Tournedos Au Poivre

Tournedos Au Poivre, sounds fancy in French but let’s break it down so it doesn’t sound so intimidating.
“Au poivre” is a French culinary term that translates to “with pepper” in English. It is often used to describe a cooking method where meat, usually steak, is coated with coarsely ground black pepper before being cooked. The pepper crust adds a bold and peppery flavor to the dish.
The classic dish prepared “au poivre” is Steak au Poivre, where a steak is seasoned with salt and coated with cracked black peppercorns. The steak is then pan-seared or grilled to create a flavorful crust. After cooking, a sauce is often made using the pan drippings, brandy or cognac, and sometimes cream. This creates a rich and savory sauce that complements the peppered steak.
While Steak au Poivre is a well-known example, the “au poivre” technique can also be applied to other meats, such as chicken or pork. The use of pepper in this method adds a spicy kick to the dish, making it a popular choice for those who enjoy bold and robust flavors in their meals.
Tournedos, great name and great flavor are the end tips of a tenderloin. They have every bit of flavor and tenderness of a fillet mignon but they just come in a smaller package.
To make Tournedos Au Poivre, start by smashing your whole peppercorns until they are coarse. You can use coarse black and green pepper, but the flavor of fresh cracked pepper packs a serious punch that this dish is known for. Season your tournedos with olive oil, salt, and press the tournedos into the coarse peppercorns to give them a peppercorn crust.
Heat a cast iron skillet or heavy bottom sauté pan over medium heat. Lightly butter and season the crostini then toast each slice in the pan. Remove from the pan then set aside until it’s time to plate.
Turn the heat up in the pan to high until it is very hot. Add oil to the pan and place your crusted tournedos in the pan. Sear each steak for about five minutes before flipping and searing for another 3 minutes on the other side. Temp your steaks at this point, for medium rare you want your tournedos to have an internal temperature of 128 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the steaks from the pan and set aside to rest.
Add shitake mushrooms to the pan and cook until slightly tender.
Turn off the heat to the pan and deglaze the pan with cognac. This will cause a lot of smoke so make sure you are running your hood vents. Turn the heat to the pan back on over high heat then tip the pan to ignite the cognac, allowing the alcohol to “burn off”. If you are using an electric burner, use a long matchstick to light the cognac. Remove the mushrooms from the pan, season them lightly, and set them aside.
Add shallots and beef stock to the pan and let the beef stock come to a boil before adding heavy cream. Reduce the heavy cream until you have a slightly thickened sauce. Remove the pan from the heat.
To plate, divide half of the sauce equally between each plate, add two crostini to each plate (one if they are large slices), top the crostini/s with tournedos. Add shitake to the top of each steak, pour the remainder of the pan sauce over, then garnish with chopped chives.
Tournedos Au Poivre is an incredibly impressive and flavor packed main course that will floor everyone in the room.
Enjoy your Tournedos Au Poivre recipe! You got this!