Filet de Bœuf Richelieu

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 5-quart (4.7-litre) lidded cocotte or compact roasting pan
• •Narrow paring knife or larding needle
• •Instant-read or probe thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Long heatproof serving platter and small sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the service clock

   Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C), with a second rack near the broiler. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil for the lettuce, and set out a long serving platter and sauceboat. Prepare every garnish before the beef begins cooking. This is not fuss for its own sake: the fillet will wait only through its proper rest, so the vegetables must be ready for their final warming.

2. 2

   Lard and tie beef

   Chill the fatback batons for 15 minutes until firm. Make eight narrow channels lengthwise through the tenderloin with a slim paring knife, spacing them evenly, then push one baton into each channel. If a channel tears, stop widening it and insert a shorter baton from each end. Tie the roast at 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) intervals so it holds an even cylinder. Season with about two-thirds of the salt and half the pepper, then leave it for 30 minutes while you prepare the garnishes.

   Larder means threading fat through the meat; barder means wrapping fat around it. The first is the technique this dish calls for, and the chilled batons are the honest home equivalent of a larding needle.
3. 3

   Stuff tomatoes and mushrooms

   Cut a lid from each tomato, scoop out the seeds and loose pulp, season the cavities lightly, and drain them upside down for 10 minutes. Finely chop the mushroom stems. Melt half the stuffed-vegetable butter in a sauté pan, add the shallot and chopped stems, and cook until the mushrooms have released their water and the pan is nearly dry. Stir in the breadcrumbs, parsley, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the stock, and a little pepper. The filling should hold when pinched without becoming paste; if it is wet, cook it another minute or add a spoonful of crumbs, and if it is dry, add stock by the teaspoon. Fill the tomatoes and mushroom caps without packing them hard, dot with the remaining butter, and bake for 18 to 22 minutes. Remove them while the tomatoes still hold their shape and set aside for the final broiling.

4. 4

   Braise and trim lettuce

   Blanch the lettuce halves in the boiling salted water for 90 seconds, then cool them under cold water and press gently between towels. Fold any loose leaves inward so each half forms a neat bundle. Arrange them cut-side down in a small sauté pan with the lettuce butter and 1/3 cup (80 ml) of the stock. Cover closely and hold at a bare simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until tender but still green. Lift them out, reduce the braising liquor to a glaze, and spoon it back over them. Trim only ragged outer leaves; if a bundle unfolds, wrap it in one sound outer leaf and hold it seam-side down.

5. 5

   Poêle the fillet

   Spread the onion, carrot, celery, thyme, and bay leaf in a heavy lidded cocotte just large enough to hold the beef. Set the tenderloin on this aromatic bed, melt the poêling butter, and spoon it generously over the meat. Use the Poëlings (No. 250) method: cover and roast for 18 minutes, basting once after 12 minutes, with no stock or other liquid in the pan. Uncover, raise the oven to 450°F (230°C), baste again, and roast for another 6 to 12 minutes, until the surface is deeply bronzed and the centre reaches 122 to 125°F (50 to 52°C) for medium-rare. Transfer the beef to a rack, cover loosely, and rest for 15 to 20 minutes; it should finish near 129 to 133°F (54 to 56°C).

   The thermometer governs, not the clock. Tenderloins vary in diameter, and a few minutes can separate a rosy centre from a grey one.
6. 6

   Cook potatoes in butter

   Run this step alongside the poêling. Dry the trimmed potatoes thoroughly and place them in one layer in a wide pan with the potato butter and a good pinch of salt. Cover and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, rolling them every 5 minutes so they cook evenly without taking colour too soon. When a knife enters their centres cleanly, uncover, raise the heat to medium, and turn them until butter-gold on every side. If the butter darkens before the centres soften, add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) water and lower the heat; let it evaporate completely before the final browning.

7. 7

   Extract the poêling liquor

   Set the cocotte over medium heat as soon as the beef comes out. If any vegetables have blackened, do not scrape them into the sauce; transfer the sound vegetables and brown juices to a clean saucepan. Ça se rattrape. Pour in the remaining stock while the poêling butter is still present, scrape up the brown fond, and simmer gently for 10 minutes so the stock recovers the flavour held in the butter. Strain through a fine sieve without crushing the vegetables, let the liquor settle briefly, then skim away every visible trace of fat. Reserve 3 tablespoons (45 ml) for glazing the beef. Knead the softened butter and flour into a beurre manié, then whisk it into the remaining simmering liquor in pea-sized pieces, stopping as soon as the jus lightly coats a spoon. Simmer for 2 minutes. If it grows too thick, loosen it with stock or water; if it catches a lump, strain it once more.

8. 8

   Glaze and finish garnishes

   Boil the reserved poêling liquor in a small pan until syrupy, then brush it over the rested fillet twice, allowing the first coat to settle before adding the second. Heat the broiler and return the stuffed tomatoes and mushrooms to the upper rack for 2 to 4 minutes, just until the crumbs bronze. Rewarm the lettuce gently in its covered pan, and give the potatoes their last turn through the butter. The broiler replaces the salamander here; colour is the intention, specialized equipment was only scaffolding.

9. 9

   Compose the Richelieu platter

   Place the whole glazed fillet lengthwise on the warmed platter. Arrange the garnishes around it in generous, separate heaps, alternating red tomatoes, brown mushrooms, green lettuce, and golden potatoes so no two colours collapse into one another. Pour the lightly thickened poêling liquor into the warmed sauceboat and send it separately. Carve the fillet across the grain at the table, two thick slices per person. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for an evenly thick centre-cut tenderloin and firm unsmoked fatback. An untied, tapering fillet cooks in three different moods at once; even thickness matters more than an extravagant pedigree.
• •The stock carries the sauce, so choose one that tastes of meat rather than salt. If boxed stock is thin, reduce 3 cups (720 ml) to 2 cups (480 ml) before beginning, then chill and remove the set fat.
• •This dish truly needs tomatoes that can be hollowed and still hold their shape. In poor tomato months, small firm Roma tomatoes are the honest cousin; canned tomatoes belong in another preparation.
• •Serve a structured Médoc or another Cabernet-led red with enough freshness for the butter and beef. Keep the sauceboat moving and the platter in the middle of the table. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.

Advance Preparation

• •The tenderloin can be larded, tied, and refrigerated up to 24 hours ahead. Bring it out 30 minutes before cooking, then season it.
• •The tomatoes and mushrooms can be stuffed and baked up to 6 hours ahead. The lettuce can be braised on the same schedule; cover and refrigerate both, then rewarm as directed.
• •The potatoes are the exception. Peel and trim them no more than 2 hours ahead, hold them in cold water, dry them completely, and cook them in butter just before service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 590g)