Peppercorn steak revisited

[toni]

Marlene, I'm also looking forward to your picture and hopefully the method of your biftec au poivre. I'm really hoping you include the measurements of ingredients so I can compare it to how I prepared my sauce.

boar_d-laze, Thank you for the book suggestions!

Jazz, your comment about the possibility of fire...exactly why I had a large lid right next to the stove. Thank you.

[melkor]

The fire is good. Just don't stick your face over the the pan while you're adding cognac.

[deltadoc]

In my experience, a peppercorn steak is a steak with cracked peppercorns pressed into it. (Whether you press the steak on the peppercorns or press the peppercorns into the steak, I see no difference. The peppercorns become embedded in the steak's outer surface).

Steak with peppercorn sauce means a regular steak with a peppercorn sauce.

I don't think I've ever come across a "Peppercorn steak with peppercorn sauce".

That would be like overkill, imho.

doc

[boar_d_laze]

Doc,

I have seen them on menus. I have been fed them by caterers. I have been fed them by hosts. Count your blessings. The sliver lining, if such it can be called, is that the black peppercors used for the crusting process were not used sufficiently generously to create an actual crust, and were usually too stale to have much flavor. The sauces weren't terribly peppery either -- the dominant tastes were usually roux and bad cognac. You'd sometimes get a palateful of gray poupon, too.

Cracked peppercorns adhere better on steak pressed into a bed of cracked corns, than on peppercorns poured onto steak and "rubbed" into the surface.

I used to put peppercorns into a bag and whack away with a flattener to crack them. However, since I got an Atlas mill 15 years, or so, ago, I use that.

Tellicherry peppercorns are better than malabar peppercorns even though Tellicherry is on Malabar. Go figure.

Rich

[Marlene]

An Atlas mill/ Can you elaborate? I'm using the mallet method, which is inefficient, to say the least. Some peppercorns don't crack at all, and some are reduced to dust. I've got a Magnum mill that produces a very nice really coarse pepper, but it's still too fine for steak au povire!

edited, because I can't spell.

Edited October 18, 2006 by Marlene (log)

[boar_d_laze]

Marlene,

Scroll down a bit on http://www.chefdepot.net/peppermills.htm

No warranty those are particularly good prices. FWIW, I've got the copper one. These started out as eastern - Med coffee mills and got co-opted for pepper as they moved west a few decades ago. The grind can be adjusted from sort of fine, to ve ry very very coarse -- as in smaller whole peppercorns will fall without any grinding action at all. I'm not sure if it's a recommendation or not, but Jeff Smith, the "Frugal Gourmet" popularized them here in the U. S. of A.

The mechanical grinding actions is "burr," which produces little heat. I really don't see any difference between ultra-coarse from my little mill and "cracked" with my meat hammer -- but I'm not the last word either.

Anyway, no matter how you're going to do pepper for biftec au poivre an Atlas falls in the cassification: "expensive but worth it because it looks great, works well and lasts forever."

"Butter, butter and more butter"

Rich

[Marlene]

I want one. After I saw this. I googled them and on another site, it says the mills under 9 inches don't adjust to coarse grind. Not that I mind having a nine and a half in Copper mill in my kitchen, but geeze, the rest of my kitchen is stainless steel, so i'd have gone for the Chrome, except they're only 8 1/2 inches tall.

[Marlene]

Steak au povire

[Ann_T]

Marlene Great looking Steak au povire.

Marlene if you are in the market for a new grinder you might also want to check out a Unicorn Magnum.

I'm a pepper addict and have a number of different pepper mills. I even carry one in my purse. I retired my Atlas (gave it to my son) a couple of years ago when I bought the Unicorn. Although not as attractive as some other grinders it is by far the best grinder I have ever used.

Ann

[toni]

Steak au povire

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Oh, my Goodness! I thought I was tasting that steak as I peered at it and my mouth was watering! Fantastic!! Did it taste as good as it looks? Okay, is it peppercorn crusted AND with peppercorn sauce??? Your sauce looks thicker than my runny one, so I am hoping you add details. Thanks for the picture.

[toni]

I love my Magnum. I've had it about 5 months and haven't put it to work for a massive amount of pepper in one grinding yet, but believe me, I know this Thanksgiving is going to be easier just because it produces a good amount quickly. People have said it's not so pretty...I couldn't be happier because my kitchen has stainless steel and some black accessories, so my black Magnum is perfect.

[Marlene]

Marlene Great looking Steak au povire.

Marlene if you are in the market for a new grinder you might also want to check out a Unicorn Magnum.

I'm a pepper addict and have a number of different pepper mills.  I even carry one in my purse.    I retired my Atlas  (gave it to my son) a couple of years ago when I bought the Unicorn.  Although not as attractive as some other grinders it is by far the best grinder I have ever used. 

Ann

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I have a Unicorn Magnum and I do love it. It just doesnt' give me as coarse a grind as I would like for this particular dish.

Steak au povire

←

Oh, my Goodness! I thought I was tasting that steak as I peered at it and my mouth was watering! Fantastic!! Did it taste as good as it looks? Okay, is it peppercorn crusted AND with peppercorn sauce??? Your sauce looks thicker than my runny one, so I am hoping you add details. Thanks for the picture.

←

The steak is pepper crusted yes, but it's not a peppercorn sauce per se. Some of the peppercorns will fall off the steak when you're searing and I just leave them for the sauce.

[Marlene]

To bump this up. One of the things I mentioned upthread is how much I hate cracking peppercorns for this dish. Even with my Unicorn peppermill, I still don't find I get it as coarse as I'd like and I always end up with peppercorn dust as well. My new solution? Order dustless cracked peppercorns from The SpiceHouse. I just received an order of medium and large dustless cracked and these are perfect for steak au povire. I'll probably make this dish more often now that I don't have to fuss with cracking the peppercorns myself.