One of my favourite steak sauces – a creamy Peppercorn Sauce made with brandy or cognac, beef broth/stock, cream and plenty of crushed peppercorns. The creamy pepper sauce with juicy steak is a match made in heaven and calls for just 4 ingredients. 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. It’s the same sauce used in Steak au Poivre, a French classic, except the steak is not crusted with cracked peppercorns so there is more in the sauce. This recipe is more straightforward because you don’t have to worry about burning cracked peppercorns when searing the steak or finishing the steak in the oven to avoid that problem.
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 use canned 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 Potatoes or 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 and Garlic Sautéed Spinach
And more great steak sauces:
A Mushroom Sauce for Steak
Garlic Thyme Butter Basted Steak – a simple, amazing Cheffy technique for cooking steak
Mushroom Gravy – use the sauce in this Chicken with Mushroom Gravy
Creamy peppercorn sauce for steak
Watch how to make it
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Steak with Creamy Peppercorn Sauce
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:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Mandatory post knee-op daily icing involves building blocks, frozen veg and Dozer with his eyes closed the whole time – “OMG it’s so cold, it’s so cold, it’s soooo cooold!!!” (Update: Happy to report he made a full recovery and was bounding around like a loon within weeks!)
Great, simple recipe, thanks, it worked a treat!
Everything was stunning. Steak, creamy pepper brandy sauce and….. the Devine smashed potatoes. Thank you Nagi xx
This sauce is seriously good. Had leftovers, so added more cream, chopped cooked bacon, warmed it up in microwave and served over BBQd chicken breast topped with honey roasted pinenuts. Two days of delicious!
This is a great recipe. Simple and easy to make but the result is delicious! I got a little more flame than expected with the 85mL brandy so hot tip to add/boil it off in a couple of portions (this will save you wiping off your ceiling while it reduces)! Nagi is right about the salt – as your steak will be salted anyway you don’t need to add salty beef stock to this.
Wouldn’t change a thing.. it was delicious
Absolutely scrumptious!!!! No need to ever eat a steak out with this recipe. My husband is sold. I used fillet steak which was just to die for. Nagi you are awesomeness itself!!!!
Can I use red wine. We are snowed in and all I have is red cab. 😊
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.
I prefer not to add paper to my sauces 🤣
Sounds like you should write your own recipe if it’s that much different.
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.
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.
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.
So glad you enjoyed it Niki! VERY retro! N x
Oh my goodness!! This is sooo delicious!! 5+ from both my husband and me!
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 thanks
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
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.
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
Hi Afnan, you sure can, see the recipe notes 🙂 N x
Yummy sauce!
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.
Tad of corn starch? 1/2 tsp? Thanks for the tip
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.
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!
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 😂.
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!!
Stellar! An easy but absolutely delicious steak sauce – thank you!
Hi Nagi, thanks for another simple but delicious recipe! Can i freeze the leftover sauce?
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!