Poivre

Pork Fillet with Pepper

Seared pork fillets, creamy sauce with crushed Madagascar black pepper. For 4 people, ready in about 40 minutes, including resting.

  • Prep 15 min
  • Cooking 20 min
  • Total 35 min
  • Serves 4 servings
  • Difficulty Medium

Our family grows black pepper in Vangaindrano, in the southeast of Madagascar, and sells it as whole peppercorns. Crushed, they form a fragrant crust and a spiced creamy sauce.

Pork fillet with pepper follows the same principle as steak au poivre: seared meat, coated in crushed pepper, then served with a short cream sauce made by deglazing the cooking juices. This recipe serves 4 people.

Method

Preparation

  1. Coarsely crush the Vanille Désiré black pepper grains in a mortar or under the flat of a knife. Press some of it onto the whole surface of the pork fillets, season with salt.
  2. Heat the oil and butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Sear the pork fillets on all sides, for 8 to 10 minutes, until well browned. Set aside under a sheet of aluminium foil.
  3. In the same pan, sauté the shallots for 2 minutes. Deglaze with the cognac or white wine, scraping up the cooking juices, then add the stock and let it reduce by half.
  4. Pour in the liquid cream and the rest of the crushed pepper, leave to simmer for 3 to 4 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. Season with salt.
  5. Put the pork fillets back into the sauce for a few minutes to warm through, checking that the meat is cooked through.
  6. Leave to rest for 5 minutes, slice into medallions and coat with the pepper sauce.
Chef's tip

The little extra that changes everything

Crush the pepper rather than grinding it finely, so it keeps some crunch in the crust and in the sauce. Check the meat is cooked through with a thermometer rather than by eye: pork should reach at least 63°C, followed by a 3-minute rest, following American food safety guidelines for pork, for flesh that stays juicy without being pink in the centre. To find out more about this spice, read our Madagascar black pepper page and our page on the basics of pepper sauces. Another way of cooking pork with black pepper, this time with caramel: our pork with caramel and black pepper. Our products for this recipe: Madagascar black pepper

Frequently asked questions

About this recipe

Can cognac be replaced with white wine?
Yes, the recipe offers both as options for deglazing the pan before adding the stock and cream.
How can I check the pork fillet is cooked through?
Its internal temperature should reach at least 63°C, followed by a 3-minute rest before slicing.
Why crush the pepper rather than grinding it finely?
So it keeps some crunch, both in the crust on the meat and in the sauce.
In the kitchen

Four moves with one bean

What to do with a whole bean, from the first cut to the sugar jar.

01 Split 30 s

Knife tip halfway through, one single pass along the whole length.

02 Scrape 1 min

Scrape both halves with a spoon. That black is the flavour.

03 Infuse 20 min

Seeds and bean into the hot milk, off the heat, covered.

Vanilla beans laid on a white plate
04 Reuse 1 week

Rinse the emptied bean, let it dry, then slip it into the sugar.

One bean serves twice
Exceptional ingredients

Our products for this recipe

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