In the medieval era, its fame as a spice attracted traders from all part of the world. Crush your own Whole Black Peppercorns for best flavour and add to almost any recipe! Coat steaks with crushed peppercorns before cooking to create the classic dish, steak au poivre. Whole Black Peppercorns can be used to flavour stocks, red wine marinades for game, oil marinades for olives or goat cheese, and in pickles. Coarsely crushed black peppercorns are used in Mignonette sauce for oysters.