Juicy Marbles' steak with pepper sauce by Pavel Berky

METHOD

• 1
  Peel and finely chop the onion and 3 cloves of garlic. Coarsely crush the pepper in a mortar.
• 2
  Season the steak fillets with salt on all sides and let them rest for 10 minutes at room temperature.
• 3
  Add about 2 tbsp of oil to a pan, let it heat up well, then place the fillets in it and let them sear for about 3 minutes on one side. Then flip them, add a few sprigs of thyme, two cloves of garlic, crushed with a knife, and about 30 g of butter. Let the butter foam and spoon it over the fillets for another 3-4 minutes. The steaks must be beautifully seared on all sides. Then remove the fillets from the pan, cover with aluminum foil, and set aside for now.
• 4
  Pour out all the fat from the pan and discard the thyme and garlic. Add about 30 g of new butter. Let it foam slightly and add the onion, garlic, and pepper from step 1. Sauté until the onion is light brown, but be careful not to burn the garlic.
• 5
  Then pour cognac into the pan and ignite it. Be careful, the flame will be quite large. Wait until the flame dies down and let the liquid reduce to a syrupy consistency.
• 6
  Pour the broth and cream into the pan and add the remaining thyme. Season the sauce with salt, stir, and let it simmer for about 12 minutes until it reaches your desired thickness.
• 7
  Remove the sauce from the heat, take out the thyme sprigs, and strain it through a fine sieve.
• 8
  Then whisk a tablespoon of crème fraîche and the remaining butter into the sauce. Finally, season with a few drops of lemon juice and add more salt if needed.
• 9
  If the steaks are too cold, you can warm them up in the pan with the hot sauce.

TIP

• 1
  If you want to substitute crème fraîche with sour cream, keep a few tips in mind. Crème fraîche has a milder, creamier taste and is less acidic than sour cream. Sour cream has a more pronounced sour taste and is usually thicker. Crème fraîche has a higher fat content (around 30-40%), while sour cream typically contains around 10-20% fat, and for this reason, there is a higher probability that it may curdle when added to the sauce.
• 2
  As a side dish, you can choose steak fries, but a fresh vegetable salad will also be an excellent choice.
• 3
  If you are preparing with a classic meat steak, I recommend working very quickly with the same procedure or starting with the sauce preparation first and then preparing the steaks. Reheating cooled steaks would be a great shame, while the sauce can be reheated anytime. After cooking, do not forget to let the meat rest for at least 10 minutes.