What Does Au Poivre Mean In French Cooking?

The most famous French dish that uses the term ‘au poivre’ is Steak Au Poivre. It means steak with a whole lot of poivre! In this term, ‘au’ is a preposition that means ‘with’ or ‘in the manner of’ and poivre means black pepper. A dish that is ‘au poivre’ is a dish with pepper, but it usually indicates a large amount of pepper is used. Steak au poivre is steak encrusted with black pepper and served with a sauce of peppercorns, shallots, cream, and cognac or brandy. Sounds perfect, doesn’t it?

How is Au Poivre Pronounced?

English speakers usually pronounce au poivre as ‘oh-pahvra,’ and this is fine. You wouldn’t sound too pretentious if you pronounced it the French way, though. Here is the proper French pronunciation of au poivre:

Classic steak au poivre uses black peppercorns that are crushed with a mortar and pestle. You can’t really ‘encrust’ anything with ground pepper. It’s perfectly permissible to mix it up and use different kinds of peppercorns. Black, white, and green peppercorns all come from the same plant, Piper nigrum. Native to India, this is the most important spice in the world. It’s what made the spice road the SPICE ROAD.

What cut of steak, you ask? Forget about the sirloin, no matter what anyone tells you. The classic choice is a fillet from the tenderloin, but a good boneless cut like a strip steak would be great, as well. You could even use flank steak or strip steak, sliced thin across the grain with the sauce on top.

Black Pepper As Good As Gold

In medieval Europe, black pepper was a luxury item. In fact, it was once so valuable it was as good as gold and could be used as currency. So it’s no wonder that it has become the star in a dish with another luxury item, a nice, juicy steak. By the time the dish was invented, however, black pepper wasn’t quite the luxury it had been in previous centuries.

Pink peppercorns are something entirely different. They come from the Peruvian peppertree, a member of the Cashew family that grows as a shrub. The fruits are softer and harder to grind, so they tend to be sold in mixes with other peppercorns. The flavor is similar to regular peppercorns, but they are a lot more fruity, floral, and bright, along with a hint of juniper.

Invention of Steak Au Poivre

The origins of steak au poivre are disputed. Some claim that it originated during the 1800s in Normandy, France. Several important chefs, working during the early 1900s, claimed to have invented it.

Chef Émile Lerch, in 1950, claimed that it was invented much later. He said that he invented the dish in 1930 as a hangover cure.

Interested in a recipe? You may want to try Julia Child’s Steak Au Poivre recipe. It’s an internet favorite.