Peppercorn sauce is a rich and creamy sauce made with a base of heavy cream and spicy whole peppercorns, perfect over seared meats, especially steaks.
Peppercorn Sauce Recipe
We're making a delicious Peppercorn Sauce for steak tonight, my friends. Would you care for some?
Peppercorn sauce is a classic sauce popularly served on steak. It is made with lots of pungent peppercorns, cream, and brandy or cognac.
It is creamy and rich from the heavy cream, though the key flavor here is the use of peppercorns, which offer a pungent, peppery, vibrant, and slightly spicy flavor to your steak.
It's a versatile sauce as well, not only for steak, but great for adding rich, robust flavor to other meats, vegetables, and more.
Let's talk about how to make peppercorn sauce, shall we?
Peppercorn Sauce Ingredients
The full ingredients list with measurements is listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Whole Peppercorns. Black peppercorns are more pungent and robust in flavor. Green peppercorns are milder and offer citrusy, herbaceous notes. White peppercorns are the mildest and much less intense.
- Butter.
- Vegetable Oil. Or use the drippings from your pan-seared steak.
- Shallot.
- Brandy or Cognac. Use extra beef stock as a non-alcoholic substitute.
- Beef Stock.
- Heavy Cream.
How to Make Peppercorn Sauce - the Recipe Method
Crush the peppercorns into coarse grains. I like to use my molcajete, but any mortar and pestle will do, or you can use a rolling pin or the bottom of a heavy bottle or pan.
You want coarsely crushed grains, not ground pepper, as you'll want a bit of texture to the sauce. Crushed whole black peppercorns add lots of robust flavor.
Then, heat the butter and oil in a pan over medium-high heat. If you're using the pan drippings from a seared steak, skip the oil and just melt the butter.
Cook the shallot, then add the brandy or cognac and crushed peppercorns. Cook a couple minutes to reduce, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan if you just seared steaks.
There is some great flavor in there!
Add the beef broth stock, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer to reduce the liquid by half.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the heavy cream. Simmer until it thickens to your desired consistency, just a few minutes.
Boom! Done! Your hot peppercorn sauce is ready to serve. Easy enough to make, isn't it? Spoon this over your steak and you're in heaven. I hope you love it!
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Other popular ingredients to consider include Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, and spicy chili flakes.
- Peppercorns sauce is great on a juicy steak, but try it on other foods, like pork chops, pan seared chicken, any vegetables, or as a pasta sauce.
Storage & Leftovers
You can make peppercorn steak sauce ahead or store any leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. You can reheat it gently in a pan with a bit of water or stock added in to enjoy again.
However, the sauce can separate while storing it. Peppercorn sauce is best when it's freshly made.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy this creamy peppercorn sauce recipe. Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you, and if you decided to spice it up!
Cookbook Recommendation
If you enjoy spicy cooking, I hope you'll check out my cookbook! 75 easy recipes with big, bold flavor.
- The Spicy Food Lovers' Cookbook, by Mike Hultquist (affiliate link, my friends!)
Amazon Affiliate links, my friends! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Peppercorn Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons mixed peppercorns (use black peppercorns for more pungency)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or use the drippings from your pan-seared steak
- 1 shallot minced
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 cup brandy or cognac use extra beef stock as a non-alcoholic substitute
- 3/4 cup beef stock
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Crush the peppercorns using a mortar and pestle or a rolling pin into coarse grains. Don’t over crush into a powder, as you want some texture.
- Heat the butter and oil (or steak pan drippings) to medium high heat.
- Add the shallot and a bit of salt. Cook, stirring 2-3 minutes to soften.
- Add the crushed peppercorns and brandy (or cognac). Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring, until the liquid reduces until almost gone. Be sure to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan if you just seared steaks.
- Add the beef stock and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook until the liquid reduces by half, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, then stir in the heavy cream. Simmer it for 3-4 minutes until it thickens to your desired consistency.
- Serve over steak!
Nutrition Information
Charles Pascual says
Terrific sauce! This will become a regular item for us.
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent!! Thanks, Charles! I appreciate it.
cindy says
have you ever tried it with Szechuan peppercorns? might be interesting!
Mike Hultquist says
Yes, very interesting!
Paul says
What size is a cup? How many ml?
Thanks
Mike Hultquist says
1 cup = 236.588 ml.
Ramya says
Cant wait to make this soon for me can i use vegetable stock and skip brandy as i don't use alcohol at home i never had peppercorn sauce before perfect for snacks love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work