Gourmet Club Main Course Parts 5 and 6: Peppercorn Steaks with Bourbon Sauce

Rounding the final turn, I had two more courses left for the main course.

The first is one I have featured here before, the Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Bar-b-que sauce. As always, it was wonderful.

Like the vegetable course, I made the beef course in a trial run earlier in the summer. The pictures are from that run as the food coma hit the photographer like a Mack truck and we neglected to capture the beef. On the original run the steaks were great but the sauce was a little thin. For the club, I reduced the beef broth a bit and also used a bit of flour to thicken up the sauce.

Very few ingredients in this. Just a nice cut of beef.

As the theme was “Food on a Stick”, I did not pan fry the steaks as it calls for in the recipe, but

grilled them.

The sauce starting on the stove.

Frying up the shallots.

Into the pot.

Stirring in the butter a bit at a time allows the sauce to absorb it correctly.

A very rich sauce.

Peppercorn Steaks with Bourbon Sauce

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons four-peppercorn spice mix or whole black peppercorns
• 6 6- to 8-ounce beef tenderloin steaks
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup bourbon
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
• 2/3 cup beef stock or canned beef broth

Directions:

Coarsely crush peppercorns in mortar with pestle. Season steaks with salt. Sprinkle peppercorns over both sides of steaks, pressing to adhere. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steaks and cook to desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare.

Meanwhile, heat bourbon in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until warm. Remove from heat; carefully ignite with match. Let burn 30 seconds, then cover to extinguish flame.

Transfer steaks to plates; tent with foil to keep warm. Add 1 tablespoon butter and shallots to drippings in skillet; sauté 2 minutes. Add stock and bourbon; boil until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add remaining 5 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking just until melted. Spoon sauce over steaks and serve.

Source: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Peppercorn-Steaks-with-Bourbon-Sauce-106315