Steak au poivre is one of the great French bistro classics – a juicy steak coated in cracked black peppercorns with a silky, rich pan sauce. This version uses sous vide to cook the steak to perfect medium-rare every time, then finishes with a hard sear to create that peppery crust. The sauce is built with red wine demi-glace and beef stock, finished with cream and butter for that classic luxurious texture.

The key is generous pepper – this is pepper steak, so you should taste it. Coarsely cracked black peppercorns give you heat, crunch, and aromatic spice. The sous vide method takes the guesswork out of doneness, and the quick sear ensures the pepper doesn’t burn. Serve with pommes purée and haricots verts for a proper French steakhouse dinner at home.

Chef Griffin

Steak au Poivre · Strip Steak, Cracked Black Pepper, Red Wine Demi

Classic French pepper steak with a cracked black pepper crust and rich red wine demi-glace cream sauce. Cooked sous vide for perfect medium-rare, then seared hard for a crispy crust.

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

For the Steaks:

4 strip steaks – 8-10 oz each about 1-1½ inches thick
2-3 tablespoons whole black peppercorns – coarsely cracked
Salt – to taste
2 tablespoons ghee- for searing clarified butter, grapeseed, or avocado
2 tablespoons butter – for basting

For the Sauce:

¾ cup red wine demi-glace
½ cup beef stock
⅓ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter – cold cut into pieces
1 tablespoon green peppercorns – drained optional
Salt – to taste

For Serving:

Pommes purée
Haricots verts – blanched or sautéed
Fresh parsley – chopped optional

Method

Prepare the Steaks

If your steaks are cold from the refrigerator, let them sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before cooking. This helps them cook more evenly.
Season the steaks generously on both sides with salt. Don’t add the pepper yet – it will be applied after sous vide, right before searing.

Sous Vide the Steaks

Set your sous vide circulator to 129°F (54°C) for medium-rare.
Place the seasoned steaks in vacuum-seal bags or heavy-duty zip-top bags. If using zip-top bags, use the water displacement method to remove air: seal the bag almost all the way, leaving a small opening, then slowly lower the bag into the water bath. The water pressure will push out the air. Seal completely just before the opening goes underwater.
Submerge the bags in the water bath and cook for at least 1 hour, up to 3 hours. The steaks reach temperature after about 1 hour – additional time up to 3 hours will slightly improve tenderness. They can hold safely for up to 4 hours if needed

Crack the Peppercorns

While the steaks cook, prepare your pepper. Place the whole black peppercorns in a zip-top bag or between two layers of plastic wrap. Use a heavy skillet, meat mallet, or rolling pin to crush them coarsely. You want a mix of cracked pieces and some powder – not finely ground, but not whole. The coarse texture is essential for that classic au poivre crunch.
Alternatively, use a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder with short pulses (don’t overdo it).

Sear the Steaks

When ready to serve, remove the steaks from the bags and pat them completely dry with paper towels. This is critical – any moisture will prevent a good sear and cause the pepper to steam instead of crust.
Pour the cracked black pepper onto a plate. Press each steak firmly into the pepper on both sides, coating generously. Really press it in so it adheres. You want a visible pepper crust – don’t be shy.
Heat a large cast iron or carbon steel skillet over high heat until smoking hot. Add the ghee or oil and swirl to coat.
Carefully place the pepper-crusted steaks in the pan. They should sizzle immediately and loudly. Sear for 45-60 seconds per side without moving them – you want a dark, crusty sear. The pepper will become fragrant and toasted.
Add the 2 tablespoons butter to the pan. Tilt the pan and use a spoon to baste the steaks with the foaming butter for 15-20 seconds.
Transfer the steaks to a plate and tent loosely with foil. Let them rest while you make the sauce – 5-10 minutes.

Make the Sauce

Pour off most of the fat from the skillet, leaving about 1 tablespoon and all those browned bits (fond). If there’s excess pepper that looks burnt, you can discard some of it, but a little is fine – it adds flavor.
Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the red wine demi-glace and beef stock. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. This is where the flavor lives.
Bring to a simmer and let the sauce reduce for 3-4 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. It should be thick and glossy.
Add the heavy cream and green peppercorns (if using). Stir to combine and let simmer for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce is rich and silky. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt if needed.
Turn off the heat and swirl in the cold butter pieces, one at a time, until the sauce is glossy and emulsified. Don’t let it boil after adding the butter or the sauce can break.

Serve

Place each steak on a warm plate. Spoon the sauce generously over and around the steaks. Serve immediately with pommes purée and haricots verts on the side.
Garnish with chopped parsley if desired, though it’s not traditional.

Notes

Sous vide to 129°F gives you perfect medium-rare edge to edge with no gray band. The steak cooks gently and evenly in the water bath, then the quick sear adds crust without overcooking. You can’t mess up the doneness.

Strip steak is ideal for steak au poivre. It has great beef flavor, good marbling for juiciness, and the texture stands up well to the pepper crust. It’s also more forgiving than filet – a few degrees over or under still tastes great.

Coarsely cracked black pepper is essential. Pre-ground pepper doesn’t have the texture or the aromatic oils. Cracking whole peppercorns releases fresh oils and creates that classic crunchy, spicy crust. The coarse texture also holds up better during searing without burning.

Pepper after sous vide, not before – if you put pepper on before sous vide, it can make the meat taste overly peppered and the juices in the bag bitter. Apply the pepper right before searing for the best flavor and texture.

Pat the steaks bone dry before applying pepper and searing. Any moisture will steam the meat and prevent browning. Dry surface = better crust.

High heat sear is quick – just 45-60 seconds per side. The steak is already cooked through from sous vide, so you’re only developing crust and toasting the pepper. Too long and you’ll burn the pepper and overcook the steak.

Red wine demi-glace is the backbone of the sauce. It’s concentrated, rich, and full of flavor. Combined with beef stock, it creates a sauce that’s intense but not too heavy. The cream mellows the pepper heat and adds silky richness.

Finishing with cold butter (monter au beurre) emulsifies the sauce and makes it glossy and velvety. Add it off heat and swirl – don’t whisk vigorously or let it boil, or the sauce can break and look greasy.

Green peppercorns are traditional in the sauce. They’re brined and have a milder, slightly tangy flavor compared to black pepper. They’re optional but add authenticity. You can find them jarred in most grocery stores near the capers.

Sous Vide Timing

The 1-3 hour window is flexible:

1 hour minimum – steak is cooked through, tender
2-3 hours – texture becomes more tender and buttery
Up to 4 hours – still great if you need to hold them

Don’t go much past 4 hours or the texture can get too soft.

Choosing Your Steak

Look for strip steaks (also called New York strip) that are:

1 to 1½ inches thick – thinner and they’ll overcook during searing
Well-marbled – white flecks of fat throughout means flavor and juiciness
Good quality – this is a simple dish where the steak is the star, so buy the best you can afford

Pepper Tips

For the best flavor, crack your peppercorns fresh right before cooking. Whole peppercorns keep their oils and aromatics much longer than pre-ground pepper.

If you don’t have whole peppercorns, you can use coarse-ground black pepper in a pinch, but the texture and flavor won’t be quite as good.

Sauce Without Cream (Lighter Version)

If you want a lighter, more wine-forward sauce without cream:

Use 1 cup red wine demi-glace and ¾ cup beef stock
Reduce until thick and glossy
Skip the cream entirely
Finish with butter as directed
The result is more intense and less rich

Make-Ahead

You can sous vide the steaks up to 2 days in advance. After cooking, chill the bags in an ice bath, then refrigerate. When ready to serve, you can sear them directly from the fridge (they’ll need an extra 15-20 seconds per side), or warm them in a 130°F water bath for 15 minutes first, then sear.

The sauce can be made ahead and reheated gently. Add the butter just before serving.

Troubleshooting

Pepper burns during searing: Your pan is too hot or you’re searing too long. Strip steak only needs 45-60 seconds per side since it’s already cooked. If the pepper starts smoking heavily, reduce heat slightly.

Sauce is too thin: Simmer it longer to reduce and concentrate. If it’s still thin after 5-6 minutes, you may need more demi-glace or you can make a small cornstarch slurry (½ teaspoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon cold water) and whisk it in.

Sauce is too thick: Add a splash more beef stock or cream to thin it out to the right consistency.

Sauce broke/looks greasy: You added the butter when the sauce was too hot or whisked too vigorously. The butter separated. To fix: remove from heat, add an ice cube, and whisk gently until the sauce comes back together. Remove the ice cube once emulsified.

Steak is overcooked after searing: Your sear was too long. Remember, the steak is already cooked through at medium-rare from sous vide. You only need enough time to create crust – 45-60 seconds per side maximum.

Pepper crust fell off: The steaks weren’t dry enough before applying pepper, or you didn’t press the pepper in firmly enough. Pat bone dry, then really press that pepper into the meat.

Variations

Filet Mignon au Poivre Use 6-8 oz filet mignon steaks instead of strip steak. Sous vide at 129°F for 1-2 hours. Filet is more tender and delicate, with a milder beef flavor. The pepper and sauce become more prominent. This is the most classic and elegant version.

Traditional Stovetop + Oven Method (No Sous Vide) Season steaks with salt. Press cracked pepper onto both sides. Heat an oven-proof skillet over high heat with oil. Sear steaks for 3-4 minutes per side until deeply browned. Transfer skillet to a preheated 400°F oven and roast for 4-6 minutes for medium-rare (internal temp 130-135°F). Remove steaks, rest, and make sauce in the same pan as directed. This is the classic technique if you don’t have sous vide.

Four-Pepper Steak Use a mix of black, white, green, and pink peppercorns for a more complex pepper flavor. Crack them together and apply as directed. The different peppers each have distinct flavors – white is sharper, green is milder, pink is fruity and less spicy.

Ribeye au Poivre Use ribeye steaks for more marbling and richer flavor. Sous vide at 131°F (ribeye benefits from slightly higher temp to render the fat). The extra fat makes it even more luxurious, though some find it too rich with the cream sauce.

Brandy or Cognac Flambé Before adding the demi-glace, deglaze the pan with ¼ cup brandy or cognac. Carefully ignite it with a long lighter (stand back – the flames can be dramatic). Let the flames die down, then proceed with the sauce. This adds aromatic depth and is impressive tableside. Optional but classic.

Sauce with Mustard Stir 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard into the sauce along with the cream. Adds tang and complexity that pairs beautifully with beef and pepper.

With Shallots After searing the steaks, sauté 2 tablespoons minced shallots in the pan drippings for 1 minute before adding the demi-glace. Adds sweetness and depth.

Steak au Poivre · Strip Steak, Cracked Black Pepper, Red Wine Demi