Peppercorn sauce

Peppercorn Sauce

Steak au poivre with a peppercorn sauce
Type	Cream
Course	Any
Place of origin	France
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Peppercorns and heavy cream
Ingredients generally used	Butter, wine, shallots, brandy or cognac and additional seasonings
Variations	Whiskey substituted for brandy
Media: Peppercorn Sauce

Peppercorn sauce is a culinary cream sauce prepared with peppercorn, which is prepared as a reduction of the cream in the cooking process. ^[1] Various types of peppercorn can be used in its preparation, such as black, green ^[2] and pink, ^[3] among others. Peppercorn sauce may be served with beef steak ^[4] such as a filet mignon ^{[1] [5]} and other beef tenderloin cuts, ^[6] lamb, ^[4] rack of lamb, ^[7] chicken ^[8] and fish dishes, such as those prepared with tuna and salmon. ^{[2] [3]}

A beef steak served with peppercorn sauce prepared with five types of peppers

Some versions use several types of peppercorns in the sauce's preparation, ^[6] while others use ingredients that are similar in flavor to but not classified as peppercorns, such as sansho. ^[1] Peppercorn sauce may be used on dishes served at French bistros and restaurants. ^[1] Some versions of steak au poivre use a peppercorn sauce in their preparation. ^[1]

Primary ingredients are typically peppercorns and heavy cream. Additional ingredients may include butter, wine, brandy, such as cognac, shallots, garlic and additional seasonings, such as bay leaf, star anise, tarragon and salt. ^{[1] [2] [3] [6]} Some versions incorporate alternate liquors, such as whiskey. ^[9]

A sauce made with green peppercorns emerged in the late 1960s, after innovations in preservation permitted the berry's export from Madagascar. It was immediately popular served with duck in the US, UK, and France, and remained so into the 1980s, at which point young urban professionals in America considered the sauce unfashionable and treated such as knowledge as evidence of good discernment. Home cooks and restaurants catering to a general audience continued serving the sauce. As the fad ended, some chefs pivoted to pink peppercorns, until it became clear that owing to their origin in a different species, they caused allergic reactions among some diners. ^[10]

See also

• Steak sauce
• List of sauces

References

1. Lo, Anita; Druckman, Charlotte (2011). Cooking Without Borders. Abrams. ISBN   978-1613121825.
2. Cohen, Scott; Betancourt, Marian (2007). The Texas Hill Country Cookbook: A Taste of Provence. Globe Pequot. p. 68. ISBN   978-0762743759 . Retrieved 4 September 2014.
3. Henderson, Helene (2005). The Swedish Table. U of Minnesota Press. p. 64. ISBN   978-1452907277.
4. Erskine, Gizzi (2012). My Kitchen Table: 100 Foolproof Suppers. Random House. ISBN   978-0753548035.
5. Keys, Daniel J.; Schwartz, Barry (June 2007). ""Leaky" Rationality: How Research on Behavioral Decision Making Challenges Normative Standards of Rationality". Perspectives on Psychological Science. 2 (2): 162–180. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.581.7908 . doi:10.1111/j.1745-6916.2007.00035.x. PMID   26151958. S2CID   16151673. Quote: "...there's homemade pasta with a Bolognese sauce and filet mignon with a peppercorn sauce"
6. Baird, Elizabeth (2012). Best Recipes of the Maritime Provinces. James Lorimer & Company. p. 60. ISBN   978-1459501300.
7. Smith, Dan; McDonagh, Steve (2011). Talk with Your Mouth Full: The Hearty Boys Cookbook . Agate Publishing. pp.  96. ISBN   978-1572846821.
8. Leisure Arts (2009). Family Living: Our Favorite Family Feasts. Leisure Arts. p. 18. ISBN   978-1601408006.
9. Berg, Ron (1997). The Gunflint Lodge Cookbook. U of Minnesota Press. p. 60. ISBN   978-1452903149.
10. Lovegren, Sylvia (1995). Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads. New York: Macmillan. pp.  vii, 392. ISBN   978-0-02-575705-9.