paper towel (without this step it will be harder to get a nice sear on the steak and you will steam the steak instead resulting in gray unappealing color.) Season the steak generously with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Heat oil in a heavy-bottom frying pan to medium-high. Add your steaks and cook for about 2-3 minutes watching closely not to burn. Then flip them. Add butter to the pan. Continue flipping and basting steaks with butter. Your total cooking time should be well under 10 minutes for small-medium steak. For steaks that are too thick, I recommend a different cooking method, which I will post shortly. Check the internal temperature of the steak and ensure it’s cooked to your liking. My personal preference is the 135-145F range. Remove steaks to a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil.
- While the steaks are resting prepare the sauce. Pour out all but a teaspoon or so of the oil left in the pan. If your steaks were very lean and not much oil remained, consider adding another couple of teaspoons of oil. Turn the heat to low and add shallots. Cook for about 3 minutes until fragrant and softened. Add peppercorns and garlic and cook for just a few seconds until softened. Add cognac to deglaze the pan and stop the cooking process, continue cooking for a minute or two until reduced by half. Pour in the stock and cook for a few minutes until reduced to your desired thickness.
- Add cream, mustard, soy sauce, and butter to the sauce and stir vigorously until emulsified into a thick sauce. Taste it and season as needed with additional salt and pepper. Pour in any juices that may have accumulated on the plate where the steaks were resting.
- Slice your steaks and serve with peppercorn sauce.
Fillet Mignon Stakes with Peppercorn Sauce
4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalIngredients
2 filet mignon steaks less than 1.5 inches thick (other high-quality steaks such as ribeye could be used)
2 tbsp oil, for searing the steak
2 tbsp unsalted butter
- For the peppercorn sauce:
3 tbsp shallots, finely minced
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
¼ cup cognac, bourbon, or whiskey to deglaze the pan
1 tsp crushed peppercorns (plus more if desired, to taste)
½ cup chicken or beef stock
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP unsalted butter, cold
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
- Dry the outside of the steak well with a paper towel (without this step it will be harder to get a nice sear on the steak and you will steam the steak instead resulting in gray unappealing color.) Season the steak generously with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Heat oil in a heavy-bottom frying pan to medium-high. Add your steaks and cook for about 2-3 minutes watching closely not to burn. Then flip them. Add butter to the pan. Continue flipping and basting steaks with butter. Your total cooking time should be well under 10 minutes for small-medium steak. For steaks that are too thick, I recommend a different cooking method, which I will post shortly. Check the internal temperature of the steak and ensure it’s cooked to your liking. My personal preference is the 135-145F range. Remove steaks to a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil.
- While the steaks are resting prepare the sauce. Pour out all but a teaspoon or so of the oil left in the pan. If your steaks were very lean and not much oil remained, consider adding another couple of teaspoons of oil. Turn the heat to low and add shallots. Cook for about 3 minutes until fragrant and softened. Add peppercorns and garlic and cook for just a few seconds until softened. Add cognac to deglaze the pan and stop the cooking process, continue cooking for a minute or two until reduced by half. Pour in the stock and cook for a few minutes until reduced to your desired thickness.
- Add cream, mustard, soy sauce, and butter to the sauce and stir vigorously until emulsified into a thick sauce. Taste it and season as needed with additional salt and pepper. Pour in any juices that may have accumulated on the plate where the steaks were resting.
- Slice your steaks and serve with peppercorn sauce.
