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When Black Pepper Met Beef: A Classic Food Pairing

by Marc Matsumoto on Jan 1, 2013

In the world of food, there are few combinations as fabled as pepper and steak. Don't forget to use real peppercorns.

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Do you need a recipe for date night? Black pepper and steak are the Romeo and Juliet of the food world! Try PBS Food's Black Pepper Beef recipe.
Black Pepper Beef
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Some pairings work so well together that they span generations and even continents. Romeo and Juliet, Bert and Ernie, and Michael Jordan and Nike are some that come to mind. In the world of food, there are few combinations as fabled as pepper and steak. Do you need a recipe for date night? Black pepper and steak are the Romeo and Juliet of the food world! Try PBS Food's Black Pepper Beef recipe. In France pan-seared filet mignon is doused in a peppery pan sauce to make Steak au Poivre, while in the US, we like to give our T-bones a generous sprinkling of black pepper before throwing them on the grill. In China, they take the combo to new heights with hei jiao niu liu li (?????) which translates to black pepper beef cubes. Black Pepper Beef As the name suggests, the beef is cut into cubes and marinated in a black pepper sauce before being stir-fried with a few vegetables. I love this dish because black pepper is often just an afterthought, or supplementary seasoning at best. In this dish, the beef and black pepper are the stars, while the sweet onions and bell peppers help take some of the edge off the spicy pepper. Its important to use whole peppercorns and crack them yourself as the aroma of pepper quickly fades once ground. While it may require a little more effort, I also like the bite that larger pieces of cracked pepper provide, which is why I dont just run them through a pepper mill. Do you need a recipe for date night? Black pepper and steak are the Romeo and Juliet of the food world! Try PBS Food's Black Pepper Beef recipe. Lastly, make sure you dont skimp on the meat, it needs to be tender, otherwise youll be gnawing on the cubes far longer than youll want to be. I used a well-marbled piece of full-breed Wagyu rib-eye, but since Japanese beef is banned in the US, youd probably be better off using filet mignon. Do you need a recipe for date night? Black pepper and steak are the Romeo and Juliet of the food world! Try PBS Food's Black Pepper Beef recipe.
Marc Matsumoto is the food blogger behind Fresh TastesMarc Matsumoto is a culinary consultant and recipe repairman who shares his passion for good food through his website norecipes.com. For Marc, food is a life long journey of exploration, discovery and experimentation and he shares his escapades through his blog in the hopes that he inspires others to find their own culinary adventures. Marcs been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, and has made multiple appearances on NPR and the Food Network.