Pepper Steak

Have you ever tried a MasterClass subscription? I received one as a gift last Christmas, and it’s been an incredible resource for learning just about anything from top professionals. Naturally, I gravitated toward the cooking courses and have tried several delicious dishes. One of my favorites has been Wolfgang Puck’s Pepper Steak. This recipe is perfect for satisfying a craving for a restaurant-quality steak without the restaurant price.

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Now you really have to love pepper to enjoy this dish. The flavor of the fresh cracked pepper, along with the delicate sauce all balances beautifully in the end. The best way to bring out the aromatics in the pepper is to hand crush in a bag.

This recipe is not particularly hard, just a lot of steps. What makes this version of pepper steak exceptional, in my opinion, is the red wine sauce. The mix of sweet and tart, is a perfect accompaniment to the bold pepper flavor. If you cannot find veal demi-glaze, we found that veal “Better than bullion” or a veal stock work very well too.

Start by mixing the red wine into a saucepan with the raisins over medium heat.

We made this with our Hestan NanoBond cookware. It is a non-stick without using Teflon. It is great cookware which we were fortunate to have been given to test out from the company. You can find Hestan Culinary: HERE

The raisins will plump back up while this sauce is cooking, making it rich with flavor.

Now it’s time to turn to the steak. This recipe calls for New York steaks, which I think suits it really well. Salt the steaks all around. Next coat with the freshly cracked pepper on all sides.

Heat the pan to medium-high with the olive oil, careful not to burn. Add the steaks. Cook for 3-4 minutes to brown and the juices start to release. Turn and cook on the other side. After about 8 minutes total the steaks will be medium rare. Cook a minute or two more on each side for more well done. Remember, they will continue to cook as they “rest".”

Remove from the pan and keep warm near the stove. We are always so pleased to see this beautiful crust form on the steaks!

While the steaks are resting, complete the sauce. Pour the excess fat from the skillet used to cook the steaks to start. Now, pour the wine and raisin sauce into the skillet. Turn to medium high and reduce for a few minutes. Add the demi-glace and reduce a bit more.

Next, turn the heat back down to medium low and add the cream. Whisk gently to incorporate.

Give it a taste, adding salt and pepper to taste. Continue to whisk. The sauce is complete when it coats the back of a spoon.

Look how perfectly cooked they come out after a perfect sear and then resting while making the sauce! Once the sauce is complete, slice the steaks into 1/2 in pieces.

Fan the steak slices on a serving dish and spoon some of the sauce over. There will be extra sauce to serve on the side. This is really a delicious recipe from Wolfgang Puck. It is also surprisingly easy to make. This works really well as an elegant main course for a dinner party or a night in for two!

Yield: 4

Author: Wolfgang Puck

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Pepper Steak with Red Wine Sauce

Balance the spice of pepper with the sweetness of raisins, and reduce the perfect red wine pan sauce for a New York strip steak.

Prep time: 18 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 38 Min

Ingredients

For the Steaks

• 4 New York Strip Steaks
• Salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Pepper Crust

• 2 tbsp green peppercorns
• 2 tbsp white peppercorns
• 1/4 cup black peppercorns

Red Wine Sauce

• 2 cups red wine
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup veal demi-glace
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• salt

Instructions

1. Begin with the sauce. Combine raisins and red wine in a large sauté pan over medium heat. The wine will plump up the raisins and help you deglaze your pan.
2. Now make the pepper crust. Combine all the peppercorns in a zip-lock bag, make sure the bag is free of air, and seal. Crush the peppercorns with a mallet or rolling pin. Pour the smashed peppercorns on a plate. Season the steaks on both sides with salt and coat with the crushed peppercorns. Store excess crushed peppercorns for future recipes.
3. Place a large sauté pan on high heat. Pour the olive oil in the pan and heat it up until it starts to lightly smoke. Do not let the oil burn. Slowly place the steaks in the pan away from you to prevent hot oil from splashing on your hands. Sear each side for 3–4 minutes to achieve a brown crust on both sides. When the steaks are done cooking, place them on a baking rack to rest. Pour out the excess oil from the pan. Keep your steaks warm in the oven while you make the sauce.
4. To make the pan sauce, put the red wine and raisin combination that you made earlier in the pan in which you cooked the steaks over medium-high heat. Reduce the wine. Add the veal demi-glace and whisk. Reduce the heat to low and add some of the heavy cream. Whisk together and reduce. Taste. Correct taste with salt at the end if needed. Dip a spoon into the sauce. If the sauce is perfectly reduced, it will coat the back of the spoon like lacquer. If the sauce has reduced too much or become too strong in flavor, add more heavy cream to lighten it up.
5. TO PL ATE Cut the steak into 8 pieces and arrange in a fan shape on the plate. Place a small handful of watercress next to the steak and drizzle with olive oil. Then spoon the sauce over and around the meat. Enjoy!