Pepper Steak? What the hell is it?

[JVS]

In "The Blues Brothers" there are two references to a dish called Pepper Steak. The first speaks of how bad a Pepper Steak they serve at the Cook county jail. The other reference is at Bob's country bunker, where the bartender proudly claims that the establishment serves the state's best Pepper Steak.

It being close to dinner, I thought I'd see what this dish is. I like pepper, I like peppers, I like steak. This should be ok. But alas, google is not very helpful. Wikipedia lists two dishes, one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_steak is a kind of Sino-American stir fry dish, the other is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steak_au_poivre a French dish. Neither of these seems to fit in with my notions of what kind of food would be served at either the Cook county prison or Bob's country bunker.

Curiously enough there was a link to Betty Ford's recipe for the Chinese style Pepper Steak http://chinese.food.com/recipe/betty-fords-chinese-pepper-steak-19361

Is this some kind of 1970s thing that didn't survive into the current era? Is there some kind of dish that I'm missing that used to be a regular part of American cooking?

[ohiosmith]

1. Pepper steak is basically a beef steak (usually filet) coated lightly with olive oil and crushed

pepper corns and pan fried. At least that's the way I make it.

You will need:

4 tbsp. olive oil
9 oz baby new potatoes
2 garlic gloves, chopped
1 thinly sliced onion
1 oz butter
2 fillet steaks
1 tbsp. cracked black peppercorns
1 tbsp. whisky
2 fl oz double cream
1 tbsp. fresh chives
1 tbsp. shredded fresh basil
Salt and pepper


To make:

 

Heat three tablespoons of oil in a wok and sauté the potatoes and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add the Onion and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes
Heat the remaining oil and butter in a frying pan and spread each steak with the Dijon mustard and roll in the cracked pepper to coat. Cook for 2-3 minutes at each side, then add the whisky and ignite to flambé
Transfer the steaks to a warm plate and let them rest. Pour the stock into the pan and simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken a little. Reduce the heat, add the cream and chives and allow to bubble down and warm through. Season to taste.
Arrange each steak on a warm serving plate and spoon over the whisky sauce Stir the basil into the pan-fried potatoes and spoon on the plate.
Consider have it all delivered right to your doorstep......

Simple yet a very refined recipe for pepper filet mignon steak

Serve immediately.

[Denninmi]

11. Pepper Steak is a very common item on Chinese Restaurant menus here in Metro Detroit.

It's steak pieces stir-fried with onions, red and green bell pepper, and a bit of celery, served in a brown gravy.

I thought this was routine on Chinese restaurant menus around the country. Maybe not?

Some restaurants offer the variation "Tomato Steak" which substitutes tomato wedges for the bell pepper. I wouldn't recommend this one except perhaps in the summer IF you can verify that they are using fresh, local tomatoes that actually have some flavor. Otherwise, its just blah with those cardboard things shipped in from who knows where.

[MrScorpio]

21. I grew up with pepper steak

We even made it at home

[LaurenG]

2. Yes it was some kind of 1970s thing it was/is also a frozen dinner

It was a piece of beef seasoned with bell peppers.

Ingredients

1 pound boneless beef sirloin steak
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 large green bell peppers, thinly sliced
2 large onions, thinly sliced
3/4 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
3/4 cup hot water
1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sugar

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/pepper-steak/detail.aspx

[ceile]

4. That's what it was!

Bouillon granules....I thought it was golden mushroom for some reason.

[ceile]

3. Yes, it's a 70s dish.

Thin cut of beef topped with bell pepper slices. And maybe with golden mushroom soup...? I remember liking it a lot as a kid. My mom used to make it the electric skillet when I was a kid. I still have the electric skillet- works fine. Probably as old as I am.

[JVS]

6. This is beginning to sound more like something that would be served at jail or Bob's country bunker

[zanana1]

5. When my family ran a small drive-in restaurant....

A Pepper Steak was fried cube steak, covered with onions, half a green pepper and catsup. Of course it was all between two hamburg buns. It was a 50's thing.

[JVS]

7. So kind of like a hamburger but with peppers and onions.

[zanana1]

17. But not hamburg; cubesteak. nt

[KamaAina]

9. How did I know you were in New England?

In the 44 states to its south and west, they're called "hamburger buns". :-)

[Spider Jerusalem]

8. thin beef steak pan-fried with bell peppers and onions

I think it's pretty much a southern thing.

[Kat45]

16. That's the one I know, but without the onions.

The thin steak was cut into smaller pieces and fried with the peppers. My mother used to make it, and I later made it. Not necessarily a southern thing: I'm in Mass.

[zanana1]

18. It's a northern, thing, too.

And that's exactly what's in them.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

10. Back in the 60's

When I was in college, it was the name for the dorm cafeteria mystery meat for a couple of years

[Duer 157099]

12. Yep, a 70s thing. Here's the one I grew up on

I was quite fond of it as a kid.

[Hama]

13. A 70's thing?

I had pepper steak yesterday from a place called O'Cajun. It was yummy. A lot of the seafood places around here are owned by Vietnamese and also sell "Chinese" food, but I have not figured out where the O' came from.

[fishwax]

14. It's cube steak with a pepper-heavy brown gravy

I've had the stir-fry version and Steak au Poivre too, but that's what I would think of in that context. It's what we called pepper steak when I was growing up, and came from some old Betty Crocker (or some such) cookbook that my mom had.

It's basically cube steak, seasoned, dredged with flour and browned with oil in a frying pan, then tossed in a caserole dish (perhaps with broth, peppers, and onions) and finished in the oven. Make a roux by adding flour to the drippings in the frying pan, letting the flour brown; then add a bit of water/milk and season generously with pepper for a brown pepper gravy.

I don't know if that's what they meant, but that's how it registered for me. (And it certainly seems like a 70s thing.)

[iris27]

15. From my frame of reference, it's the stir-fry dish.

Pretty tasty.

[struggle4progress]

19. I thought you meant this:

It was a pretty standard sub in central Pennsylvania, back when I lived there

[mwb970]

20. Here's the recipe I use.

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/beef/steak-au-poivre/

I make this for myself two or three times a month, even though the filets are a bit price-y. (I use it as a "reward", though it is kind of funny what minor things get "rewarded" with it!) The sauce is to die for (use the brandy). It makes my mouth water to write about it - looks like I'll be making this tonight now!