Creamy Peppercorn Sauce

4.92 from 35 votes

A Creamy Peppercorn Sauce couldn't be more simple and delicious to make! This Peppercorn Sauce without brandy is about to be your go-to sauce for steak, chicken, portobello mushrooms, potatoes and everything between! Please check out the recipe notes before diving in.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Main Course, Sauce

Cuisine: British, Western

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £1.50 / $2

Equipment

Sharp Knife & Chopping Board (for shallots/garlic)
Pestle & Mortar or Zip Lock Bag & Rolling Pin (for peppercorns)
Medium-Large Frying Pan
Wooden Spoon
Jug (for stock & serving)

Ingredients

1 tbsp Whole Black Peppercorns, crushed (see notes)
1 tbsp Butter (see notes)
2 small Shallots, very finely diced
1 clove Garlic, very finely diced
3/4 cup / 180ml Beef Stock
3/4 cup / 180ml Double Cream, at room temp (Heavy Cream in US)
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
Salt, to taste

Instructions

If you're frying steak leave the juices in the pan. This will add a huge amount of flavour to the sauce. Melt the butter over medium heat and fry the shallots until soft and golden (careful they don't burn).
Add in the garlic and peppercorns and fry for a further 30 seconds or so until the garlic just begins to colour (again, be careful it doesn't burn). Add the beef stock, then stir in the cream and Worcestershire sauce.
Simmer and stir somewhat frequently until the sauce thickens (approx 8-12mins). It will thicken, just keep simmering and gently stirring away. If you've cooked steak or any other meat you can stir in any resting juices just before you finish, just for extra flavour! Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if desired.
Remove from heat and pour into a jug. Just be aware it'll thicken the longer you leave it. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Pan/Steak Juices - If you're not frying anything in the pan prior to the sauce, just start from melting the butter. If you've basted a steak in butter and/or there's a lot of fat left in the pan, you can omit the 1 tbsp butter in the recipe and just fry shallots in the leftover butter/fat.

b) Spice - 1 tbsp of peppercorns will result in a definite kick in terms of spice. If you're at all weary please start off with less as it's easier to add more at the end - much harder to take it out! On the contrary, if you want more pepper then add some more at the end (preferably cracked black pepper, but whatever you have on hand).

c) Crushing the peppercorns - To crush the peppercorns, either use a pestle and mortar or pop them in a zip lock bag and whack with a rolling pin (or something to that effect). Don't crush the peppercorns into a fine dust - you want some texture. It's 1 tbsp measured of whole peppercorns, then crushed. Not 1 tbsp crushed pepper.

d) Using Brandy - If you have brandy on hand and want to use it, I recommend adding in around 1/4cup/60ml after you've fried the garlic/shallots/pepper. Just simmer and reduce it right down until mostly evaporated and the pungent smell mellows out. This is important to burn off the alcohol. Then just continue with the recipe. If you still want more of a strong brandy flavour once finished, you can add in more 1 tsp at a time. Just be careful as it will be much more pungent because you won't have burnt off the alcohol!

e) Storage/Reheating - Allow to completely cool then store in the fridge for 2-3days (longer at your discretion). Reheat on the stove over LOW heat, stirring as you go to ensure the sauce doesn't split. Only heat until it's warmed through again, don't rapid simmer or you risk the sauce splitting. You can also do this in short bursts in the microwave, stirring between each stint.

f) Video - The video filmed for this was actually one of the first videos I ever filmed! As such, the sauce looks a little thin. It's also made without frying a steak, so it's also lighter in colour than you can expect.

g) UPDATE - I have made this recipe many, many times and over the years have slightly reduced the amount of cream and slightly increased the amount of stock, which is now reflected in the recipe. The original measurement was 1 cup / 240ml cream and 1/2 cup / 120ml beef stock.

h) Calories - based on a division of 4. The whole peppercorn sauce recipe = 570 calories.

Nutrition