Peppered Fillet Steaks with Creamy Bourbon Sauce

This is a lovely recipe it is easy to make and the sauce goes so well with the steaks. I have not cooked steaks a lot recently as they have put the price of fillet up so much at the grocery store. I found some the other day that was still the same price as usual so I thought I would have a treat. They were so good I did buy a big chunk of fillet, so I could cut it into really thick steaks as I love them. I served mine over spinach and cauliflower mash and it was just right, you can find a recipe for cauliflower puree under alternative mash recipes, that I served with trout.

If you have seen my recent post on my cheese and cutting boards you will know I am about to go live with my official website shortly. So I am going to be posting pictures of some of the range of boards I currently have in stock, just to give you an idea on the beauty of them until I can post my web address. If you want more information on them go to Chopping and Cheese board

Ingredients

4 Beef fillet steaks (I am guessing mine were about 250g a piece so whatever weight you prefer, just note that cooking times will vary according to thickness of steak.)
2 Teaspoons cracked black pepper
Olive oil
6 Shallots, sliced thinly
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
80ml Bourbon
60ml Water
1-11/2 Teaspoons beef stock granules (depending on brand you use)
3 Teaspoons french mustard (not quite as strong as a Dijon)
300ml Cream
1-2 Teaspoons cornflour (depending on how thick you like your sauce)

Method

1. Rub beef all over with pepper.

2. Heat some olive oil in a pan, sear beef a couple of minutes on each side, cook for a further 5 Min's a side. If cooking an average size steak this will be a medium rare-medium. Cook less for thinner steaks. If your steaks are really thick like mine I cooked in the oven an additional 15 Min's for medium rare. Just judge cooking time according to your personal taste and how you like your meat done.

Sauce

1. Heat a little more olive oil in a pan and cook shallots and garlic, stirring, until shallots soften.

2. Add bourbon, stir, add water, stock, mustard, cream, bring to the boil. Reduce heat, mix a little water with the cornflour and add to sauce, stir until mixture thickens, serve sauce over steak.

All photos taken by me unless otherwise stated.