Beef with Pepper Cream Sauce

Pepper cream sauce is a classy way to top off your steak. Here is a great recipe to add to your repertoire that you can put together in under thirty minutes.

I've been experimenting with a lot of various pan sauces and gravies lately. Steak is hands down my favorite food. I could eat it every day for the rest of my life and never tire of it. Even so, I like to keep it interesting, and by mastering a pan sauce or gravy is an easy way to enjoy a favorite in a new exciting way. This recipe doesn't require a lot of ingredients. If you cook often you likely have most of what is required on hand.

Choosing the cut

"So many steaks, so little time"

This pan sauce is ideal for a filet mignon, well, any pan sauce is ideal for a filet mignon. It is one of the most wildly popular cuts but vastly over-rated in my opinion. The reason it is ideal for a sauce is because it is a cut with very little fat and thus very little flavor on its own. It is also typically the first cuts a butcher makes from the cow and due to its longer time on the shelf, loses a lot of its flavor. That is why it is wrapped in bacon, to add some flavor back into the filet. If the filet is not in the budget for this week, don't fret, you can likely score a nice tenderloin for a better price and it will taste just as good, if not better. That's what I did, I found some nice tenderloins and it turned out scrumptious.

Ingredients:

• 4 Tenderloin steaks or filet mignons (at least 1-inch thick)

• 1 1/4 Tablespoon of salt

• 1 1/2 Tablespoon of pepper

• 2 Tablespoons of butter

• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil

• 1/4 Cup of finely chopped shallots

• 1/2 Cup of brandy - I used wine because that's what I had on hand.

• 1/3 Cup of beef broth (low sodium)

• 1 Cup of whipping cream

Side items:

The choice is yours. I scored some nice fresh green beans and had some croissants on hand. If you have some potatoes, this would be perfect with mashed potatoes.

Let's get cooking:

Season your meat on all sides with salt and pepper. Turn up a large skillet (not non-stick) on medium heat and heat the oil and add 1 tablespoon of butter. Don't crowd the meat, keep them about 1 inch apart in your skillet. With the steaks on, I focused on the green beans. I tossed them into a pot with some butter on medium/medium low heat and let them cook up slowly while I cook the steaks and sauce.

Cook the steaks to desirability. *Refer to https://www.farmshedblog.com/post/steak-with-mushroom-gravy for a chart on how to cook your steak to your liking and proper cooking times etc. Transfer them to a plate and as always, reserve those tasty drippings. Cover them loosely with foil.

Return the skillet to the stove and add 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the shallot and cook it until tender, roughly about 1 minute. Pour in the brandy, carefully. Always be extra careful any time you add alcohol to a dish, it can ignite. It's ok, just stand back and be mindful of where you pour, don't splash it in. Turn up the heat to medium high and stir, scraping all the bits up from the skillet as you stir. Do this for approximately 1 minute, it should be reduced to a glaze.

Add the broth and cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the cream and cook and stir until thickened. This should take about 6 - 7 minutes. At this time, add any juices that have accumulated on the plate of steaks. Bring it to a boil and stir constantly with a whisk. Return the steaks to the skillet and turn them to coat. Serve them up or place them in a small casserole dish and cover them with the sauce.

Ring the dinner bell

Call your friends and/or family to the table and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Have a seat and say grace. This is a very tasty dish, I do wish I had sprung for some brandy but even so, I loved it. I especially like to sop my bread in the sauce. YUM! Sure you can throw the steaks on a grill and indulge in some A1. I'll never turn it down. There is something classy about a nice sauce though. It's easy to make and the flavors are impeccable. Plus, an added benefit is the clean up. Scraping all the tasty bits up as you make a sauce means your skillet will be easier to wash.

I hope you give this a try. Have a blessed day and thanks for reading.

Enjoy!