When you have the hankering for a steak but don’t have an available grill, Steak au Poivre, or better yet, Filet Mignon au Poivre is always a winner. It’s an elegant dinner that you can prepare in short order, perfect for that haiku cruise with your skipper. The image above shows a juicy medium rare steak. In my opinion, that’s way overcooked. You too? Read further and you’ll see how I made that rookie mistake.

Filet of Beef au Poivre

(this recipe is for 4. I only made it for 2 tonight)
4 beef filets
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter, cut into 5 pieces
1-2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon – Beef
1/2 cup Cognac or other brandy
3/4 cup heavy cream

Heat your galley oven so it’s just warm. That will be for keeping the steaks warm while you prepare the sauce. You don’t want them to cook, so just keep it very low. (or skip that and just cover the steaks loosely with foil.)

Mince the shallots and set aside.

Pat the filets dry and season with kosher salt. Coarsely crush black pepper corns (I used a mix of mostly black, and some red and green peppercorns) with a hammer or the back of a cast iron pan. You’ll want to put them in a tough ziplock bag so they don’t go flying all over your cabin. Press the peppercorns into the filets.

Heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet. Add the filets and sauté for about 3 minutes per side for medium rare. 6 minutes total. They should still fell very “squishy” when you press your finger into them.

Transfer to an oven proof dish. Turn off your oven and place the steaks in the oven to stay warm. They should not continue to cook. That was my problem tonight. They were perfect when I brought them out of the pan. Next time I may just err on the side of caution and let them lose their heat by just covering them with foil.

Return to the skillet and add two tablespoons of butter to the existing oil. Once it starts to bubble sauté the shallots. Whisk the Better Than Bouillon into the cream until it’s dissolved. Once the shallots have softened add the cream mixture to the pan and heat to a low simmer. Add the brandy* and let simmer for about 5 minutes until reduced to almost half. Turn off the burner and blend in the last two tablespoons of butter.

*this is the time where you would typically flambé the brandy. Let it heat through and then light it with a match or a lighter, stirring until the flame goes out. If you’re at home it’s a fun thing to do! We don’t recommend doing this on a boat!

Serve with the vegetable of your choice. A glass of red wine will make it a perfect evening!  Enjoy!

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Filet of Beef au Poivre

An elegant meal that can be made in 20 minutes.

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

• 4 Beef filets
• 2 tbsp Whole black peppercorns
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1/2 cup Finely chopped shallots
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp butter, cut into 5 pieces
• 1+ tsp Better Than Bouillon, Beef
• 1/2 cup Brandy or Cognac
• 3/4 cup Heavy cream

Instructions

• Heat your galley oven so it's just warm. That will be for keeping the steaks warm while you prepare the sauce. You don't want them to cook, so just keep it very low. (or skip that and just cover the steaks loosely with foil.)
• Mince the shallots and set aside.
• Pat the filets dry and season with kosher salt. Coarsely crush black pepper corns with a hammer or the back of a cast iron pan. You'll want to put them in a tough ziplock bag so they don't go flying all over your cabin. Press the peppercorns into the filets.
• Heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet. Add the filets and sauté for about 3 minutes per side for medium rare. 6 minutes total. They should still fell very "squishy" when you press your finger into them.
• Transfer to an oven proof dish. Turn off your oven and place the steaks in the oven to stay warm. Ot just cover them with foil. They should not continue to cook. 
• Return to the skillet and add two tablespoons of butter to the existing oil. Once it starts to bubble, sauté the shallots. Whisk the Better Than Bouillon into the cream so it's dissolved. When the shallots have softened add the cream mixture to the pan and heat to a low simmer. Add the brandy and let simmer for about 5 minutes until reduced to almost half. Turn off the burner and blend in the last two tablespoons of butter.
• Serve the sauce with the filets and enjoy. A glass of red wine will balance out the perfect evening! 

Notes