Name: Fillet of beef with mixed peppercorn sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 25g clarified butter (see Know-how, below); 2 fillet steaks (ideally beef matured for 3-5 weeks), about 140g/5oz each, at room temperature; knob of butter; 2large shallots finely chopped; 6medium mushrooms sliced; 2 tsp green and pink peppercorn crushed; 3 tbsp brandy; 100ml red wine; 200ml good-quality beef stock; 3 tbsp double cream

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Fillet of beef with mixed peppercorn sauce

Fillet of beef with mixed peppercorn sauce

Good Food team

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Serves 2

More effort

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 20 mins

A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.36 ratingsRate

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A delicious flash-fried steak with classic creamy sauce- cook to perfection for a special meal for two

Easily doubled

Easily halved

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

1 tbsp vegetable oil
25g clarified butter

(see Know-how, below)
2 fillet steaks

(ideally beef matured for 3-5 weeks), about 140g/5oz each, at room temperature
knob of butter
2large shallots

finely chopped
6medium mushrooms

sliced
2 tsp green and pink peppercorn

crushed
3 tbsp brandy
100ml red wine
200ml good-quality beef stock
3 tbsp double cream

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Nutrition: per serving

kcal594
fat42g
saturates21g
carbs1g
sugars1g
fibre1g
protein32g
salt0.57g

low

Method

step 1

Heat a frying pan over a medium-to-high heat, then pour in the oil and the clarified butter. Season the steaks with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper and cook to your liking (2 mins each side for medium-rare, 3 mins each side for medium, depending on the thickness of your steaks). Be sure to seal the rounded edges, too. Transfer to a plate.
step 2

Add the knob of butter to the pan, then fry the shallots, mushrooms and peppercorns over a medium heat for 5 mins, until the shallots have softened and the mushrooms browned. Return the steaks to the pan. Heat the brandy in a metal ladle, light with a match then carefully pour into the hot pan, standing as far back as you can. Once the pan has stopped flaming, remove the steaks again.
step 3

Pour the wine into the pan, turn up the heat and boil rapidly until reduced by half. This will take about 5 mins. Add the stock and reduce again, this time by two-thirds. Stir the cream in to the sauce and allow it to thicken slightly. Check the sauce for seasoning, then return the fillets to the pan to warm through, spooning the sauce over. Serve straight away.

RECIPE TIPS

KNOW-HOW

The process of clarifying butter removes the milk solids, which burn easily when frying at high temperatures. To make your own clarified butter, melt a little more butter than you need in a small pan, then drain off the yellow part, discarding the white solids left at the bottom.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, September 2006

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A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.36 ratings

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