Steaks:

4, 4 – 6 ounce boneless NY strip steak fillets – see kitchen note

coarsely ground multi-color or black pepper, as needed to generously season both sides of each steak

kosher salt, as desired

olive oil, as needed to generously coat all fillets

Peppercorn Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 small shallots, roughly chopped

1/2 cup brandy

2 cups beef stock

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 – 2 tablespoons, plus more if desired, coarsely ground pepper

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Method:

To Prepare the Steak:

1.     Preheat BBQ to medium – high heat.

2.     Using clean paper towels, pat each steak dry on all sides and season with kosher salt.

3.     Liberally season both sides with freshly ground pepper. Using clean hands, gently press the pepper into the steak creating a “crust.”  Generously coat with olive oil on all sides.

4.     Place on preheated BBQ and cook the first side until grill marks appear, approximately 4 – 7 minutes. Flip and cook the second side until cooked till your desired doneness, approximately 4 additional minutes for medium rare (130ºF).

5.     Remove from BBQ, cover with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

6.     Meanwhile, prepare the peppercorn sauce.

To Prepare the Peppercorn Sauce:

7.     In a medium size sauté pan over medium – high heat, add olive oil and allow to heat, approximately 1 minute. Add shallots and using a wooden spoon, cook until soft but not brown, approximately 2 minutes.

8.     Remove pan from heat and slowly add brandy being careful to not flambé. Return to low heat and using a whisk, cook until simmering. Note: If the mixture does flambé, do not panic! Turn off heat and allow the alcohol to burn off naturally. Whatever you do, DO NOT PICK UP THE PAN OR ADD WATER!

9.     Meanwhile, whisk stock with cornstarch. Add stock and cornstarch mixture to the pan along with the coarsely ground peppercorns and Dijon mustard. Increase heat to medium – high and whisk until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon,  approximately 3 – 5 minutes.

10.  Remove from heat and whisk in any collected juices from the resting steaks.  Adjust seasoning to taste with additional salt and pepper, if desired, and serve while hot over steaks.

Kitchen Note: Feel free to use black, multi-color or even pink peppercorns for the steaks keeping in mind that all peppercorns are not created equal and some colors pack more “heat.” The key is coarsely grinding them by using either a pepper grinder or mortar and pestle.  One final way to quickly crush peppercorns, is by placing them in a ziplock bag and using a rolling pin to gently crush them.