Steak Au Poivre

A peppered steak recipe from "Classic French Cooking" by Elisabeth Luard. Simple, quick, and absolutely delicious. Don't skimp on the steak or the wine, or you will be disappointed.

• Ready In: 25 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 4 steaks

Ingredients

• 4  steaks, 12 oz each
• 4  teaspoons black peppercorns
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 cup butter
• 2  cups white wine

Directions

1. Crack the peppercorns in a mortar and pestle, or grind very coarsely.
2. Rub the top and bottom of each steak with the pepper and salt.
3. Using a very heavy pan, melt the butter and then sear both sides of the steak.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook between 2 and 5 minutes on each side (2 minutes per side gives rare steak, 5 minutes per side gives well-done steak - we preferred about 3.5 minutes per side).
5. Remove steaks from heat and allow to rest. Meanwhile, add wine to the pan, scrape up any drippings, and cook until liquid is reduced by half. This should take about 10 minutes.
6. Pour sauce over steaks after they are served.