Filet de Bœuf Dauphine

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Long metal skewer and slender chopstick for larding
• •Kitchen twine
• •Heavy lidded casserole just larger than the fillet
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Potato ricer
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •5-quart (4.7-liter) heavy pot for frying
• •Deep-fry thermometer
• •Wire rack and sheet pan
• •Long serving platter and sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Lard and tie

   Chill the back-fat batons until firm but not frozen. From each cut end of the fillet, use a long metal skewer to make narrow channels running with the grain, then ease the fat into them with the skewer or a slender chopstick. Space the lardoons through the meat rather than crowding its center. Tie the fillet at 1-inch (2.5 cm) intervals, season it with 1½ teaspoons of the salt and ¾ teaspoon of the black pepper, and refrigerate it uncovered while you prepare the garnish. The skewer replaces the larding needle, but the intention remains: the melting fat bastes this exceptionally lean cut from within.

   If a tunnel tears toward the surface, stop pushing and begin another. Tie over the tear and continue; the roast needs evenly distributed fat, not perfect needlework.
2. 2

   Reduce the Madeira sauce

   If the stock does not set softly when chilled, spoon 2 tablespoons of it into a bowl, sprinkle over the gelatin, and let it swell for 5 minutes. Boil the Madeira in a small saucepan until reduced to about 3 tablespoons, then add the remaining stock and the softened gelatin. Simmer steadily, skimming when necessary, until about 1 cup (240 ml) remains and the sauce reaches nappe, coating the back of a spoon in a thin, glossy layer. Set aside 3 tablespoons for glazing the fillet and hold the rest without adding its finishing butter. If the sauce becomes too concentrated or salty before it coats, loosen it with unsalted stock. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Dry the potatoes

   Cover the potatoes with cold water, add 1 tablespoon of the salt, and bring them to a gentle boil. Cook until a knife enters without resistance, about 15 minutes, then drain thoroughly. Return them to the dry pan over low heat and turn them for 1 to 2 minutes, letting excess moisture escape without browning. Pass them through a ricer while hot. Weigh 500 g for the pommes Dauphine and reserve up to 50 g more as insurance against a loose mixture. Dry potato matters because wet purée makes heavy croquettes that split in the oil.

4. 4

   Make the pâte à choux

   Bring the water, 2 tablespoons of butter, and a pinch of the remaining salt to a full boil. Add the flour all at once and beat firmly with a wooden spoon until the panade, the cooked flour paste, gathers into a ball and leaves a light film on the pan, about 2 minutes. Let it cool for 2 minutes. Beat the whole egg and yolk together, then work them into the panade in three additions, stopping when the paste is smooth, glossy, and falls from the spoon in a heavy V. If the eggs are unusually large, you may not need the final spoonful; a loose choux paste cannot support the potato.

5. 5

   Shape the pommes

   Beat the 500 g of hot, dry potato into the pâte à choux with the white pepper, nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and ½ teaspoon salt. The mixture should hold a clean ridge when stirred. If it slumps, work in the reserved dry potato a spoonful at a time. Portion the mixture into about 20 pieces and, with lightly dampened hands, mold each into a cork roughly 1½ inches (4 cm) long and ¾ inch (2 cm) thick. Set them on parchment and chill for at least 20 minutes. Pommes Dauphine have no breadcrumb coat; their crisp shell comes directly from the potato-choux mixture.

6. 6

   Poël the fillet

   Take the fillet from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking. Carry out Poëlings (No. 250) with the larded fillet, using the linked preparation in a snug, heavy casserole. Begin checking the center after 20 minutes and uncover for the final coloring as that preparation directs. Remove the meat at 118 to 122°F (48 to 50°C) for medium-rare, or 126°F (52°C) for medium; it will rise as it rests. If the proper internal temperature arrives before the surface has colored, stop the oven cooking. The final glaze and brief broiling will supply the finish without sacrificing the rosy center.

7. 7

   Ready the final service

   While the fillet cooks, pour the frying oil into a deep heavy pot, keeping the pot no more than half full, and heat it to 350°F (175°C). Set a rack over a sheet pan for draining. Rewarm the Madeira half-glaze over the gentlest heat and warm a long serving platter. Everything is now waiting for the beef, which is precisely where one cook needs it.

8. 8

   Rest and fry

   Transfer the fillet to a board, cover it loosely, and rest it for 12 to 15 minutes. Fry the chilled pommes Dauphine in small batches, leaving them room to move, until deep golden and crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Keep the oil close to 350°F (175°C); if its temperature falls below 330°F (165°C), stop adding croquettes and let it recover, otherwise they absorb oil and soften. If a test cork splits, chill the remaining pieces for another 10 minutes and work a little reserved potato into any that feel loose. Drain on the rack and season lightly at once.

9. 9

   Glaze the fillet

   Preheat the broiler to its highest setting. Reduce the reserved 3 tablespoons of sauce in the smallest pan until syrupy, then brush a thin coat over the rested fillet. Pass the meat briefly under the broiler until the glaze shines and clings, usually 20 to 30 seconds. This is the home salamander, used for finish rather than further cooking. Apply a second thin coat only if needed; one thick coat scorches before it gleams.

10. 10

    Finish and serve

    Bring the remaining sauce just below a simmer, remove it from the heat, and whisk in the cold diced butter until glossy. Taste and correct the salt and pepper. Set the whole glazed fillet lengthwise on the warm platter and surround it closely with the cork-shaped pommes Dauphine. Pour the Madeira half-glaze into a warm sauceboat and send it separately, as the dish requires; pouring it over the potatoes would surrender their crispness before anyone lifts a fork. Carve the fillet into generous slices at the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for the center section of the tenderloin, evenly thick from end to end. A tapered roast gives you three degrees of doneness when the dish wants one calm rosy center.
• •Pork back fat is the correct larding fat. Salt pork brings too much salt, and smoked bacon changes the flavor of the fillet; if back fat cannot be found, ask the butcher to cut unsmoked fatty pork belly into narrow batons.
• •A proper pale veal stock has enough gelatin to coat a spoon after reduction. Good unsalted chicken stock fortified with a little gelatin is the honest home equivalent when a stockpot is not permanently on the fire, though its flavor will be lighter.
• •Use real medium-dry Madeira, not a bottle labeled cooking wine. Reduction magnifies every flavor in the pan, including poor wine and excessive salt.
• •Fry one pomme Dauphine as a test before committing the batch. It should rise, turn evenly bronze, and hold its cork shape; that small trial gives you time to correct the mixture or oil temperature.
• •A structured red from Bordeaux, particularly Médoc or Graves, has the firmness for beef and enough restraint for the Madeira sauce. Pour it without ceremony. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.

Advance Preparation

• •The fillet can be larded, tied, and seasoned up to a day ahead. Keep it uncovered in the refrigerator, then take it out about 30 minutes before cooking.
• •The Madeira half-glaze can be reduced up to two days ahead and chilled. Reheat it gently, reserving a little for the meat glaze, and whisk in the cold finishing butter only at service.
• •The pommes Dauphine mixture can be shaped into corks up to 8 hours ahead. Chill them on parchment until firm, then cover without pressing plastic directly against their surfaces.
• •Do not fry the pommes Dauphine ahead. Last-minute frying is not brigade scaffolding; it is the preparation that gives the garnish its crisp shell and airy center.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 455g)