Sirloin Steak With Peppercorn Sauce
A thick cut sirloin steak, pan fried to perfection & served with a creamy, homemade peppercorn sauce. This serves two so is perfect for sharing!
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A classic steak dish, done properly!
Here a thick cut sirloin steak, is pan fried to a perfect medium rare & served with a rich & creamy peppercorn sauce. This one’s super easy to cook but is seriously delicious! All you need to make this, is one frying pan & six ingredients.
This sirloin steak is great eaten on its’ own but is even better served with one of our side dish recipes. My personal favourite would have to be our triple cooked chips!
What You’ll Need
- Sirloin Steak – For this recipe, we’re using a 14 oz sirloin steak, which will serve two people with sides. A good quality steak makes all the difference here, so I’d recommend making a trip to your local butchers!
- Green Peppercorns – These have a gentler flavour compared to black peppercorns & make for the best peppercorn sauce! These are available in some supermarkets or online & tend to be sold in brine, so will need to be drained before using.
- Brandy – Used to deglaze the pan we cooked the steak in. If you’d prefer to make your peppercorn sauce alcohol free, use extra beef stock instead.
- Beef Stock – Also used for our peppercorn sauce. You can either use a homemade or shop bought beef stock or half a stock pot dissolved in boiling water.
- Double Cream – This adds richness to our sauce. Make sure to use double/heavy cream.
- Butter – Adding a small amount of butter to the peppercorn sauce gives it extra flavour & a glossy finish.
How To Pan Fry Sirloin Steaks
The full, printable recipe card for this steak can be found at the bottom of this post!
- Leave Steak At Room Temperature – Before cooking, it’s best to leave the steak out at room temperature for 30 minutes. This will make the meat cook more evenly.
- Season Well – Next, we pat the steak dry with kitchen paper then season generously with fine table salt. This is key to getting the best sear!
- Frying – Now to cook. First, we place a large frying pan over a high heat then add in a tbsp of veg oil & leave to get smoking hot. We then add in our steak & fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, to sear well & cook to just under medium rare (the steak will finish cooking as it rests). To finish, we sear the fat to render & crisp it up.
If you’d prefer your steak cooked more, fry for a few extra minutes or roast in the oven. - Resting – Once our steak is cooked, we transfer it to a plate, cover it loosely with foil then leave it to rest for 10 minutes or so, whilst we make the peppercorn sauce.
- Slicing – To serve, we slice the steak up then season with sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper.
How To Make Peppercorn Sauce
This peppercorn sauce is made in the same pan as we cooked our steak in, for extra flavour!
- Fry Peppercorns – The first step is to fry green peppercorns for 30 seconds in a small amount of reserved, rendered beef fat (from cooking the steak).
- Deglaze The Pan – Next, we deglaze the frying pan with some brandy then let the alcohol reduce almost completely.
- Add Beef Stock – Once the alcohol has been cooked off, we add in some warm beef stock then bring to the boil & reduce by half.
- To Finish – To finish our peppercorn sauce, we stir in a splash of double cream, a knob of butter & a few cracks of black pepper.
What To Serve With Sirloin Steak & Peppercorn Sauce
When it comes to choosing a side dish to go with a steak & peppercorn sauce, you really can’t go wrong with some proper chips! I’d recommend going with our triple cooked chips or duck fat oven chips. Or if you’re not in the mood for chips, our beer battered onion rings or some pan fried mushrooms or tenderstem broccoli would be a good choice!
Steak Internal Temperature Guide
In my opinion, sirloin steaks are best cooked to medium rare but feel free to cook your’s however you like. If you’re cooking your steak any more than medium, you’ll need to cook it in the oven after searing.
| Steak Doneness | Internal Temperature (To Stop Cooking) | Internal Temperature (After Resting) |
|---|---|---|
| Rare | 46°c/115°f | 48°c/120°f |
| Medium Rare | 52°c/125°f | 54°c/130°f |
| Medium | 58°c/136°f | 60°c/140°f |
| Medium Well | 63°c/145°f | 65°c/150°f |
| Well Done | 68°c/154°f | 70°c/158°f |
Tips & Tricks For Perfectly Cooked Steaks
- Let your steak get to room temperature – Letting your steak sit at room temperature for 30 minutes means that it will cook more evenly & won’t be cold & undercooked in the middle.
- Dry the steak’s surface – This is key to getting a proper sear on your steak. Kitchen paper works best!
- Salt generously – Seasoning the steak before cooking dries the surface out further, resulting in a better crust/sear. For the best results, your steak should be seasoned before & after cooking.
- Make sure your steak is an even thickness – This makes sure that all parts of your steak will cook at the same time. If your steak has some thicker parts, you can thin them out slightly using a meat tendering hammer or a rolling pin.
- Cook over a high heat – This is how we get the best sear on our steaks. Make sure to get your pan smoking hot before adding in your steak. Another trick is to press the steak down with your tongs as soon as it hits the pan, to ensure good contact between the meat & pan.
- Use a food probe – A good digital food probe (I use a Thermapen!) allows us to accurately cook our steak to our desired internal temperature. Remember to stop cooking your steak once it reaches a few degrees short of your target temperature, as it will continue to rise as the steak rests.
- Rest well – Resting steaks is key to getting perfectly cooked, tender meat! The best way to do this is by placing the cooked steak onto a plate & covering it loosely with foil.
Equipment Used
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More Main Courses To Try!
- Crispy Chicken Katsu Curry
- Slow Cooked Spaghetti Bolognese
- Honey Sesame Fried Chicken Tenders
- Twice Baked Rarebit Potatoes
- Classic Fish Pie
- Shepherd’s Pie With Cheesy Garlic Mash
- Toad In The Hole With Caramelised Onion Gravy
- Guinness Braised Short Rib Stew With Dumplings
- Oxtail & Bone Marrow Lasagne
If you have enjoyed this sirloin steak & peppercorn sauce recipe, it would mean a lot if you could leave a review & rating!
Sirloin Steak With Peppercorn Sauce
A thick cut sirloin steak, pan fried to perfection & served with a creamy, homemade peppercorn sauce. This serves two so is perfect for sharing!
Servings: 2 Portions
Equipment
- Large Frying Pan
- Digital Food Probe
Ingredients
- 1 14 oz Sirloin Steak
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
Peppercorn Sauce
- 2 tsp Green Peppercorns Drained
- 50 ml Brandy
- 250 ml Beef Stock
- 100 ml Double Cream
Instructions
Pan Fried Steak
- Take your steak out of the fridge half an hour before cooking.
- Use a piece of kitchen paper to pat the steak dry then season both sides with a generous amount of table salt.
- Next, place a large frying pan over a high heat then add in the veg oil & leave to get smoking hot.
- Add in your steak, pressing down firmly to ensure good contact between the meat & pan (a pair of tongs or a spatula works best!) then cook for 3-4 minutes, until well seared.
- Flip the steak over, pressing down like before then cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the steak reaches an internal temperature of 52°c/125°f.The steak's internal temperature will rise by a couple of degrees as it rest, bringing it to the perfect medium rare (54°c/130°f). Take a look at the notes section, for other cooking methods/doneness.
- Pick the steak up with a pair of tongs then place it fat side down & cook for a minute or so, until the fat is rendered & crisp.
- Transfer the steak to a plate & leave to rest, lightly covered in foil whilst we make the sauce.
Green Peppercorn Sauce
- Tip almost all of the fat out of the pan you cooked the steak in then place the pan back over a medium heat.
- Add in the green peppercorns, fry for 30 seconds then deglaze the pan with the brandy.
- Let the brandy reduce almost completely then add in the beef stock & bring to the boil. Reduce by half then stir in the cream.
- Continue cooking the sauce for another minute, until thickened slightly then stir in a small knob of butter & a few cracks of black pepper.
To Serve
- Cut the rested sirloin into slices then season with sea salt & black pepper. Transfer to plates then spoon over the peppercorn sauce & serve immediately.
Notes
1. Cooking On An Aga – Cook both the steak & peppercorn sauce on the boiling plate.
2. Brandy – If you’d prefer to make the peppercorn sauce without alcohol, you can use extra beef stock instead.
3. Steak – A good quality steak makes all the difference in this recipe. I’d recommend taking a trip to your local butchers! Make sure that your steak is an even thickness all over (around an inch). If any thick parts need thinning out, this can be done with a meat tenderising hammer or a rolling pin.
4. Peppercorns – If you haven’t got any green peppercorns, you can use crushed black peppercorns instead. I’d use half the amount, to start then add in more as needed. Make sure to add them in with the cream, instead of at the beginning.
5. Beef Stock – For the peppercorn sauce, you can use homemade or shop bought beef stock or half a stock cube dissolved in boiling water. I used a knorr stock pot for my sauce. Be careful not to add too much salt into the finished sauce (if any!) as the stock will probably provide enough seasoning.
6. Steak Doneness – I’d recommend cooking sirloin steaks to medium rare. We’re aiming for a final internal temperature of 54°c/130°f, which means we need to stop cooking the steak when it hits 52°c/125°f, as the temperature will rise as the steak rests.
If you’d prefer your steak cooked more, you can give it 3-4 minutes in a 200°c/392°f oven after searing well on each side. If you’d prefer a rarer steak, cook for a minute less on each side.
If you take a look at the post above, there’s a handy steak doneness temperature chart!
