I got into making my own plant-based meats a few years ago, mostly because the options available in the markets at the time were A) expensive; B) hard to find; and C) not very good. B and C have mostly been rectified in the last few years, so I find myself buying more of that and making less of my own (proving that time is money).
However, I had at one point stocked up my freezer with a lot of the homemade stuff, so 8-38: Brandy Two-Pepper Beef Steak is another one of those recipes where I was using up what was left of that stash.
It’s been challenging to figure out how to tackle these meat-focused recipes when I don’t really eat it anymore, so a lot of these have ended up being more “adaptations” rather than full replications of the given recipe. There’s so many cooking travesties on social media and the internet these days–this feels like a drop in the bucket at this point.
Pretty much a standard “meat and potatoes” type of recipe.
Ingredients. We’ve already talked about the whole meat substitution thing, so we’ll let that go. I have Grand Marnier instead of brandy, because I was trying to finish it off and hadn’t bought actual brandy yet (which I now have).
Don’t pay attention to the date on the bag–I actually cooked this back in 2022, I’m just REALLY slow at getting around to writing/posting the entries.
One of my “cutlets”, after being thawed out.
My pepper had other colors of peppercorns in it, so this is a bit more “multicolored” than probably initially intended.
After getting some color on them.
My lovely assistant pouring in the Grand Marnier so I could continue to photograph.
As soon as it hits the pan, we get steam/smoke.
Before it all disappears, my lovely assistance ignites it–I managed to capture at least one picture of the flames.
After flambé. I see a bit of a difference between the before and after pictures.
Deglazing the pan and starting the sauce.
Oh, and I had some potatoes roasting in the meantime.
Sauce is just about done.
Slicing up the “steaks”.
Final plating, with some mixed greens on top to serve as the “watercress”. It wasn’t bad, and made a decent weeknight meal. My only complaint is now I have leftover green peppercorns that I need to find something to do with.
Grade: B+
