Steak au Poivre

This meal is a winner and brings back fond memories of the rehearsal dinner for Mark and Lisa in the mountains of Tennessee.

The recipe is a variation of Tyler Florence's version.

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 8 lb. beef tenderloin
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 1 handful fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 handful fresh rosemary sprigs
• 4 shallots, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup Cognac (you can use more if the crowd likes the taste)
• 2 cups of Ronnie's strong beef stock made from five tablespoons of beef base and 2 cups of dry red wine such as Cabernet or Merlot.
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard 
• 5 tablespoons jarred green peppercorns, drained
• 1 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley 

 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Pat the tenderloin dry with paper towels and sprinkle all sides with a generous amount of salt and pepper – you should see the seasoning on the meat. Place a large skillet or roasting pan over medium-high flame, drizzle with the oil, and just when it begins to smoke lay the tenderloin in the hot pan. Brown on all sides until a crust forms and the meat is well-seared, about 10 minutes total. Toss the fresh thyme and rosemary on top of the tenderloin and transfer the whole thing to the oven until the internal temperature reaches 120 degrees.


Remove the tenderloin to a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes before carving. The internal temperature will continue to rise to 130 degrees.  Pour off the excess fat from the pan and put it back on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the shallots to the pan drippings, saute, stirring with a spoon to scrape up the flavors in the bottom. Take the pan off the heat and pour in the cognac (pre-measure - never pour directly from the bottle!) Put the pan back on the heat and tilt it slightly over the burner to ignite the alcohol, or light with a kitchen lighter. The cognac will flame for a few seconds then go out as the alcohol burns off. Stir in the stock and cream, simmer for about 1 minute to thicken the sauce so it coats a spoon. Finish the sauce by stirring in the mustard and peppercorns until incorporated. Taste and season with salt, if necessary.


To serve: cut the tenderloin into 1/2-inch thick slices. Drizzle the sauce over the beef and garnish with chopped parsley.