Published March 1, 2006.
For a pepper-crusted filet mignon recipe with a crust that wouldn’t overwhelm the meat, we mellowed the peppercorns' heat by gently simmering them in olive oil. We then used a two-step process to create a well-browned and attractive pepper crust: First, we rubbed the raw steaks with a paste of the cooked cracked peppercorns, salt, and oil; then we pressed the paste into each steak using a sheet of plastic wrap. The paste not only added flavor to the meat but also drew out the meat's own beefy flavor.
This is an excellent accompaniment to Pepper-Crusted Filet Mignon.
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