By:Nagi
192 Comments
One of my favourite steak sauces – a creamy Peppercorn Sauce made with brandy or cognac, beef broth, cream and plenty of crushed peppercorns.
A steakhouse classic, this creamy pepper sauce with juicy steak is a match made in heaven. And it’s made with just 4 ingredients. Four. FOUR!!!
Creamy Peppercorn Sauce – a Steakhouse classic
Creamy Peppercorn Sauce was always my first choice at steakhouses which I frequented quite regularly back in my corporate days.
Having traded in suits and heels for an apron, there’s no corporate lunches for me anymore. I make my steaks at home!
There are a handful of truly great sauces in this world that are deceptively simple to make, and this creamy pepper sauce for steak is one of them.
How to make Creamy Peppercorn Sauce
This is an exceptionally simple sauce to make with few ingredients, making for a quick dinner any night:
Cook steak to your taste, then remove and rest while you make the sauce;
Make sauce:In the same pan, add brandy or cognac, simmer rapidly for 1 minute until the alcohol smell is gone;
Add beef broth/stock, and simmer rapidly until it reduces by half (intensifies the flavour);
Stir through cream and crushed peppercorns. Serve over steak!
TIPS:
The alcohol brings incredible depth of flavour to the sauce, it’s the secret ingredient. Classic creamy peppercorn sauce is made cognac or brandy, but I’ve made this plenty of times with marsala too. I love ’em all!
Using freshly crushed peppercorns are best for a really great pepper flavour. Or usecanned green peppercorns for less heat.
PS Note how I’m searing the sides of the steak↑↑↑ Always sear the fat strip. Nobody likes a big fat rubbery strip of fat on their steak!
Quick for midweek!
Serve it up with Crispy Smashed Potatoesor Paris Mash and a quick Garlic Spinach side for a true Steakhouse experience!– Nagi x
PS It’s worth getting a decent steak for this one. If you get a really good value economy steak, try my Steak Marinade instead – it will tenderise and add subtle flavour. 🙂
Try these on the side:
For a Steakhouse experience – Paris Mash andGarlic Sautéed Spinach
Lemon Roasted Potatoesor Lemon Potato Salad
Crispy Smashed Potatoes or Potatoes au Gratin
Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
Parmesan Roasted Green Beans
And more great steak sauces:
A Mushroom Sauce for Steak
Béarnaise sauce
Garlic Thyme Butter Basted Steak – a simple, amazing Cheffy technique for cooking steak
Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
Mushroom Gravy – use the sauce in this Chicken with Mushroom Gravy
Beef Steak Marinade
Asian Steak Sauce
Creamy Peppercorn Sauce for Steak
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Steak with Creamy Peppercorn Sauce
Author: Nagi
Prep: 5 minutes mins
Cook: 12 minutes mins
Total: 17 minutes mins
4.94 from 62 votes
Servings2
Tap or hover to scale
Recipe video above. One of the best steak sauces in this world! It's super simple because it's made using the steak drippings and either brandy or cognac. The alcoholic taste is cooked out and you're left with an amazing sweet/savoury/creamy sauce with great depth of flavour and beautiful pops of heat from the peppercorns. Use crushed black peppercorns for spicier or canned green peppercorns for more mild heat.
Ingredients
- 2 300g/10oz New York Strip / Porterhouse steaks (or other of choice, Note 1)
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Sauce:
- 1/3 cup (85 ml) brandy or cognac (or marsala) (Note 2)
- 3/4 cup (185 ml) beef broth/stock , low sodium (important! Note 3)
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) cream , heavy/thickened
- 2 - 3 tsp coarsely crushed whole black peppercorns (or canned green peppercorns, drained) (Note 4)
Instructions
Take the steaks out of the fridge 20 minutes before planning to cook.
Crush the pepper using a rolling pin, mortar and pestle or the side of a hardy knife.
Steaks:
Just before cooking, sprinkle both sides of steak generously with salt and black pepper.
Heat oil in a skillet over high heat until smoking.
Add steaks and cook the first side for 2 minutes until it has a great crust, then flip and cook the other side for 2 minutes (for medium rare).
Stack the steaks on top of each other, then use tongs to sear the fat strip.
Transfer to plate, cover loosely with foil to rest while you make the sauce.
Sauce:
Add brandy or cognac into the same skillet and let it simmer rapidly, scraping the bottom of the pan, until it has mostly reduced and you can no longer smell the harsh alcohol smell (~1 min).
Add broth, bring to simmer and let it simmer rapidly for 2 to 3 minutes or until it reduces by half.
Turn heat down to medium. Add cream and pepper, stir, then simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until it thickens (do not let it boil rapidly).
Taste sauce, adjust salt (and pepper!) to taste.
Transfer steaks to warmed serving plates. Spoon over sauce. Serve immediately! Pictured with Crispy Smashed Potatoes and Garlic Spinach. (Note 6)
Recipe Notes:
1. Use a decent quality steak for this recipe. If using a very economical steak, I'd recommend my steak marinade instead of this recipe - it will tenderise and infuse with great flavour!
2. If you can't use alcohol, use the recipe in Note 5 and instead of using brandy in step 1, add 1/4 cup of non alcoholic red wine or water.
3. Do not make this sauce with full salt beef broth. The sauce will end up too salty because it's reduced down. If you only have full salt beef stock, then follow the recipe in Note 5 (in the same skillet) and use only 1/3 cup of beef broth and add 1/3 cup of water in place of the beef broth int he recipe. The extra flavour steps will compensate for use of less broth.
4. Black peppercorns are spicier which I like for this recipe. Little pops of heat tempered by the sweetness and creaminess of the sauce. Canned green peppercorns are not as spicy and have a milder flavour.
5. Peppercorn Sauce without pan drippings - If you make the steaks on the BBQ and still want this sauce, make the recipe as follows: Melt 1.5 tbsp / 25g butter in a skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp very finely chopped eschallots/shallots (the small purple onions) and sauté gently for 1 minute. Then add brandy or cognac per recipe, increase heat to high. Proceed with recipe.
6. Garlic Spinach or Silverbeet: Heat olive oil in a skillet, add garlic, cook for 20 seconds, add spinach and stir until just starting to wilt. Remove, set aside, proceed with steak.
7. Nutrition is for sauce only because the nutrition of steaks varies so significantly, even for the same cut depending on how thick the fat strip is etc. The recipe makes about 3/4 cup of sauce which is enough for 2 steaks - it's rich and fairly intense flavoured so you don't need tons.
Nutrition Facts Steak with Creamy Peppercorn Sauce Amount Per Serving Calories 352Calories from Fat 252 % Daily Value* Fat 28g43% Saturated Fat 19g119% Cholesterol 81mg27% Sodium 187mg8% Potassium 224mg6% Carbohydrates 1g0% Protein 2g4% Vitamin A 875IU18% Calcium 39mg4% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 352cal (18%)Carbohydrates: 1gProtein: 2g (4%)Fat: 28g (43%)Saturated Fat: 19g (119%)Cholesterol: 81mg (27%)Sodium: 187mg (8%)Potassium: 224mg (6%)Vitamin A: 875IU (18%)Calcium: 39mg (4%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.
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192 Comments
Lisa saysCan I use red wine. We are snowed in and all I have is red cab. 😊
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- Dmytro says
I would like to add, that it would be much better to use white paper instead of black. It has so much less heat and better taste.
In Europe, we use 80/80/80 proportions for sauce.
80 grams of butter
80 grams of heavy cream
80 grams of cognac.However, we don’t use broth.
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- John says
I prefer not to add paper to my sauces 🤣
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- Drew Allees says
Sounds like you should write your own recipe if it’s that much different.
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- Barbara says
I’m sorry if this was already asked (I can’t read through 159 comments!)…. can this be made a day ahead of time with the no pan drippings version in Note 5? Thank you.
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- Beverly says
When I make this, there is always leftover sauce. It’s delicious the next day! But… it’s a kind of runny sauce, and it does kinda separate a little, but then you just mix it. I would say, it’s not quite as appetizing the next day. I don’t think I would serve it to guests. But like I say, it’s delicious the next day to put on whatever you might have.
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- Niki says
This was the first posh thing I learned to cook as a young woman in the 70s. Haven’t made it for decades but thought of it a while ago and have been craving it ever since. Of course by the time I found green peppercorns I realised I couldn’t remember how to make it. Luckily I came across your recipe and it seemed most like the version I remembered. It was perfect and tasted just like I had wanted. Clear instructions and logically laid out steps plus great tips for less experienced cooks. Quick and easy and still looked impressive. Served it with courgettes, green beans and peas that steamed in the microwave while everything else cooked and leftover boiled potatoes that l pan fried with the steak and kept warm while the steak rested and I made the sauce. Definitely a keeper and a great bit of nostalgia as well. Thanks for sharing.Reply
- Nagi says
So glad you enjoyed it Niki! VERY retro! N x
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- Terri says
Oh my goodness!! This is sooo delicious!! 5+ from both my husband and me!Reply
- Tamsin says
This is delish!
I didn’t have any lactose free cream to hand but lactose free Greek yoghurt works well too.
So simple & so yummy.
Many thanksReply
- Afnan says
Hi. Can you tell me how to make this sauce without any alcohol? Like if there is a substitute for it and how much of it I should use. If so, should I adjust the rest of the recipe?
Thanks
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- Dmytro says
Actually, there is no need to remove alcohol from this receipt. There is no alcohol left after you boil it on a pan =) So it’s just for a taste and aroma.
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- Drew Allees says
Yes but that can be a trigger for someone stuggling with alcohol and goes to AA. Most can’t even say taste it, but they might get tempted. So it’s a valid question
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- Nagi says
Hi Afnan, you sure can, see the recipe notes 🙂 N x
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- Joe Momma says
Yummy sauce!Reply
- Ruru says
Disclaimer: I did some modifications, but I still think this recipe is really good either by itself or as a jumping off point.I made this to go with pork chops and used chicken broth instead of beef. I also added another small splash of brandy at the end to bring back some of the more delicate and boozy notes. I prefer my sauces to have a little more cling to them so I added a little bit of corn starch to thicken it a tad and it turned out just wonderful, it was so easy and had very few ingredients but it tasted amazing, my family raved about how good it was.
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- Renee says
Tad of corn starch? 1/2 tsp? Thanks for the tip
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- Ruru says
I’m unfortunately not great at measuring things out when improvising, I just make a slurry with a spoonful of corn starch and maybe 1/4 cup of broth, and near the end of cooking and I drizzle a little in while whisking to incorporate it and cook it, then add more as needed until I reach the desired consistency. You can always add more but you can’t take away, so I go slow with it.
Then when I’m happy with it I add extra brandy to taste.Reply
- Em says
This sauce was amazing! I live on a remote island where it’s hard to get pantry staples (or ANY food, lol), so I appreciate the simple ingredients in your recipes. I wasn’t sure my 8 and 9 year old boys would like it, but they declared it the best thing I’ve ever cooked. Thank you for constantly making me look like a top chef, Nagi!Reply
- Piertje McNamara says
Hi Nagi,
Thank you for your easy to follow recipe for creamy peppercorn sauce. It was delicious. Both my husband and I really enjoyed it. Only issue I had was I nearly set the house on fire. 😫 oops. I followed your recipe to the letter and added the brandy to the hot pan. That’s when disaster almost struck. Luckily I was able to get it under control quickly and no damage was done. Not having worked with alcohol in such a way before I was totally unprepared. The brandy was well and truly reduced and there was enough to make the rest of the sauce. Lol 😂.Reply
- Andy Burton says
Here’s to you!!! wow peppercorn sauce to die for , thank you. been looking for a recipe that gives me the taste I want and you nailed it. cheers!!
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- Sam says
Stellar! An easy but absolutely delicious steak sauce – thank you!Reply
- Abby says
Hi Nagi, thanks for another simple but delicious recipe! Can i freeze the leftover sauce?
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- Em says
Hi Abby, I haven’t frozen this one yet (I am tonight though), but have frozen similar creamy sauces. They sometimes seperate a little once reheated, but still taste the same as they originally did. Hope this helps!
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- Angela says
Super simple but bang on for a fantastic peppercorn sauce just like in restaurantsReply
- Peter Brazier says
Oh my God…. will never buy another pack sauce ever again thank you for this diamond recipe….. It gives restaurant flavour and body, here in England used double cream and just over a 1/3 of OXO cube… foe a covid pandemic birthday and had he best meal ever.. Thank You!!
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- Nagi says
Wahoo!!! I’m so glad you loved it Peter!! N x
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- Mae says
Hi Nagi,Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I used marsala wine on the sauce and it turned out great. The sauce is a little thin but it taste delicious. I just want to find out if I can freeze the left over sauce.
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- Robin says
I made this sauce tonight. I used medium sherry as the alcohol as I mysteriously couldn’t find my cooking brandy. I also added a bit (maybe a tablespoon) of flour to the pan and cooked it in. This made the sauce thicker. I used green peppercorns.
I had my son helping out. Always good to have my own professionally trained sous chef in my kitchen. Makes prep easy.Reply
- Scott says
Just great. Simple and the Smashed Potatoes were a perfect accompanient!
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- AMF says
This was wonderful. My sauce came out thin, but that’s easily fixed with a cornstarch slurry. My steaks took quite a bit longer than two minutes per side to cook, just FYI. I just used a meat thermometer and kept them on the pan until they reached the correct temperature. I served the steaks with Nagi’s smashed potatoes. It was a delicious meal!Reply
