Name: Steak au poivre review by diloyloyy at TAVERN MORE, Marina, Croatia
Item: Steak au poivre
Rating: 3.7
Author: diloyloyy

A French bistro steak, the steak au poivre is crusted in coarsely crushed black peppercorns, pan-fried in butter, and served with a sauce made in the same pan from the pepper-flavoured fat, cognac flamed off, stock and cream. It is a twentieth-century dish of Paris and Normandy restaurants, and several chefs of the 1920s and 1930s claimed it; the most repeated attribution is to Émile Lerch at the Restaurant Albert in Paris in 1930, though recipes using a pepper crust appear before that and the claim cannot be settled. The cut is a filet or a thick faux-filet, and the dish belongs with steak-frites and entrecôte béarnaise in the trio of classic bistro steaks; it is the one where the sauce is made to order in front of the guest in older rooms, with the flame of the cognac as part of the show. It is served with frites or potato purée and nothing else of consequence.

The pepper is whole black peppercorns, crushed coarsely under a pan or in a mortar to pieces rather than powder, so that the crust has crunch and the heat is released slowly; some kitchens mix in white or green peppercorns and some use green alone for a milder, more aromatic result. The steak, two to three centimetres thick, is dried, salted, and pressed firmly into the crushed pepper on both sides so it adheres. It goes into a very hot pan with butter and a little oil for three to four minutes a side for rare to medium-rare, then rests on a warm plate while the sauce is made: the pan is deglazed with a good measure of cognac, which is flamed or boiled hard to burn off the alcohol, then a ladle of beef or veal stock is added and reduced by half, then cream, simmered until it coats a spoon, and finished with a knob of butter and the resting juices. The sauce is poured over or beside the steak.

Judge the pepper first: the crust should be visible and coarse, adhering to the meat, hot on the palate but not raw or bitter, which happens when it is burnt in the pan or ground too fine. The steak should be cooked as ordered with a proper seared surface under the pepper, and rested so the plate stays clean. The sauce should be the colour of café au lait, thick enough to cling but still pourable, tasting of pepper, cognac and reduced stock with the cream as a binder rather than the main flavour; there should be no raw alcohol and no flour. Mark down a thin or greasy sauce, a sauce that is only cream, a pepper crust that has fallen off into the pan, pepper so fine the steak eats like a seasoned fillet, an overcooked steak hidden under sauce, and a version using ground pepper from a jar, which gives dust rather than crust. Frites should be fried to order and judged separately; a steak au poivre on a bed of mashed potato soaking up the sauce is a legitimate variant.

Steak au poivre

Croatia

TAVERN MORE

Tasty steak! But the bbq sauce next to is a shame. It is a basic bbq sauce you get from McDonalds with fries. The plate could have something else to complete the look and taste. The butter was ok. I ordered some grilled vegetables and they were good!

Steak au poivre review by diloyloyy at TAVERN MORE, Marina, Croatia

Steak au poivre

TAVERN MORE

Comments

Discover new culinary experiences

Places Near Me

Global Feed

Find Foodies

Become a Partner