Peppercorn Butter Recipes

PINK PEPPERCORN & LIME BUTTER

Steps:

• Beat the butter with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Finely grind the pink peppercorns using a pestle and mortar. Stir into the butter with the lime zest and a pinch of salt, if you like, then whip in the lime juice. Spoon into a dish or shape using a waxed wrap or parchment and chill until needed. Will keep for one week. Serve with white fish.

NEW POTATOES WITH BLACK PEPPERCORN BUTTER

Steps:

• Combine broth and peppercorns in small saucepan. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer until mixture is reduced to 1/4 cup, about 15 minutes. Add brandy; simmer until mixture is reduced to 3 tablespoons, about 10 minutes. Cool. Blend peppercorn mixture, butter, lemon juice, shallot and thyme in processor until peppercorns are finely chopped. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Chill. Use at room temperature.)
• Cook potatoes in pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain. Quarter potatoes. Place in large bowl. Add onions and 1/4 cup peppercorn butter (reserve remaining peppercorn butter for another use); toss gently. Season to taste with salt.

BRANDY PEPPERCORN SAUCE

Steps:

• 1.In a small sauce pan mix the Demi sauce mix and water. 2.Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, and then immediately reduce heat to low. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Hold for later use. 3.In another sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat; add red onion and black pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until onions begin to soften. 4.Remove the pan from the heat, add the brandy, Demi mixture, and cream. Carefully place the pan back on the heat. CAUTION: MIXTURE MAY FLAME UP. 5.Bring mixture to a boil, immediately reduce heat to low and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until sauce has slightly thickened. 6.Hold warm until ready to use.

PEPPERCORN SAUCE

Steps:

• 1. Crush the peppercorns slightly, either using a mortar and pestle or a rolling pin.
• 2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add the shallots and saute until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the brandy and boil for another 3 minutes. Add beef stock and boil another 3 minutes.
• 3. Finally, add the cream and reduce the heat to medium. Heat through, but don't allow the peppercorn sauce to boil. Once the sauce is at your desired thickness, test for seasoning. Add salt if necessary, then serve with your favourite steak.

SKILLET STEAK WITH PINK-PEPPERCORN BUTTER

Steps:

• Soak shallot in water 10 minutes. Meanwhile, grate 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, then remove peel and pith from lemon. Working over a bowl, cut between membranes to remove segments. Add drained shallot; season with salt and pepper. In another bowl, stir together butter, peppercorns, and zest; season with salt.
• Heat a heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high; swirl in 1 tablespoon oil. Season steak with salt and pepper; cook, undisturbed, until a dark crust forms, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip; cook about 3 minutes more for medium-rare. Brush with some of butter mixture; transfer to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes. Slice steak across the grain; season with salt. Toss lemon mixture with frisee, mint, and remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Serve steak with salad, baguette, and remaining butter mixture.

WHOLE ROASTED BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH A GREEN PEPPERCORN BUTTER

Steps:

• Marinade/Rub -- In a small bowl, add the black peppercorns (crushed) not ground. To crush my peppercorns I put them in a small baggie and use a meat mallet or rolling pin and just hit them until they are roughly crushed. Add the salt, dijon mustard, garlic, olive oil and mix well. Take this mixture and rub all over the meat very well. Put the meat in a glass not metal pan and cover with plastic wrap and let marinate all day. At least 4 hours, but I have even let it go overnight and it tasted great.
• Butter -- In a small bowl, add the butter, green peppercorns drained and rough chopped, shallot, lemon juice, dijon mustard, worcestershire and parsley. Mix well. Then spread on a small piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Wrap it up and form in a small log shape. Refrigerate until firm. The butter will be cut in small rounds and added to each slice of beef when served.
• Steak -- Three things to remember. First, always let the beef come to room temperature before cooking. Second, the ends are always thinner, so I fold them in and then tie them with a piece of kitchen twine to make the ends approximately the same size as the rest of the tenderloin. If you didn't wrap the ends in, they would be well done while the rest of the tenderloin was still raw. And third, the key is a good pan sear in a heavy pan on the stove. On medium high to high heat (cast iron or oven proof pan) heat up the butter and oil and pan sear the room temperature tenderloin until brown on each side. Not too long - just long enough to a nice crust.
• Once your tenderloin is golden brown, remove from the heat and transfer to the oven; 450 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. Trust me - there is NO MAGIC time. Everyone's oven, pans and meat are different. There isn't that perfect time that works every time and even when I cook this recipe, each time it is a bit different and it should be, that is normal. I have 2 tenderloins in the freezer. One is flatter and the other thicker, both the same weight. And it is common sense that they will take different times to cook, so just remember that using a thermometer is really the only way to test and to make sure the meat is cooked to the right temperature.
• After 8-10 minutes check the temperature using a meat thermometer; and I take 2 readings to make sure you get an accurate read. Remove the tenderloin just before your tenderloin reaches that perfect temperature as the tenderloin once removed will continue to cook as it rests. I remove at these temperatures as the meat will usually go up 3-5 degrees as it rests. So, 120 for rare; 130 for medium rare; 140 for medium; and 150 for medium well to well.
• Once the beef reaches the correct temperature, remove from the oven and from the pan, cover with foil and let rest 10-15 minutes before slicing.
• Serve -- Slice the tenderloin and serve with a slice of the chilled peppercorn butter. It will melt and drizzle all over the steak.
• Garnish -- If you want, a few crumbles of gorgonzola cheese are a nice touch, just a few. Or another favorite is just a few very thin fried onion rings.

SALT-BAKED NEW POTATOES WITH PINK-PEPPERCORN BUTTER

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash the potatoes.
• In a large bowl, mix the salt, rosemary needles, peppercorns and 1 cup water together with your hands, crushing the peppercorns a little between your fingers and bruising the rosemary needles to release their sticky oil, making a moist, fragrant and pink-and-green speckled sand. (You might have to add a few splashes of water if the mixture needs more moisture to feel like wet sand.)
• Transfer a little less than half this salt mixture into the bottom of a wide, shallow, heavy ovenproof skillet or casserole to make a salt bed about 1/2-inch thick.
• Nestle the potatoes into the sand, close to one another but not quite touching, if possible.
• Pack the rest of the salt mixture over the nestled potatoes, and rub and brush and smooth it with your hands until you have tightly encased the potatoes in a little salt sarcophagus. The rounded tops of the potatoes will just show as bumps under the salt cast.
• Bake the potatoes for 30 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester easily pierces the potatoes and tests warm on your chin or the back of your hand. The salt casing will dry and harden like clay - and smell delicious while baking.
• While the potatoes roast, prepare the compound butter: Grind the peppercorns in a mortar and pestle with the whole branches of rosemary to create an oily, coarse powder. Remove the bruised rosemary sprigs, shaking off any clinging pink peppercorns, and discard. (You just want to extract the oily flavor from the rosemary, not the needles themselves.) In a small bowl, mash the oily peppercorn powder with the salted butter using a fork until well blended.
• To serve, rap the salt-packed potatoes forcefully on a sturdy surface that can handle it, to crack the salt crust from the force. A few solid raps will loosen the potatoes inside. If the cast needs a little more help, use a regular dinner knife like a spade to just pop open the salt crust along its fault lines. The potatoes are easily plucked from the dry salt. Set out with the compound butter in a small bowl on the side.

PEPPERCORN STEAKS

Steps:

• Rub pepper over both sides of steaks. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. In an ungreased skillet, brown steaks on both sides over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; add butter and garlic; cook for 4-6 minutes, turning steaks once. Add Worcestershire sauce; cook 4-6 minutes longer, turning once, or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a thermometer should read 135°; medium, 140°; medium-well, 145°). Remove steaks and keep warm. , Combine wine or broth, mustard and sugar; add to the pan. Stir to loosen browned bits. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; add to pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with the steaks.

CORN ON THE COB WITH LEMON-PEPPER BUTTER

Steps:

• Carefully peel back corn husks to within 1 in. of bottoms; remove silk. Rewrap corn in husks; secure with kitchen string. Place in a stockpot; cover with cold water. Soak 20 minutes; drain., Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix butter and lemon pepper. Grill corn, covered, over medium heat 20-25 minutes or until tender, turning often., Cut string and peel back husks. Serve corn with butter mixture.

PAN-ROASTED SWORDFISH STEAKS WITH MIXED-PEPPERCORN BUTTER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Mash butter, parsley, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon ground mixed peppercorns, and lemon peel in small bowl. Season to taste with salt.
• Heat oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle swordfish with salt and ground mixed peppercorns. Add swordfish to skillet. Cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Turn swordfish over and transfer to oven. Roast until just cooked through, about 10 minutes longer. Transfer swordfish to plates. Add seasoned butter to same skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, scraping up browned bits, until melted and bubbling. Pour butter sauce over swordfish and serve.

PEPPERCORN BUTTER

Steps:

• Place peppercorns and coriander seeds in a food processor and process until broken apart but with some texture.
• Add butter and combine.
• Place butter on sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a log. Refrigerate for up to a week and then freeze, if not used.