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25-08-2019, 01:22 PM
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Advice For Making Peppercorn Butter, Please..

I have said on here how much l love steak. I usually buy it from the in-store butcher counter in Morrisons.
When you buy steak at Morrison’s, they offer you a choice of butters to go with your steak. It is lovely.
I have asked but it not possible to buy it separately, in store.

As l still had lots of steak in my freezer but no peppercorn butter, l decided to make my own. Big mistake, as it nearly broke my teeth!

I put the mixed peppercorns in a pepper grinder but they didn’t grind very well. So l put them in my Kenwood chopper, they still wouldn’t grind, it was like they were indestructible!

I added them to the butter and left them for a while. When my steak was ready, I put some of the peppercorn butter on top but it wasn’t nice. It was like eating bits of hard rock!

I have looked in supermarkets for green peppercorns or a mixture of of red, black and green peppercorns in brine but l can’t find any. I can only find them for sale on the internet.
I used the green peppercorns in brine years ago to make peppercorn sauce.

I wonder, if anyone knows how l can soften the mixed peppercorns to make the butter with that lovely authentic taste.
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25-08-2019, 03:33 PM
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Re: Advice For Making Peppercorn Butter, Please..

Hi Art I have been unable to buy brined green peppercorns for some time, I used to get little jars in Waitrose.

I have read that dried green peppercorns can be reconstituted by adding a few to a cup of boiling water containing 2 teaspoons of salt and leaving them to stand for 30 minutes but I haven't tried it myself.

In the past if a butter using brined green peppercorns was called for and I didn't have any , I have tried using tiny brined capers for the piquancy and lots of freshly ground black for the heat and that works well
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25-08-2019, 03:36 PM
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Re: Advice For Making Peppercorn Butter, Please..

Originally Posted by Meg ->
Hi Art I have been unable to buy brined green peppercorns for some time, I used to get little jars in Waitrose.

I have read that dried green peppercorns can be reconstituted by adding a few to a cup of boiling water containing 2 teaspoons of salt and leaving them to stand for 30 minutes but I haven't tried it myself.

If a butter using brined green peppercorns is called for , I have tried using tiny brined capers for the piquancy and lots of freshly ground black for the heat and that works well

Just what I was going to suggest - peppercorns are just dried flower buds so you can perhaps try softening some in warm/hot water. Chuck them in the water and leave them to cool. Failing that, you could always use the coarse setting on a pepper mill.
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25-08-2019, 06:19 PM
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Re: Advice For Making Peppercorn Butter, Please..

I usually grind mine with a pestle and mortar - you can make them as fine as you want.
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25-08-2019, 10:48 PM
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Re: Advice For Making Peppercorn Butter, Please..

Originally Posted by Meg ->
Hi Art I have been unable to buy brined green peppercorns for some time, I used to get little jars in Waitrose.

I have read that dried green peppercorns can be reconstituted by adding a few to a cup of boiling water containing 2 teaspoons of salt and leaving them to stand for 30 minutes but I haven't tried it myself.

In the past if a butter using brined green peppercorns was called for and I didn't have any , I have tried using tiny brined capers for the piquancy and lots of freshly ground black for the heat and that works well
Thank You, Meg. I wonder why it’s so hard to get the ones in brine? I know that when l could, only one place sold them but l can’t remember which! It wasn’t Waitrose as, it wasn’t built then!
I could try the hot water method and see if they soften.
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25-08-2019, 10:52 PM
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Re: Advice For Making Peppercorn Butter, Please..

Originally Posted by Judd ->
Just what I was going to suggest - peppercorns are just dried flower buds so you can perhaps try softening some in warm/hot water. Chuck them in the water and leave them to cool. Failing that, you could always use the coarse setting on a pepper mill.
Thank You, Judd,
I never knew peppercorns were dried buds! In fact, l didn’t know where they originated from at all. I did wonder, why you could get them in different colours?
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25-08-2019, 10:54 PM
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Re: Advice For Making Peppercorn Butter, Please..

Originally Posted by Silver Tabby ->
I usually grind mine with a pestle and mortar - you can make them as fine as you want.
Thank You, ST, I do have a pestle and mortar and thought about using it but as l said, some of the peppercorns were as hard as rocks and seemed indestructible!
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26-08-2019, 12:03 AM
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Re: Advice For Making Peppercorn Butter, Please..

Perhaps Mary Berry can help:

Steak with peppercorn sauce

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/s...ppercorn_07284



For the sauce
  • 100ml/3½fl oz beef stock
  • ½ garlic clove, crushed
  • 2 tbsp brandy
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 150ml/¼ pint double cream
  • ½ tsp crushed black peppercorns
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
 

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