This steak au poivre is a classic French dish that features perfectly seared New York strip steaks and a rich, flavorful cream sauce! It's an easy, yet elegant and impressive meal to make for a family dinner or any special occasion! The best part is that you only need one pan to make it and it's ready to serve in under 30 minutes!
Easy Steak au Poivre Recipe
Steak au poivre (or pepper steak) is a steakhouse-worthy dish that is simple enough to make in the comfort of your home! This recipe combines two pan-seared New York strips with a creamy and flavorful pan sauce made of cognac, heavy cream, minced shallot, and Worcestershire sauce.
If you're looking for an easy steak that will impress your dinner guests, this is the one to try! It's loaded with rich and comforting flavors that everyone will love!
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🥘Steak au Poivre Ingredients
This recipe only requires a handful of common pantry items! You might even have some or most of the ingredients already.
- New York Strip Steaks - 2 New York strip steaks (8 ounces each).
- Butter - 2 tablespoons of butter.
- Olive Oil - ½ tablespoon of olive oil (extra virgin).
- Salt - 1 teaspoon of salt (to taste).
- Cognac - ¼ cup of cognac (or brandy).
- Shallots - ½ cup of shallots (finely minced).
- Worcestershire Sauce - 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce.
- Heavy Cream - ⅓ cup of heavy cream.
- Parsley - 1 tablespoon of parsley (finely chopped, optional garnish).
- Ground Black Pepper - ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper (to taste).
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Steak au Poivre
Steak au poivre is just as easy to make as any other steak recipe! Take out your cast iron skillet (or heavy-bottomed pan), meat thermometer, and measuring spoons to get started.
This recipe will make 2 servings! You can make more steaks if you work in batches, just be sure to overcrowd your skillet.
Prep & Sear Steaks
- Rest. Take the 2 strips out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before you start cooking and allow them to come to room temperature.
- Heat butter and oil. Place the 2 tablespoons of butter and ½ tablespoon of olive oil into a large cast-iron skillet (or a heavy-bottomed skillet) and heat them over medium-high heat.
- Sear steaks. Use several paper towels to pat dry the strips, then season them with 1 teaspoon of salt on each side. As the butter melts in your skillet, turn the burner up to high. Sear the strips for 1-4 minutes on each side (the cooking time will depend on how thickly sliced your NY strips are). As soon as the steaks are finished, move them to a dish or cutting board and cover them with a loose piece of foil.
Make Sauce & Serve
- Deglaze skillet. After you take the steaks off, deglaze your skillet by pouring in the ¼ cup of cognac (or brandy). Use a wooden spoon and scrape to remove the browned crispy bits from the bottom of the skillet. Tilt your skillet towards the gas burner (or you can use a long match or lighter) and ignite the cognac to burn everything off. *You can also turn up the heat to high and cook until the cognac has evaporated.
- Add Ingredients. Next, saute the ½ cup of minced shallots over medium-high heat, then add in the 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour in the ⅓ cup of heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of parsley. Stir mixture together.
- Heat steak. Place your strips back into the skillet with the heavy cream and allow the strips to heat up again.
- Garnish and serve. Serve right away after garnishing with more parsley and ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
Serve your tasty steak au poivre with some Parmesan roasted mashed potatoes and green beans almondine! Check out my article on what to serve with steak for some more easy and delicious side dishes! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes
- If your NY strips are large in size, you might have to work in batches while you are searing the steaks. You never want to overcrowd your pan for the best cooking and flavor results.
- Bringing your steaks to room temperature before you start cooking helps the steaks to cook evenly through. Chilled steaks will cause the muscle fibers in the steak to tense up as soon as it hits the heat, which results in unevenly cooked steak.
- Season the strips right before you place them into the hot skillet. If you wait any longer than 3 minutes after you salt the steaks, your steak may dry out. In that case, wait at least 45 minutes before you cook so that the juices will return to the muscle fibers.
- If you like some heat in your steak sauce you can add a few drops of your favorite sauce!
- I recommend always using a digital kitchen thermometer to check the internal temperature of your meat. For a medium-rare steak, it should read 135°F (57°C), and for medium 145°F (62°C). For more information, read my beef internal temperatures article.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Place your leftover steak in an airtight container and store it in the fridge. Enjoy within a max of 5 days.
Reheating Steak au Poivre
Reheat your leftover strips in a pan on the stovetop over low to medium heat until they are warmed through to your liking.
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❓ Recipe FAQs
A steak au poivre has a rich and deep meaty flavor! Even though it's made with alcohol and ground pepper they don't overpower or take over the beefy flavor of the NY strips.
When you serve a steak 'au Poivre style, that means a filet of beef is served or prepared with a generous amount of ground black pepper and a reduction sauce made of cognac and heavy cream.
If you don't have a bottle of cognac readily available, you can use white wine, brandy, rum, or bourbon. Also, if you prefer to not use alcohol at all, you can substitute the cognac for beef broth.
😋 More Tasty Steak Recipes
- Baked T-Bone Steak - A tasty T-Bone steak is generously seasoned, seared in a cast iron skillet, and baked in the oven!
- Steak Diane - This recipe features a perfectly pan-seared NY strip steak and a creamy mustard sauce with mushrooms!
- Blue Steak - A blue steak is a delicious and delectable beef dinner that is quick and easy to prepare!
- Pan-Seared Chuck Steaks - These chuck steaks are incredibly tender, juicy, and packed full of meaty flavor!
- Baked Ribeye Steak - If you love juicy ribeye steaks for dinner, then you have to try this baked ribeye steak recipe!
- Bavette Steak - The next time you're in the mood for a hearty family dinner, prepare this tasty bavette steak with some potatoes and veggies!
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📖 Recipe Card
Steak au Poivre
Ingredients
- 2 New York strip steaks (8 ounces each)
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ½ tablespoon olive oil (extra virgin)
- 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
- ¼ cup cognac (or brandy)
- ½ cup shallots (finely minced)
- 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon parsley (finely chopped, optional garnish)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (to taste)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Take the NY strips out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before you start cooking and allow them to come to room temperature.
- Place the butter and olive oil into a large cast-iron skillet (or a heavy-bottomed skillet) and heat them over medium-high heat.
- Use several paper towels to pat dry the strips, then season them with salt on each side. As the butter melts in your skillet, turn the burner up to high. Sear the strips for 1-4 minutes on each side (the cooking time will depend on how thickly sliced your NY strips are). As soon as the steaks are finished, move them to a dish or cutting board and cover them with a loose piece of foil.
- After you take the steaks off, deglaze your skillet by pouring in the cognac (or brandy). Use a wooden spoon and scrape to remove the browned crispy bits from the bottom of the skillet. Tilt your skillet towards the gas burner (or you can use a long match or lighter) and ignite the cognac to burn everything off. *You can also turn up the heat to high and cook until the cognac has evaporated.
- Next, sautee the shallots over medium-high heat, then add in the Worcestershire sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour in the heavy cream and parsley. Stir mixture together.
- Place your strips back into the skillet with the sauce mixture and allow the strips to warm up again. *Alternatively you can cook the sauce for an additional 1-2 minutes and pour it over the steak.
- Serve right away after garnishing with more parsley and freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
- If your NY strips are large in size, you might have to work in batches while you are searing the steaks. You never want to overcrowd your pan for the best cooking and flavor results.
- Bringing your steaks to room temperature before you start cooking allows the steaks to cook evenly through. Chilled steaks will cause the muscle fibers in the steak to tense up as soon as it hits the heat, which results in unevenly cooked steak.
- Season the strips right before you place them into the hot skillet. If you wait any longer than 3 minutes after you salt the steaks, your steak may dry out. In that case, wait at least 45 minutes before you cook so that the juices will return to the muscle fibers.
- If you like some heat in your steak sauce you can add a few drops of your favorite sauce!
- I recommend always using a digital kitchen thermometer to check the internal temperature of your meat. For a medium-rare steak, it should read 135°F (57°C), and for medium 145°F (62°C). For more information, read my beef internal temperatures article.
- To store: Place your leftover steak in an airtight container and store it in the fridge. Enjoy within a max of 5 days.
- To reheat: Reheat your leftover strips in a pan on the stovetop over low to medium heat until they are warmed through to your liking.
JennW says
This "fancy" dinner was super easy to make and soo flavorful. I'll keep it on the rotate for a while I think.