Portobello ‘Steak’ au Poivre

Name: Portobello ‘Steak’ au Poivre
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 4 large portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed with a spoon; 1/4 cup olive oil; 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more as needed; 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped; Kosher salt; 1 shallot, finely chopped; 1/4 cup Cognac or another brandy; 3/4 cup heavy cream; 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

By Ali Slagle

Updated Dec. 21, 2021

Portobello ‘Steak’ au Poivre — Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 25 minutes
Rating: 4(1,040)
Comments: Read comments

Steak au poivre, a classic French dish of peppercorn-crusted steak with cream sauce, seems like it was meant to be made with mushrooms. Not only do mushrooms sear well, but they’re also a friend to the dish’s main flavorings of heavy cream, heady spices and warming liquor. For the best results, crisp the mushrooms first in a hot pan, baste them with garlic butter until tender, then let them simmer in the cream sauce so they soak up that richness. Eat with roasted, mashed or fried potatoes, a salad of watercress or another spicy green, and red wine, of course.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

4large portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed with a spoon
¼cup olive oil
2teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
4tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more as needed
3garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Kosher salt
1shallot, finely chopped
¼cup Cognac or another brandy
¾cup heavy cream
1tablespoon Dijon mustard

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Brush the mushrooms all over with olive oil. Sprinkle the pepper evenly over the gill sides (about ½ teaspoon per mushroom). Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high, then add the mushrooms gill side up and sear until the underside is browned and the gill side looks wet, 3 to 6 minutes. Flip and cook until golden and the pepper is fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes.
Step 2
Reduce heat to medium-low. Flip the mushrooms so they’re gill side up, then add the butter and garlic, and season with salt. While stirring the garlic to keep it from scorching, tilt the skillet to spoon up the melting butter and baste the mushrooms until tender, 2 to 5 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate, leaving the butter in the skillet.
Step 3
Add the shallot and stir until softened, 2 to 4 minutes, adding a little more butter if the pan is dry. Stand back, and carefully add the Cognac. (It might flame.) Stir until the Cognac has nearly evaporated. Add the heavy cream and mustard, season with salt, and stir to combine. Return the mushrooms to the pan gill side down, and cook until the cream is thickened and the color of a latte, 2 to 4 minutes. Eat the mushrooms with a drizzle of the sauce.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,040 user ratings

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Comments

Richard3 years ago

Any suggestions for a substitution for the heavy cream so this can be a vegan dish?

RosiG3 years ago

For those who can’t do heavy cream I find that unsweetened original “NutPod” works so well. It’s a blend of cashew and coconut so it doesn’t have a coconut flavor and I use it whenever I make cream pasta etc.

Tahoe Dave3 years ago

Any liquid will deglaze the pan. Cognac is distilled from wine, fermented from grapes. The flavor you would get from bourbon will be quite different, bourbon being distilled from corn (at least 51% corn, but usually much more). You could just as well deglaze with white wine, or even stock. Beef stock would flavor well with the cream and mustard but if keeping vegetarian, veggie stock would work fine.

Lisa1 month ago

This is great! My husband, Jason likes it better than Steak au Poivre (say what?)! I recommend frying up some sweet Vidalia onions on the side. Jason wants me to double the sauce next time. Scrumptious!

Judith Suzanne2 months ago

I used less butter and 1/2 & 1/2 and it was still delicious!

Leslie3 months ago

This was delicious! I made them into steak sandwiches. I subbed onions for shallots because that's what I had on hand. I didn't have cognac so I used bourbon because I thought the sweetness would complement the mushrooms. Also, used half and half because I rarely buy heavy cream. Served with baked potatoes because I was tired and they are easy. Next time, I will skip the ciabatta roll a serve atop the baked potatoes. This is a deeply satisfying meal!

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