I recently got a text from my husband, who was having dinner at beloved all-day café/market/dream restaurant Gjusta in Venice, California. He was eating steak au poivre (a French dish of steak drenched in creamy pepper sauce) and just absolutely LOVING every minute of it. “I think you should bring back the steak au poivre” was what it said. A week later, this recipe was born and that was that.
*This will give the salt a chance to penetrate the meat, so it won’t fall off the steaks when you sear them.
**Cooking the peppercorns helps bloom their flavor and infuses the butter with peppery heat in a way that simply stirring them in at the end does not.
***The sauce will thicken and congeal as it cools down, and it won’t feel as luxurious on your palate.