Review of Hello Fresh's Crushed Peppercorn Steak with Creamed Kale and Potato Wedges
Review Summary
It seems that just about every meal kit provider out there, has a version of Steak with Peppercorn sauce. And honestly, peppercorn steak is a pretty standard dish, and it's actually pretty hard to make your version stand out from the pack.
The other day, I tried HelloFresh’s version.
Their version (like every other one I’ve tried) uses a cut of sirloin as the steak in peppercorn steak. To pair with that sirloin, are some roasted potatoes wedges and creamed kale - a spin on traditional creamed spinach. The way HelloFresh as you make the peppercorn sauce is really what stands out.
When I think of peppercorn steak, I think of large pieces of barely crushed peppercorns coating the steak and swimming in the creamy sauce. So much so that with every bite, you feel the barely softened peppercorns crushing between your teeth, releasing spicy hits of flavor and giving the steak a unique texture.
Well, thanks to a little packet of peppercorns, and some clear directions, that’s what you get with HelloFresh’s version.
The steaks sent were about 8 ounce sirloins. One of which was perfect. Sadly, the other one has a good bit of grizzle/connective tissue on about a quarter of it; making that part of the steak largely inedible.
The roasted potatoes that came along with the steak turned out every nice, which a crispy outsides and creamy interior. The creamed kale, which was very lightly creamed worked well to help cool down the spice of peppercorn sauce.
With the exception of the grizzled steak (which is a pretty big deal), the ingredients that came where all good quality.
The directions were pretty clear – although the card didn’t provide an oven temperature for roasting the potatoes. I think a bit more on how to help make sure the steak is cooked to your preferred doneness would have been nice. I hate over cooked steak.
Primarily because the potatoes take about 40 minutes to roast, this isn’t the fastest dish to make. It took me about 55 minutes, but not all that time is active cooking time.
I would have been completely satisfied with this recipe were it not for the one, less than perfect steak. The sauce was quite nice and everything went really nicely together.
I'd give this one a thumbs up from HelloFresh - but really you do need to watch the quality of the proteins, and if I find poor quality steaks more than one in a blue moon, I'd likely move on.
Ingredients
The box from HelloFresh arrived on my door step, and upon opening it, I saw that the ingredients for both recipes I ordered were nicely separated into their own bags for easy storage. The steaks were packaged separately between the ice packs, keeping them super cold.
All of the vegetables looked good and fresh, and there was plenty of potato and kale for two people.
The two steaks where packaged together, both of which looked to be about 8 ounce portions. One of them was considerably longer/thinner than other, which makes cooking them to the same doneness a bit tricky (thinner steaks cook faster). After cooking, I also found one of the steak had a good amount of grizzle on it. Which I can forgive once, but if that repeated, it would probably turn me off of steak from HelloFresh.
Included with this recipe is:
- 2 sirloin steaks
- ~6 small potatoes
- Small package of kale
- Shallot
- Sour cream
- Whole peppercorns
- Beef stock concentrate
Making the dish
It took me just under an hour to make this dish, so for many people it’s not going to be one that you bang out after getting home from work.
The biggest reason it takes that long is the potatoes. While I love oven roasted potatoes, they take anywhere from 35 – 45 minutes in the oven. Add 5 – 10 minutes of prep, and you’re looking at about an hour. The good news, is most of that time they are just sitting in the oven and you can do something else. But it still takes time.
While this is actually not a super complicated dish, I know that many people are a bit intimidated about cooking steaks. The recipe card accurately describes how to cook the steaks, but I thought a bit more detail on how to get the steaks to your desired temp (rare to well done) would probably be appreciated by most people.
The HelloFresh recipe card breaks the recipe down into 5 steps:
- Prep the ingredients: There isn’t a ton of prep work for this recipe. You dice the shallot (to be used in the sauce). De-stem, and chop the kale. Lightly crush the whole peppercorns. And finally, cut the potatoes into wedges
- Cook the Potatoes: Since they take the longest, you start cooking the potatoes first. After cutting them, you drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and then slide them into the oven. Sadly, the recipe card doesn’t say what temp the oven should be at. I suggest 425 – 450. And you’ll cook them for about 40 minutes, tossing/turning them over half way through.
- Cook the Kale: In a large pot, you add the kale, with a splash of water (although I don’t think the water is needed), salt & pepper, and cook until it’s wilted down (5 – 8 minutes). Then set aside.
- Cook the Steaks: Remove the steaks from the package, pat them dry and season them all over with salt and pepper. Then heat a pan (heavier the better) on the stove top. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in the pan, and then add the steaks. The directions say to cook the steaks for 4 – 8 minutes per side. A bit more coaching here would be nice. You need the pan to be very hot (put your oven fan on) to get a good sear on the steak. After a minute or so, you can turn the heat down so you don’t burn the pan. Thicker steaks will need a bit longer to get to your desired temp than thinner steaks. But for medium rare, I cooked mine about half the suggested time. You also need to monitor the temp of the pan, and turn the heat up/down (or move the pan off the heat) to prevent the bottom of the pan from burning.
- Make the Sauce: Once the steaks are cooked, remove them to a holding plate. Add another drizzle of olive oil and add the shallots & peppercorns; cook until the shallot softens. Then add the beef stock & some water. That sauce then reduces on the heat by half. To finish the sauce you add sour cream, which gives the sauce a creamy, velvety texture.
- Finish the Kale: I put the heat back on the kale for a minute or two and then added the sour cream; again killing the heat. The kale doesn’t get very creamy, but the sour cream does add a bit; and it gives the kale bit of a tang.
The recipe card has you slicing the steak before serving. If you can tell which way the grain runs, and then slice against that gain, and you’ll get a more tender steak. But sirloin is already a pretty tender cut, with just a bit of firmness. I’d be happy to serve them whole.
Taste
The sauce was perhaps the best thing about this dish. I personally love it when peppercorn sauce has large chunks/whole peppercorns still floating in it. With each bite you crush a bit more, and get a punch of flavor. And it was nice that there was more than enough sauce for the two servings.
The (lightly) creamed kale is reminiscent of creamed spinach – but without the heaviness of the cream. My favorite bites had a bit of steak, smothered in sauce, combined with a bit of the kale, which has a cooling effect to offset the pepper; and nice texture contrast. And of course, eating the kale provided a bald face lie to my subconscious, that eating steak was healthy.
My biggest problem was with one of the steaks; a large part of which was inedible due to a bunch of grizzle. That was a bummer as the steak was not huge to begin with.
The potato wedges roasted up very nicely, and had crispy edges and creamy centers. They seem almost fool proof, you just need to make sure you put enough salt and pepper on them; and have the oven hot enough to brown them.
Hello Fresh's Crushed Peppercorn Steak with Creamed Kale and Potato Wedges
Overall
It was a pretty big misstep to have a grizzly steak; and if both steaks had been bad, despite all the good stuff, this would have been a crap recipe.
However, I really liked the peppercorn sauce, and I think most people will find it pretty easy to make. You just really need to pay attention to how much you cook the steak - and get it to your preferred doneness. The kale was nice side dish, as were the potatoes.
Absent the bad steak, this probably would have been the best steak recipe I’ve gotten from a meal kit provider. So, I’ll give the one bad steak a pass this time….but if I get another, I’m probably out.
There are a couple gaps on the recipe card as well - with the oven temp; and with detailed steak temp directions. So you’ll either have to 1) know what your doing, 2) Guess, or 3) do a bit of investigating on your own. Nothing that’s too hard to figure out, but I’m sure some cooking novices would get a bit anxious.
So...overall, I'd suggest giving it a try, and I think you'll love it. if you do, please please, make sure to let me know how it goes. And if you're interested in trying HelloFresh, make sure you get a discount, by using the link below.
Comments (974 )
Keep up the wonderful piece of work, I read few posts on this internet site and I think that your blog is really interesting and holds bands of fantastic information.오산출장마사지
I agree with your thoughts here and I really love your blog! I’ve bookmarked it so that I can come back & read more in the future. 슬롯커뮤니티
Hi, I'm Nathan Pennington I'm a runner. My fastest marathon was 2:19:35. I want to help you run, dream, & achieve. Always Running What do The Flash, The Road Runner, and Sonic the Hedgehog have in common? They’ve all read my 7 FREE Secrets To Running FAST AF. Now it’s your turn!3 hour marathon
Hi! I am reading your web site Luix Free Premium WordPress Theme Download | Design, Tech and Internet for a long time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and provide you with a shout out via Humble Tx… I just want to tell you maintain the fantastic job? Oh yeah whats the latest on Obama remarkable news. Salam … Investing for BeginnersDMT Cart
After study several of the blogs for your site now, and i genuinely appreciate your way of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark internet site list and will also be checking back soon. Pls look at my web page as well and figure out what you believe.North American Bancard Agent Program
Great artical, I unfortunately had some problems printing this artcle out, The print formating looks a little screwed over, something you might want to look into.cogumelos para depressão
nowadays we would always use eco-friendly stuffs like, eco friendly foods, shoes and bags. iso credit card processing
I am glad to be a visitant of this sodding site ! , regards for this rare info ! .sell merchant services
This is exactly equally an excellent content i quite really liked checking. This isn't all the time which i possess potential to work out an issue. Μεταφορές Αυτοκινήτων Ευρώπη
This is very interesting! Great information and it is also very well written. I will bookmark and comeback soon. rickey stokes news
Estimation Pros provides professional Xactimate estimating services for the insurance restoration industry Our Xactimate writers are experienced and specialize in creating accurate estimates using Xactimate software. For Explore more Please click here and visit us in our website https://estimationpros.com for more details.
I really want to thank you for yet another great informative article, I’m a loyal visitor to this blog and I can’t stress enough how much valuable information I’ve learned from browsing your site. I really appreciate all the effort you put into this great site.selling payment processing
Thank you, I’ve been seeking for facts about this subject for ages and yours is the best I have located so far.daman games
Yes I used to be looking for some thing like that and that i found it. Thanks a lot for discussing the info.binary options strategy for QUOTEX
Brilliant post and useful information. I think this is what I read somewhere but I dont know with your experiencecustom bobbleheads
There’s noticeably a bundle to learn about this. I assume you made sure nice points in features also. FIXED MATCHES
most cosmetics today are made up of artificial products that can harm the skin, there are still few natural cosmetics on the market.. joymall
spam blockers are always necessary because there are so many spam these days,. Brigade Calista
Where exactly can I get a hold of this page layout?fixed matches
It’s best to take part in a contest for probably the greatest blogs on the web. I will suggest this site! WGY Travel Store
betflix ทั้งหมด นำความโชคดีของท่านมาลงกับ สล็อตออนไลน์ของเราสิ betflixsupervip ด้วยเกมที่หลากหลายให้เล่น แนวเกมส์ที่สนุก พร้อมที่จะบริการลูกค้าทุกท่านให้ไปได้ไกลที่สุด แตกล้านจ่ายล้าน แน่นอนมั่นใจที่นี่ที่เดียว betflixsupervip.com
You made a couple of nice points there. I did an enquiry on the theme and located mainly persons can trust your blog.ARA Ceiling
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again very soon!gbwhatsapp apk download
Thanks for sharing this.
<a href="https://emerald-swift-vt4lrp.mystrikingly.com/">สล็อตเว็บตรง</a>
Aw, this became an extremely nice post. In idea I must put in writing in this way moreover – taking time and actual effort to make a very good article… but what / things I say… I procrastinate alot by no indicates manage to get something carried out. SaaS startup legal services
Your website is absolutely beyond belief. It’s really excellent to see such a lot of talented people working all together avoiding friction. I have connected to your site through my website and also my site. i’m sure that it will significantly improve the value and traffic to my web site. rtp eslot
Amazing! This blog looks exactly like my old one! It’s on a completely different topic but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Excellent choice of colors!Family Lawyer bowral
That's nice. It was a fine article.
<a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Content_Gur1383/comments/10wy9az/bentufa239/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3">แทงบอลออนไลน์</a>
healthy eating should be our top priority since there are many junk foods and foods with no nutritional value these days~https://eslotgacor.xyz
when i cook at home, i always make sure that i only cook healthy recipes because i don’t want to get fat,.Gameserver hosting
Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive read anything in this way just before. So nice to get somebody by original thoughts on this subject. realy appreciation for beginning this up. this website is one thing that is needed online, someone after some originality. helpful project for bringing new stuff towards the web!دوره تحلیل زمانی
You ought to be a part of a tournament for one of the most effective blogs over the internet. Let me recommend this web site!สล็อต
I see that you are using WordPress on your blog, wordpress is the best.;:.:’ School Fundraising
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on that topic. If possible, while you gain knowledge, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me. vacasa.co.il
Holidays Worldwide4u is a travel meta search site that finds and compares the best priced offers and top flight and hotel deals best deals on flights, cruises, car rental deals, book taxi online, book airport transfers, tours, bike rentals, activities, concerts, best deals on hotels, hotel booking, book hotel online, car rental discounts, book car rentals, taxi booking online, and theater tickets.car rental deals
Therefore, reading the blog content thoroughly is essential. After finishing the article, I can confidently declare that I am fond of the subject matter. retro goal
An interesting dialogue is value comment. I believe that you must write more on this topic, it may not be a taboo subject however generally persons are not sufficient to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheersgabe brown haircut
I became honored to obtain a call coming from a friend as soon as he discovered the important guidelines shared on the site. Looking at your blog post is a real great experience. Thank you for considering readers much like me, and I desire for you the best of achievements as being a professional in this area.Slot Online
you possess a wonderful weblog here! would you like to earn some invite posts on my blog?Comprar Pentobarbital Sódico
I appreciate the time you put into this post. In fact your writing has me wanting to kickoff my own webblog now. Thanks again for sharing this up. Nairobi hot
i appreciate you for blogging!. “Education is a method whereby one acquires a higher grade of prejudices.” by Laurence J. Peter.. kotlin development
Fantastic blog! Do you have any tips and hints for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m completely overwhelmed .. Any suggestions? Many thanks!maxbet
Bon oui et aussi non. Ouais étant donné que on trouve certaines sources qui probablement accusent de similaires . Non parce que cela n’est pas suffisant d’imiter ce qu’on peut retrouver avec des articles tiers et de l’interpréter autant simplement:kubilo kaina
Wow I just adore her! She is beautiful and a really good actor. I don’t think the show V is all that good, however I watch it anyway just so I can see Morena. And I don’t know if you’ve ever seen her do an interview but she is also rather comical and it seems so natural for her. I personally never even heard of her before The V, now I’ll watch anything she’s on.alien labs battery
I like this info shown and it has given me some sort of commitment to succeed for some reason, so thank you.Internships
This is often moreover a fairly good blog post that we certainly cherished analyzing. Not necessarily every single day which enjoy the chances to find a product.網頁製作
Immer etliche Firmen benützen heutzutage Interimmanagement als innovatives und ergänzendes Gerätschaft i. Spanne der Unternehmensführung. Denn hiermit wird Kenntnisstand leistungsfähig, bedarfsgerecht und schnell ins Unternehmen geholt.قالب
Britney Spears has integrated four completely new dates to her forthcoming UK tour. The pop superstar, who will definitely be bringing her Femme Fatale tour right onto British shores around Octobercelebrity sex doll
Top Quality Home Cleaning Services. Neat. Clean. Spotless. Rely On Our Professional House Cleaning services Sydney in Sydney at Best Prices.
Great points you made there in your article. Thanks for all your help in making a change in the world.readbookonline