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Sous Vide Steak with Black Peppercorn Sauce

Introduction & method

If your criteria for a perfect steak require the meat to be evenly cooked from the centre to edge, with a tasty char on the outside, then conventional methods will not deliver that. But sous-vide cooking can. This steak is deliciously tender, and the black peppercorn sauce is fabulous too.

 Sous Vide Steak with Black Peppercorn Sauce Recipe

You want your steaks to be as thick as possible - at least 2-3 centimetres (an inch or more). The exact cut is down to you, but even cheaper cuts will deliver good results.

Add warm water to your water bath and heat it to 54.5°C (130°F). This temperature will give you medium-rare steak - if you want a different level of doneness, a higher or lower temperature will give you that, and there's plenty of reference material on the Interwebz.

Season the steaks with salt and pepper pressed into both sides and pop them in a zip-lock bag or vacuum pouch along with the butter. If using a vacuum sealer, seal the bag and place it in the water bath, otherwise close the zipper on the zip-lock bag but leave a few centimetres open for the air to escape. Immerse the zip-lock bag in the water bath, make sure all the air is expelled and then fully close the zipper. Leave to cook for 2 hours.

Make the Black Peppercorn Sauce


In a small saucepan, reduce the red wine over high heat until it is half gone.
Crack the peppercorns in a mortar and pestle.
Melt the butter in a small frying pan on low heat. Add the finely chopped shallots and cook for about 5 minutes until they are soft. Add the peppercorns and cook for a few minutes more.

Add the red wine reduction, beef stock and mustard, stir well and simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Just before you are ready to use the sauce, stir in the cream.

Finish the Steaks


When the steaks are cooked, add a knob of butter and a splash of olive oil to a skillet and heat it up as high as it will go. Open doors and windows and turn off the smoke alarm because this final searing produces a lot of smoke. Pop the steaks into the pan and sear them for about 1-2 minutes each side, and don't forget to do the edges.

Stir any juices from the sous-vide bag into the sauce and pour it around the steak.

 



 
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Ingredients & Info


THE MEAT
 2 big thick steaks, preferably with a good fat caps
 25 grams unsalted butter
  SAUCE
 2 shallots
 25 grams unsalted butter
 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
 200 ml good beef stock
 100 ml red wine
 3 tbsp double (heavy) cream
 2 tsp dijon mustard

PLUS

Salt and pepper to season the steak, butter and olive oil to sear it.


UNITS:
Metric
US Customary/Imperial

Serves 2 
Prep time: 10 minutes.
Cooking time: 2 hours.
Total time: 2 hours 10 minutes.