Filet de Bœuf Talleyrand

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Narrow 4-quart (3.8-liter) heavy casserole with lid
• •Sharp narrow paring knife
• •Butcher's twine
• •Instant-read or probe thermometer
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Metal roasting tray suitable for the broiler
• •Long warmed serving platter and saucière

Instructions

1. 1

   Stud the filet

   Dry the filet and set it lengthwise on the board. With the tip of a narrow paring knife, make small angled incisions over every side, spacing them about 1 in (2.5 cm) apart. Push a pointed truffle baton firmly into each incision until it sits flush with the surface; narrow cuts hold the truffle inside, while wide cuts let it escape during carving. Season with 1½ teaspoons of the salt and ¾ teaspoon of the pepper.

   If a truffle baton breaks, push both pieces into the same incision. Nothing is lost, and the cut face will still show the dark truffle running through the rosy beef.
2. 2

   Marinate three hours

   Place the studded filet in a snug nonreactive dish or heavy food-safe bag. Add the 1 cup of Madeira and the completely cold Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168), turning the meat until every surface is wet. Refrigerate for exactly 3 hours, turning once halfway through. The Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) remains a finished preparation from its own entry; it is measured here, not rebuilt. Lift out the filet, reserve every drop of marinade, and pat the meat thoroughly dry.

   Do not turn three hours into overnight. Tenderloin needs the Madeira perfume, not prolonged acid treatment, which makes its surface soft and mealy.
3. 3

   Reduce the sauce base

   During the final 45 minutes of marinating, spoon 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the cold stock into a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Leave it for 5 minutes. Boil the remaining stock in a wide saucepan until reduced to 1 cup (240 ml), then add the ½ cup of Madeira and the bloomed gelatin. Simmer until about ¾ cup (180 ml) remains and the liquid lightly coats the back of a spoon. Hold it over the gentlest heat. This concentrated stock is the honest home foundation for the Périgueux sauce; the brigade quantity has gone, but the reduction has not.

   If the reduction becomes sticky or salty, loosen it with a spoonful of unsalted stock. If it runs from the spoon like broth, keep reducing. The spoon tells you more than the clock.
4. 4

   Wrap and tie

   Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C) with a rack in the center. Lay the bacon slices in an overlapping sheet, place the dried filet across them, and wrap the meat completely. Tie it with butcher's twine at four even intervals. Pour the reserved marinade into a snug heavy casserole and boil it briskly for 2 minutes, then settle in the wrapped filet and cover. Do not sear the beef first. In this preparation the bacon protects the filet, and the final glaze supplies its color.

5. 5

   Braise by temperature

   Transfer the covered casserole to the oven. Braiser, to cook covered with a shallow measure of liquid, must remain gentle for tenderloin. Turn the filet once after 12 minutes, then begin checking its center at 20 minutes. Remove it when the thermometer reads 117 to 118°F (47 to 48°C), usually after 25 to 35 minutes. Transfer it to a rack, cut away the twine, peel off the bacon, and let the filet rest loosely covered while you reduce the glaze.

   The filet is deliberately underdone at this point. Glazing, broiling, and resting will finish it. Leaving it in the braise until medium-rare means serving it medium-well.
6. 6

   Bind the macaroni

   Time the macaroni so it finishes as the filet leaves the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the 2 tablespoons of salt, and poach the macaroni until tender but still holding its shape. Reserve 1 cup (240 ml) of cooking water, drain, and cut the long tubes into 1½ in (4 cm) lengths. Return them to the warm pot with the 1½ tablespoons of butter, Gruyère, and Parmesan. Toss over low heat until the cheeses bind the macaroni in a glossy coating, then remove the pot from the heat and fold in the truffle julienne and large foie gras dice. If the cheese tightens into strings or releases oil, stop the heat and beat in hot pasta water one spoonful at a time. Ça se rattrape.

   The source proportions stay intact: for 8 oz (225 g) macaroni, use 1½ oz (43 g) combined cheese, ¾ oz (21 g) butter, 1½ oz (43 g) truffle, and 1½ oz (43 g) cooked foie gras. No cream. The macaroni must be bound, not drowned.
7. 7

   Glaze beneath broiler

   Strain the braising liquid into a wide pan, skim away the bacon fat, and boil until it becomes syrupy and measures about ⅓ cup (80 ml). Remove it from the heat and whisk in the softened tablespoon of butter. Glacer means coating the meat repeatedly until its surface shines: brush the filet all over, set it on a metal tray about 6 in (15 cm) below the broiler, and broil for 45 to 60 seconds. Rotate, brush again, and repeat until the surface is deep bronze and glossy. Watch without leaving the stove. If the glaze darkens before it shines, lower the tray and loosen the glaze with a spoonful of unsalted stock. Remove the filet when its center reaches 124 to 126°F (51 to 52°C), then rest it for 8 minutes.

8. 8

   Finish Périgueux sauce

   Bring the reduced sauce base back to a bare simmer and add the fine julienne of truffle, using matchstick cuts rather than chopped truffle as the source directs. Simmer for 1 minute, then remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cold butter one piece at a time. Taste before adding the remaining salt and pepper. The finished Périgueux sauce should nap the spoon and fall in a smooth, glossy ribbon. If the butter separates, whisk a teaspoon of cold stock in a clean warm pan, then add the broken sauce gradually until it comes together again.

9. 9

   Carve and serve apart

   Transfer the macaroni to a warmed serving dish and pour the Périgueux sauce into a warmed saucière. Carve the rested filet crosswise into four thick portions, revealing the truffle studs, and arrange them on a long warm platter with their Madeira glaze. Send the macaroni and sauce separately, exactly as the composition requires, so each guest takes the three elements together without losing their distinct textures. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Fresh black truffle is the soul of Talleyrand. When it is unavailable, whole preserved black truffles are the classical pantry's honest answer; drain them, dry them, and use the same weights, adding a spoonful of their liquid to the Périgueux sauce. The perfume will be quieter. Truffle-flavored oil cannot do this work.
• •Ask the butcher for a uniform center-cut tenderloin, not the narrow tail. Even thickness matters more than extravagant grading because every slice must reach the same rosy temperature.
• •Choose a dry Madeira such as Sercial or Verdelho. Bual and Malmsey make the glaze sweeter and heavier, while anything sold merely as cooking wine gives the reduction nowhere good to go.
• •Keep the foie gras in large cold dice and fold it into the macaroni off the heat. It should soften around the edges while remaining visible, not melt into grease.
• •Serve a red Bordeaux with softened tannins, or a restrained red Burgundy. The truffle wants perfume, and the filet wants structure; neither needs a wine that shouts over the sauce.

Advance Preparation

• •Have the Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) prepared through its own entry and completely chilled before the filet goes into it.
• •The reduced stock and Madeira base for the Périgueux sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Reheat it gently, then add the truffle julienne and cold butter only at the finish.
• •Cut the truffle batons and julienne, grate the cheeses, and dice the foie gras earlier on the day of serving. Keep each tightly covered and cold so the truffle perfumes the dish rather than the refrigerator.
• •Do not marinate the filet ahead overnight. The source's three hours are enough, and the cooking should begin as soon as that time is complete.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 420g)