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4 Steak sauce recipes

Elevate your steak night with a simple sauce

Recipes below for:

  1. Peppercorn
  2. Chimichurri
  3. Salsa Verde
  4. Béarnaise

I love steak

And in our household, it’s a big treat to cook up a nice piece of steak.

The key, as always, sourcing high-quality meat.

So, knowing the source and buying locally if possible, puts you on the right track.

And with high quality produce, you don’t need to fuss much to have great flavour.

The purist or a little indulgence…

Some purist might argue that adding sauce is a big no, no.

And that salt, pepper and some butter are the only things you need.

And I also love just a simple steak and basting it in butter.

But as long as you don’t overwhelm the steak and drown out its flavour with sauce.

It can really enhance the dish.

And hey, why not experiment a little from time to time and learn some new sauces for fun.

My favourite

My favourite meal is the perfectly cooked steak (check out my post on how to cook the perfect steak).

Alongside, watercress, (salty) fries and a nice glass of red wine.

As a treat on the side, I usually choose one of the four sauces, below, to elevate my steak meal a notch or two.

They are simple and a great way to impress that special someone on Valentine’s Day.

We all know, food is the way to anyone’s heart!

Peppercorn sauce 

It’s a classic.

And one of my favourites.

Traditionally serve with a nice fillet steak but really you can have it with whatever you fancy.

In a nutshell, its peppercorns cooked in double cream.

Simples.

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5 from 1 vote

Peppercorn sauce

Course Side Dish
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 2
Cost £

Ingredients

Peppercorn sauce

  • 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 – 2 tbsp cognac, brandy (or red wine)
  • 150 ml beef stock (or chicken if you don't have beef)
  • 2 tsp green peppercorns or a mix of various peppercorns
  • 4 tbsp double cream

Instructions

Peppercorn sauce

  • Using the same pan your steak was cooked in, add the chopped shallots and cook until soften
    Add in the cognac, brandy (or red wine vinegar) to deglaze the pan i.e. take off the nice bits of brown from cooking the steak) and bring to a quick simmer.
  • Add the stock and reduce by half over a high heat
    Add the peppercorns and using a spoon or a pestle, gently crush a few peppercorns
    Season if necessary and stir in 4 tbsp double cream
  • Simmer (don’t boil) for 1 or 2 mins until the sauce is slightly thickened and the peppercorns have softened and mellowed in flavour
  • TIP: using the back of a spoon cover it with sauce. If the sauce stays on it, then it’s done.

Chimichurri sauce

This is super simple and yet quite an impressive little sauce or it could be thought of as a type of steak dressing.

It’s literally, finely chopped parsley, garlic, oregano, wine vinegar and olive oil.

Good on flank steak.

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5 from 1 vote

Chimichurri sauce

Course Side Dish
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings 2 people
Cost £

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flat leaf parsley, firmly packed
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tbsp fresh oregano or thyme
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp lemon zest
  • pinch of chilli flakes
  • sea salt

Instructions

  • Combine parsley, garlic, and oregano in the bowl of a food processor or you can chop by hand, until the herbs are finely chopped and mince the garlic
    Then put into a bowl and stir in olive oil, vinegar, red chilli flakes and lemon zest
    Season with salt.
    *If you can, let it rest for an hour in the liquid before serving

Notes

Recipe from Simply Recipes

Salsa Verde

Best with flank, skirt, rib-eye.

Like Chimichurri, Salsa Verde is an uncooked sauce.

It can also go with anything from fish to pork.

Like all these sauces, there are always adaptations or family recipes handed down.

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5 from 1 vote

Salsa Verde

Course Side Dish
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 8 people
Cost £

Ingredients

  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 2 big handfuls of flat leaf parsley
  • 1 bunch of fresh basil
  • 1 handful of mint
  • 1 small handful of capers
  • 1 small handful of gherkins in sweet vinegar
  • 6 anchovy fillets
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  • Finely chop the garlic, herb leaves, capers, gherkins and anchovies
    Place in a bowl, and add the mustard and vinegar, then slowly stir in the oil until you achieve the right consistency
    Season to your taste with black pepper, and a bit of sea salt (maybe add a little more vinegar if needed)

Notes

A Jamie Oliver recipe

Béarnaise Sauce

Best alongside a nice steak filet mignon or sirloin, but the ultimate is a with a well-marbled piece of beef.

And let’s not forget that fries dipped in Bernaise is amazing too!

OK, so lets clear up the the difference between Bernaise and Hollandaise.

Both are egg yolks whipped with melted butter. But…

Béarnaise (the more sophisticated cousin) uses shallot, chervil, peppercorns, and tarragon in a reduction of vinegar and wine.

While Hollandaise is more stripped down, using a reduction of just lemon juice or white wine.

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5 from 1 vote

Béarnaise Sauce

Course Side Dish
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 40 ml

    white wine vinegar

  • 10 ml lemon juice
  • 20 g tarragon, chopped
  • 2 shallots, finely sliced
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 200 g clarified butter
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Make a reduction: Boil the the white wine vinegar, lemon juice, half the tarragon and the shallots until reduced by half. Strain and allow to cool
  • Mix together the egg yolks and reduction then whisk in a glass bowl over a bain-marie until the mixture is thick and able to coat the back of a spoon
  • Remove from the heat and slowly start to drizzle in the butter whisking all the time until all the butter is incorporated
  • Add the remaining tarragon and season with salt and pepper
  • *TIP
    Be careful not to overheat when whisking as this will cause the sauce to split.
    If the sauce appears to be on the verge of splitting, as indicated by a slight greasy appearance, take it off the heat and whisk in a dash of cold water.

Notes

Recipe taken from Great British Chefs

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