Steak au Poivre With a Chocolate Balsamic Pan Sauce
César Pérez
Photo by Armando Rafael
- Serves
- 2
- Prep Time
- 15 Minutes
- Cook Time
- 20 Minutes
Here is a Valentine's spin on a beloved French steak classic, steak au poivre. You start with coarsely ground black pepper, lots of it. If you don’t have an adjustable pepper grinder, you can grind or bash your peppercorns with a mortar and pestle, or the bottom of a heavy skillet on a cutting board, bonus points if the cutting board has one of those “juice grooves” in it, better for catching and containing stray peppercorns. After you have seasoned and seared your steak a rich pan sauce is constructed with the unlikely but very complementary addition of chocolate. Chocolate is just as great in savory applications as sweet. In this recipe the sauce is “mounted” with a generous addition of butter as well a block of your favorite dark chocolate.
Ingredients
- 2 new york strip steaks, at ½- 1 inch thick about 8-10 oz total
- 1 1/2 tablespoon freshly crushed black pepper, see author’s note.
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 medium shallot thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter sliced into tablespoon pieces, divided
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup low-sodium stock, beef or chicken
- 1 square dark chocolate around 10 g
- Balsamic vinegar to taste, if desired.
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Directions
- Step 1
Remove steaks from the fridge and pat dry with paper towels. Generously season all sides of each steak with the cracked pepper, pressing with your hands to help adhere. Season with salt and let sit at room temp 15 minutes, or so, to take the chill off the meat. This will help your steaks cook more evenly and easier to nail that desired temperature.
- Step 2
Heat a heavy skillet over medium high heat and drizzle in the oil. Once nearly smoking, add your steaks to the pan—if they don't both fit without crowding, cook each steak one at a time. Sear each side for around 2-3 minutes—flipping and not disturbing the steak by moving it around to ensure a golden brown color and good sear. Once you have flipped the steaks, start checking the doneness with a meat thermometer after 2 minutes. For a medium rare steak, cook to an internal temperature of 125-130 degrees F°, as the steak rests the heat from the steak will continue to cook.
- Step 3
Once the steaks are cooked to desired temperature, and the peppercorns and steak are a toasty golden brown, move the steaks to a plate or a cooling rack over a sheet tray to rest while you make the chocolate pan sauce.
- Step 4
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat and add the thinly sliced shallot to the pan. Season with a pinch of salt and sweat the shallot (cooking without adding color to them). Once fragrant and slightly softened, add the cocoa powder to the pan. Stir to combine the shallots and cocoa, then add the stock, scraping up any fond with your spatula or spoon as you pour. Let the stock come to a bubble and let it cook to reduce slightly for about 2 minutes. Once the stock is reduced, remove from the burner and stir in the remaining tablespoons of butter and the square of chocolate. Stir until completely melted and combined. Taste the sauce and season with a pinch of salt and pepper and a small drizzle of balsamic if you think it needs a little brightness.
- Step 5
To serve, spoon a little sauce in the middle of a dinner plate. Slice the steak against the grain and place on top of the sauce. Top with more sauce, if desired, or serve on the side.