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A perfect choice for a special dinner, this elk steak au poivre is sure to please! Made with plenty of black peppercorns and an elegant sauce made with cognac and cream.
Why make this recipe
Steak au poivre - don't let the fancy name scare you! It is simply French for peppered steak. This classic dish prepared with steaks rubbed with crushed peppercorns and then pan fried.
The steak is finished with a pan sauce that is out of this world delicious, but it really isn't difficult to make.
Instead of beef steak, I've used elk steak. If you are familiar with Beyond the Chicken Coop, you'll know that I live in a family full of hunters and our freezers are stocked full of wild elk and venison. And that means, I cook with a lot of wild game.
Lately I've tried to find new, creative ways to cook all this meat. Anytime a recipe calls for ground beef, I typically use ground elk instead, like in this Enchilada Soup and these Italian Meatballs.
And I've made Venison Stew and Venison Backstrap. They are both delicious!
I recently ran across a recipe for Steak au Poivre in the Joy of Cooking cookbook and I quickly decided I needed to make this with elk steaks.
I made a few changes and ended up with a delicious dish perfect for serving to guest or for celebrating special occasions. You could also make this for an everyday meal - they are worth celebrating too!
Don't let the fanciness of this dish deter you from making it. There are a lot of steps in making the sauce, but it isn't difficult to make. Just take it one step at a time and you'll end up with an amazing dish!
Key ingredients
- Elk Steak - I used thin, boneless steaks. You could also use a thicker cut or medallions of tenderloin. Try to pick a tender cut of steak.
- Peppercorns - crushed. Set your peppermill on the coarsest grind or place peppercorns in a zip top bag and lightly crush with the side of a can or a meat mallet.
- Cognac - You could also use brandy. If you don't use alcohol you could omit and substitute beef broth.
- Shallots
- Heavy cream - really adds a perfect consistency to the sauce
Steps to make
- Dry steaks by dabbing both sides with a dry paper towel
- Coat both sides of steaks with peppercorns and a sprinkling of salt
- In a very hot cast iron pan (or heavy duty pan) add steaks. Be certain to not overcrowd steaks
- Cook over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes per side. Try not to move steaks around while they are cooking. You can peek to make certain you aren't burning the steaks.
- Remove steaks and place on a plate and cover loosely with foil
- Turn off heat on pan and allow pan to cool down slightly. You will be adding butter and you don't want the butter to burn
- Add butter and finely diced shallots. Cook for 1-2 minutes until softened.
- Turn off heat and add cognac to pan. Once cognac is added, you can turn heat back on. Stir cognac scaping up brown bits on the bottom of pan until the liquid is almost evaporated.
- Add broth and reduce in half (about 5 minutes)
- Turn heat to low and stir in the cream. Cook until mixture returns to a boil and begins to thicken.
- Serve sauce over cooked steaks
Recipe tips
- Cook steaks to your desired temperature. I like my elk steaks cooked medium - medium well. Many people prefer medium rare.
- Actual cook time will depend on the thickness of your steaks and your desired temperature
- If sauce is too thick, add a bit more broth or cream
- Top with freshly chopped parsley to add a finished touch
Make it a meal
Elk steak au poivre goes perfectly with
- Roasted Asparagus
- Oven Roasted Carrots
- Sesame Peas
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Oven Roasted Potatoes or Potato Galette
- Chocolate Mousse - for dessert!
More great recipes using wild game
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Be sure to check out all my main dish recipes!
Elk Steak au Poivre
Equipment
- Cast Iron Pan
Ingredients
- 4 elk steaks
- 4 tablespoons black peppercorns (crushed)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup shallots (minced)
- ¼ cup cognac (or brandy)
- 1 cup beef broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- salt
Instructions
- Dry steaks by dabbing both sides with a dry paper towel4 elk steaks
- Coat both sides of steaks with peppercorns and a sprinkling of salt4 tablespoons black peppercorns, salt
- In a very hot cast iron pan (or heavy duty pan) add steaks. Be certain to not overcrowd steaks. If your cast iron pan isn't well seasoned, place a bit of oil on a paper towel and rub bottom of pan prior to heating pan.
- Cook over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes per side. Try not to move steaks around while they are cooking. You can peak to make certain you aren't burning the steaks.
- Remove steaks and place on a plate and cover loosely with foil
- Turn off heat on pan and allow pan to cool down slightly. You will be adding butter and you don't want the butter to burn
- Add butter and finely diced shallots. Cook for 1-2 minutes until softened.2 tablespoons butter, ¼ cup shallots
- Turn off heat and add cognac to pan. Once cognac is added, you can turn heat back on. Stir cognac scaping up brown bits on the bottom of pan until the liquid is almost evaporated.¼ cup cognac
- Add broth and reduce sauce by half (about 5 minutes)1 cup beef broth
- Turn heat to low and stir in the cream. Cook until mixture returns to a boil and begins to thicken.½ cup heavy cream
- Serve sauce over cooked steaks
Notes
- Cook steaks to your desired temperature. I like my elk steaks cooked medium - medium well. Many people prefer medium rare.
- Actual cook time will depend on the thickness of your steaks and your desired temperature
- If sauce is too thick, add a bit more broth or cream
- Top with freshly chopped parsley to add a finished touch
- Use caution when adding liquor to a hot pan. Turn off heat to avoid flareups.
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
David @ Spiced says
This steak looks amazing, Kathy - excellent photos! I haven't cooked with elk very often (only once if I recall), but turning those elk steaks into steak au poivre was a great idea. Now you've got me craving a good peppery steak for dinner tonight! 🙂
Kathy says
Thanks, David! I know wild game isn't available everywhere, but we do have an abundance of it in our house. I used to cook just the same few recipes with it over and over. I've finally learned how to expand and make a variety of meals.