To celebrate Rainy Cow Day (15 Pluviose), we’re keeping it simple with some steak au poivre. I’ve adapted Julia Child’s recipe and added some Sichuan peppers into the mix with regular black peppercorns.

In trying to find the origin of the dish, I ran into some questions of who invented the dish. According to the Larousse Gastronomique:

The origins of steak “au poivre”, a steak coated with crushed peppercorns or served with a peppercorn sauce, are controversial. Chefs who claim to have created this dish include E. Lerch in 1930, when he was chef at the Restaurant Albert on the Champs-Elysees; and M. Deveau in about 1920, at Maxim’s. However, M.G. Comte certifies that steak “au poivre” was already established as a specialty of the Hotel de Paris at Monte Carlo in 1910, and O. Becker states that he prepared it in 1905 at Palliard’s!

Steak au Poivre

2 tbs of peppercorns (I used Sichuan and black)

2 to 2 1/2 lb of steak

1 tbs butter

2 tbs minced shallots or green onions

1/2 cup of stock

1/3 cup of cognac (I used brandy)

3 to 4 tbs of butter

Press the peppercorns on both sides of the steak. Heat a tablespoon of oil and a tablespoon of butter in a large pan and cook the steak for 3 to 4 minutes on both sides. Remove to a plate and keep warm. Pour out the fat in the skillet and add butter and shallots and cook for a minute. Add teh stock and boil it down on high heat . Then add the cognac and boil for a minute or two. Add in the butter a half-tablespoon at a time. Pour the sauce over the steak and enjoy!