Recipes

Steak Au Poivre in Cowboy Butter and Sautéed Chanterelles

Prep 25 minutes
Serves 4
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I’m subbing in a steak au poivre to honor our friend, Xavier Rolet’s, French heritage and add the additional fats that a typical American dinner has come to expect with steak. While I feel meat, especially red meat, in this country is much too fatty, we always want to meet the dinner where they are and slowly transition them to rediscover lost or new flavors. And this probably couldn’t be truer than with free range beef.

I’m desperately trying to reacquaint the American dinner with terroir, a taste of place. And free-range cattle is such an important place to start. We know that the industrial meat complex is one of the largest polluting sectors of the food industry, and we can make huge impact by changing just this one input on our plates. Instead of having a homogenous experience with meat, let’s start celebrating the land from which it comes, help reduce the impact of these animals by keeping them on open grasslands, help improve soils and perennial grasses, reduce our caloric and cholesterol intake, and reacquaint ourselves with the actual flavor of these animals. I promise, it will open up a whole new world of possibility for palate and plate.

Ingredients

  • 4 12oz Free Range Strip Steaks (sub Denver, Filet or Ribeye)
  • ¼ lbs. salted butter (or one stick)
  • 4 tsps. of Dijon mustard
  • ½ – 1 cup of cognac or brandy (I will often use rye or whiskey if you prefer a more American flare, literally)
  • Tons of crushed black pepper
  • Several pinches of Celtic or Himalayan salt
  • 4 cloves of crushed and minced garlic (wild ramp bulbs, when in season)
  • 3 tsps. fresh lemon juice
  • Pinches of cayenne pepper
  • 3 tsps. of crushed red pepper
  • Several tsps. of fresh chopped herbs (chives, sage, oregano, etc.)

Instructions

  1. Cowboy Butter: Combine softened butter with Dijon mustard, fresh herbs, lemon juice, cayenne and crushed red pepper and garlic in a saucepan and melt over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour into a large ramekin and place in the refrigerator until retuned to solid.
  2. Bring a large cast iron skillet (or two) up to medium to medium high heat and melt half the butter in each. Dredge each steak in fresh olive oil and cover each generously in fresh cracked black pepper.
  3. Lay the steaks in the heated skillet(s) for 5-7 minutes, spooning butter over the steaks regularly. The butter should brown, and you should be left with fond in the skillet. Flip the steaks and continue searing for another 3-4 minutes, for a medium rare.
  4. Pour the brandy, cognac or whiskey into the pan and light, allowing the alcohol to burn off and searing the outside of the steaks. As soon as the flame goes out, remove steaks and plate.
  5. Lower the heat to medium to medium low and roll in the chanterelles into the brown butter and fond. Allow to cook for just 2-3 minutes. Remove everything from heat.
  6. Pour the sautéed mushrooms and sauce over each of the steaks, or the mushrooms can be removed and plated separately. The remainder of the sauce can be evenly divided into separate small ramakins and added to the plate for the diner to use or garnish themselves.

Being Irish, I love my potatoes and love serving this with garlic mashed or a baked potato. The sauce goes extremely well with mashed potatoes and the chantrelles will set off a wonderful earthy spice to the whole dish.

Enjoy!