Result: really damn good
I don't cook steaks too often. I guess it's because steak dinners tend to feel pretty heavy to me, and a good cut of beef can get pricey. But last week, I did some mid-week grocery shopping and saw some good NY Strip steaks at a good price. It inspired me to try out a Steak au Poivre recipe I haven't tried for a year or 2.
The last time I tried this recipe, I really didn't like the sauce. I didn't have a taste for cognac yet, and all that cream diluted the sauce so much that it was almost flavorless. This time around I substituted the cognac for Kentucky bourbon, I reduced the amount of cream, and I threw in some mushrooms and rosemary for a deeper, more earthy flavor.
One big thing to keep in mind when cooking with alcohol (whether it's wine, whisky, etc), use a bottle that you would enjoy as a normal drink. If you're making Chicken Marsala, use real Marsala wine; if you're making Boeuf Bourguignon, use real Burgundy. Don't be a cheap-ass and use supermarket cooking wine, it's loaded with salt and just tastes bad. For this recipe, I bought a small (200mL), inexpensive bottle of Bulleit Bourbon. My bourbon-snob friend and even the owners my neighborhood liquor store give Bulleit rave reviews.
The end result was seriously good. I think I'll be experimenting with beef more often. You can find the recipe after the jump. Try it out and make it your own. Experiment with the bourbon:cream ratio , maybe even try some butter instead of oil. And do leave a comment to let me know how it works out for you.
Ingredients:
- 1lb NY Strip steak, a little over 1" thick
- 2 or 3 tsp whole black peppercorns (coarsely crushed in a grinder or mortar & pestle)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup sliced Crimini mushrooms
- 1 tsp dried rosemary (crushed or ground to smaller pieces)
- 1/2 cup of reasonably good bourbon
- 1/4 cup of heavy cream (or half-and-half, if you're body conscious like that)
- salt to taste
Procedure:
1. Trim the excess fat off the steak. Season both sides with salt. Spread the crushed peppercorns across a plate, and press both sides of the steak down into them so you get a good even coating. Let the steak sit for 30 minutes.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp of the olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. You want the pan to get hot, but not so hot that the oil begins to smoke. Once it gets that hot, saute the steak, about 4 min on each side. That should give each side a good sear, but still leave the center pink. When both sides are seared, remove the steak from the skillet. Put it on a plate and tent it with foil.
3. If there isn't any oil left in the pan, add another ~2 tsp of oil. Add the mushrooms, rosemary, and a pinch of salt. Let the mushrooms cook down and become tender. When they're done, set them aside on a plate.
4. Now you have a good amount of brown bits, or fond, at the bottom of your pan. Pour out any excess oil, because it's time to deglaze it. Remove the skillet from the heat and wait about a minute. Pour in the bourbon and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, loosening up the fond. Return the skillet to the heat, and whisk in the cream/half&half.
5. Return the mushrooms to the pan, add the steak and all of its drippings that collected on the plate, and season the sauce to taste.
Yields ~2 servings.
No comments:
Post a Comment