Steak with Black Pepper Sauce

Black Pepper Steak

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I cooked a homely ribeye steak dinner with black pepper sauce on Valentine’s Day. Our plate looks quite gourmet, but it only took me under 30 minutes to prepare and cook this meal, and I would say the result is really well worth the time & effort spent.

See Also: Chinese Black Pepper Beef Recipe

Steak dinners are perfect for a romantic meal for two or a monthly indulgent meal, and it is fast to prepare since they cook really quickly. I usually prefer my steak without thick sauces, but since it is a special occasion, I made our family’s favourite black pepper steak sauce. You can tweak the pepperiness of the sauce to your liking by adjusting the amount of black peppercorn used, and crush them just before cooking to preserve its peppery flavour.

Black Pepper Steak

Tips for cooking perfect, juicy steak (more tips here):

  • For best results, choose steak which is preferably at least 1-inch thick (the thicker the better).
  • Let the steaks rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking.
  • Season the steak with salt and black pepper just before cooking to prevent drying out the meat.
  • Heat saucepan on high heat until very hot. Place the steaks onto the hot pan (you should hear a sizzling sound if the pan is hot enough) and reduce the heat to medium high.
  • When cooking, turn the steak over once using a pair of kitchen tongs. Do not keep flipping and turning the steak as it is cooking.
  • Place the cooked steaks on a plate and let it “relax” for a few minutes before serving so that the juices will disperse throughout the steak and it will be juicy. Do not discard the liquid collected on the plate – use it for making steak sauce.
Deglazing the pan

Deglazing the pan (Step 6)

Steak with Black Pepper Sauce Recipe

You can tweak the pepperiness of the sauce to your liking by adjusting the amount of black peppercorn used. Crush the peppercorn just before cooking to preserve its peppery flavour.

Ingredients:

  • 2 ribeye or sirloin steaks at least 1-inch thick (about 250g each)
  • 100 grams baby carrots peeled
  • 100 grams baby fine beans ends trimmed
  • olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp black peppercorn pounded using mortar and pestle
  • 1/2 glass red wine
  • 100 ml beef broth you can cheat by using a small piece of beef stock cube
  • 4 tbsp thickened cream to taste
  • 1/2 tsp Worcester sauce (Worcestershire Sauce)
  • cornstarch solution 1/2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp water

Directions:

  1. Blanch carrots and baby fine beans in a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. Transfer immediately to an ice water bath for 5 minutes, drain and set aside.
  2. Brush both sides of steaks with olive oil, season with salt and 1/2 tsp of the crushed pepper.
  3. Heat saucepan on high heat (without any oil) until very hot. Place the steaks onto the hot pan and reduce the heat to medium high.
  4. Cook the steaks based on desired doneness. For my steak which is 1-inch thick, I cook each side for about 4 minutes, for somewhere between medium rare and medium. Note: add or subtract for each stage of doneness – e.g. add 1 minute for medium well.
  5. Place the cooked steaks on a plate and let it rest for a few minutes before serving. Reserve the liquid collected on the plate for making black pepper steak sauce.
  6. Meanwhile, heat the saucepan used to cook the steak. Add red wine and deglaze the pan by scraping the browned bits with a spatula. Simmer for a few seconds to allow the alcohol to evaporate.
  7. Add remaining crushed black pepper, beef broth, liquid collected from the cooked steak (step 5), cream and worcester sauce. Simmer for few minutes. Thicken the sauce with cornstarch solution.
  8. Arrange cooked steak on a plate with blanched carrots and beans. Ladle black pepper sauce over the steak and serve immediately.