Black Pepper Cube Steaks with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Tempo

25 min

Picante

Dificuldade

Fácil

Rende

4porções

Ingredientes

Steaks:

cube steaks (alcatra ou contrafilé batido pelo açougueiro, ~150 g each)

3-4 tbsp **cracked** black pepper (pimenta-do-reino em grãos quebrados, *not* ground)

1 tbsp

kosher salt

1 tbsp

olive oil

1 tbsp

soft butter

Mushroom cream sauce:

225 g

cremini mushrooms (cogumelo paris pequeno ou *brown champignon*), sliced

shallot, peeled and minced (chalota; or 1/4 onion if no shallot)

garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp

fresh basil, chopped (manjericão fresco — do not use dried for this)

240 ml

heavy cream (creme de leite fresco)

30 g

soft unsalted butter (manteiga sem sal, em ponto pomada)

Modo de preparo

01**Crack peppercorns.** Whole peppercorns under the bottom of a heavy pan or in a coarse grinder. Should be coarse — visible bits, not powder.
02**Season steaks** both sides — kosher salt, then press cracked pepper firmly into the meat. The crust should be visible.
03**Sear.** Heat oil + 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Lay steaks in. **4 min** undisturbed first side. Flip; **3 min** second side (or to your taste). Move to a plate; tent with foil.
04**Build sauce.** Same skillet, medium-high. Melt 2 tbsp of the soft butter. Scrape up any stuck pan bits with a spatula.
05**Sweat aromatics.** Add shallot + garlic. Cook 1 min until fragrant — don't brown garlic.
06**Mushrooms.** Add sliced mushrooms. **5 min** until they release water and the water cooks off.
07**Cream + finish.** Pour in cream + chopped basil. Bring to gentle simmer. Cook **3-4 min** until reduced by 1/3 and coating-thick. Whisk in the last tbsp soft butter for gloss.
08**Plate.** Steaks on plates; spoon sauce + mushrooms over. Serve with mash or rice.

Black Pepper Cube Steaks with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Quick weeknight steak. A heavy crust of cracked black pepper, a fast pan-fry, and a one-pan cremini-cream-basil sauce that tastes more involved than it is.

Heat: 1/5. All from black pepper. Use cracked peppercorns, not pre-ground dust.

Tame it

Halve the cracked pepper.

Notes

"Cube steak" in Brazil: ask your butcher for alcatra batida or contrafilé batido (literally beaten with a meat tenderiser). Or do it yourself — a 150 g steak whacked with a rolling pin / batedor de carne.
Cracked vs ground pepper: completely different flavour. Crack fresh peppercorns under a heavy pan or buy pimenta-do-reino moída grossa. Ground = burning, no fragrance.
Fresh basil only. Dried basil has no place in a cream sauce.
No-cream version: swap cream for creme de leite UHT em caixa if you must, but accept it'll be thinner. Don't use Nata.
Pairing: mash, polenta, or buttered new potatoes. Dry red wine.