Step 1

Place 3 teaspoons of the peppercorns in a zip-lock back, and roughly crush with a rolling pin (or use a pestle and mortar if you have one). Don’t bash too much – we want a bit of texture, rather than a fine powder. Put to one side.

Step 2

Add the butter and oil to a frying pan and heat over a medium heat.

Step 3

When the butter has melted, add the shallots, salt the crushed peppers from earlier and the remaining 1 teaspoon of whole peppercorns. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the shallots are just starting to soften.

Step 4

Add the brandy to the pan, bubble for 1 minute, then add in the stock and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil and simmer rapidly for 5 minutes until reduced by half.

Step 5

Stir in the cream (if you have any juices from resting your steak, add them to the pan now too). Bring back to a simmer, then turn off the heat.

Step 6

Serve over steak.