Filet de Bœuf Nivernaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 4-quart oval casserole with a tight lid
• •12-inch wide sauté pan with lid or parchment paper
• •Small sharp paring knife
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Warm sauceboat and long serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Turn the carrots

   Cut the peeled carrots into pieces about 1¾ inches (4.5 cm) long. With a small paring knife, trim each piece into an elongated olive with six or seven smooth faces, keeping the pieces close in size so they finish together. Reserve enough clean trimmings for the diced carrot in the aromatic bed. The turning is not decoration for its own sake: the curved surfaces roll freely through the reduced liquor and glaze evenly.

   Work with the blade facing away from your supporting thumb, and turn the carrot rather than sawing at it. The third carrot will be handsomer than the first. That is tuition, not failure.
2. 2

   Bard the fillet

   Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Pat the fillet completely dry, then season it with 1¼ teaspoons of the salt and all the pepper. Lay the fatback over the top and sides, leaving some beef exposed underneath, and secure it with kitchen twine. Melt 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g) of the butter. The fatback replaces larding with a needle: it protects this very lean cut during the covered stage, then comes away so the surface can bronze.

3. 3

   Poële the fillet

   Spread the onion, diced carrot, celery, thyme, and bay leaf across the bottom of a heavy casserole only slightly larger than the beef. Set the fillet on top, pour over the melted butter, and cover tightly. Cook the Poëlings (No. 250) for 15 minutes without adding stock or water, basting once with the butter. Remove the lid and the fatback, leaving the fat in the casserole, then continue roasting and basting every 5 minutes until the beef is bronze and its center reaches 122 to 125°F (50 to 52°C) for medium-rare, about 10 to 18 minutes more. If the vegetables begin to scorch, move the beef to a plate, transfer only the unburned vegetables and butter to a clean snug casserole, and continue at 350°F (175°C). Ça se rattrape. Do not add liquid during the roast, or the poëling becomes a braise.

   A thermometer earns its place here. Tenderloin changes quickly near the finish, and guessing by time risks spending the price of the cut on grey meat.
4. 4

   Glaze the carrots

   As soon as the beef enters the oven, arrange the turned carrots in one layer in a wide sauté pan. Add the white consommé, sugar, 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g) of the remaining butter, and ½ teaspoon of the remaining salt. Cover with a parchment round or lid and simmer gently until the carrots are tender at the point of a knife, 15 to 22 minutes. Uncover and reduce the liquor over medium-low heat, rolling the pan often, until it becomes syrupy and coats every carrot with a clear butter glaze. If the liquor disappears before the carrots are tender, add consommé one spoonful at a time. If the syrup begins to catch, lift the pan from the heat immediately and roll in a spoonful of consommé with a small piece of butter. Ça se rattrape. Shine, not scorch.

5. 5

   Rest the beef

   Transfer the beef to a warm plate and cover it loosely for 15 minutes. Do not wrap it tightly, because trapped moisture softens the bronzed surface. The center will rise several degrees while the juices settle. Remove the twine while the beef rests, but keep the fillet whole for its final glaze.

6. 6

   Build the poëling jus

   Set the casserole with its vegetables, browned fond, and cooking butter over medium heat. Pour in the brown veal stock and scrape the bottom clean, then simmer gently for a full 10 minutes before removing any fat. This contact matters because the butter holds the savor of both beef and vegetables and gives it back to the stock. Strain through a fine sieve without pressing, let the liquid stand for 2 minutes, and skim the surface carefully. Reduce to about 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g), until clear, savory, and lightly coating rather than thick. If it reduces too far, loosen it with a spoonful of stock; if it remains greasy, draw the corner of a clean paper towel lightly across the surface.

7. 7

   Glaze and serve

   Heat a clean skillet over medium-high heat. Add the final tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) of butter with 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 45 g) of the poëling jus, set in the rested fillet, and turn and baste it for 30 to 60 seconds, only until the surface catches a lacquered shine. If the glaze threatens to darken, lift the skillet from the heat and add a spoonful of stock. Set the whole fillet on a warmed long platter, arrange the glazed carrots in generous heaps around it, and pass the remaining poëling jus separately in a warm sauceboat. Carve across the grain at the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for an evenly thick center-cut tenderloin roast and have the fatback sliced nearly translucent. A tapered fillet cooks at three speeds; an even piece gives four guests the same rosy center.
• •For the home equivalent of stock kept always at hand, use good frozen brown veal stock from a butcher or a prepared veal reduction diluted according to its directions. Keep it unsalted because the final reduction concentrates everything.
• •The olive shape is part of Nivernaise, not a fussy flourish. Keep the carrots broad enough to remain themselves after trimming, and use the clean trimmings in the aromatic bed.
• •Serve with a red Coteaux Charitois if you find one, or a supple red Burgundy. The beef wants freshness and perfume beside it, not a heavy wine that buries the carrots.
• •Chill leftovers within 2 hours and keep them for up to 3 days. Reheat the carrots gently with a spoonful of stock and butter; serve leftover fillet cool or warm it only briefly so its center stays tender.

Advance Preparation

• •Turn the carrots up to 6 hours ahead and hold them covered in cold water. Drain and dry them before cooking; reserve the trimmings separately for the aromatic bed.
• •The onion, carrot, and celery may be diced 1 day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator.
• •The carrots may be cooked until just tender earlier in the day. Leave them in their unreduced liquor, then complete the syrup reduction and rolling while the beef rests.
• •Bard and tie the fillet up to 6 hours ahead, but season it only 30 to 60 minutes before cooking. The poëling jus and final glaze belong to service and should not be made ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 375g)