Tournedos Parmentier

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) lidded sauté pan
• •12-inch (30 cm) heavy frying pan
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Kitchen twine
• •Warm oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare matched pieces

   Take the tournedos from the refrigerator twenty minutes before cooking. Tie a loop of kitchen twine around each circumference so the medallions stay tall and round, then blot every surface thoroughly dry. Cut the peeled potatoes first into even slabs, then batons, then regular ⅔-inch (1.7 cm) cubes; equal size matters because the cubes must become tender together. Fill the serving platter with very hot water to warm it, then empty and dry it just before plating.

2. 2

   Cook potatoes softly

   Melt 6 tablespoons (90 ml / 85 g) of the butter in a wide lidded sauté pan over medium-low heat. When it foams but remains blond, add the potato cubes and 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) of the salt. Turn gently until every cube shines with butter, spread them as close to one layer as the pan permits, and cover. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, turning carefully every five minutes, until a skewer passes through without resistance. The cubes may take a few pale-gold freckles, but they should remain soft and whole rather than developing a crisp shell.

   If the butter begins browning before the centers are tender, take the pan off the heat and trickle 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) of water down the side before replacing the lid. Return it over lower heat. Ça se rattrape: the small burst of moisture finishes the centers, then evaporates without changing the buttery finish.
3. 3

   Hold the garnish

   When the potatoes are completely tender, uncover them for thirty seconds so any added water can evaporate. Remove the pan from the heat and cover it again, leaving the cubes in their butter. Do not keep browning them while the beef cooks. The potato garnish can wait quietly for ten minutes; the tournedos cannot.

4. 4

   Fry the tournedos

   Heat a 12-inch (30 cm) heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Season the tournedos on every side with the remaining 1¼ teaspoons (6 ml / 7 g) salt and the pepper. Add 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g) of the beef butter, reserving the final tablespoon. As soon as the butter foams vigorously, lay in the tournedos with space between them and fry without moving for about 3 minutes, until the first faces are deeply bronzed. Turn once, lower the heat to medium, add the reserved butter, and baste continuously for another 2 to 3 minutes. For medium-rare, remove them at 125 to 128°F (52 to 53°C); for medium, remove them at 133 to 135°F (56 to 57°C).

   Hazelnut-brown butter smells sweet and nutty. Black butter smells acrid. If black flecks appear before the meat is ready, lift out the tournedos, wipe the pan carefully, lower the heat, and return them with the reserved fresh butter. Ça se rattrape.

   If four tournedos cannot sit with space around them, fry two at a time. Crowding releases moisture and weakens the sear; the potatoes are already waiting safely.
5. 5

   Rest and revive

   Transfer the tournedos to the warmed platter and rest them uncovered for 5 minutes. While they rest, return the covered potatoes to the lowest heat for 1 to 2 minutes, turning them once through the melted butter. Taste one and adjust the salt if needed. Keep the parsley aside until the platter is assembled, exactly as the source directs.

6. 6

   Build the crown

   Remove the twine and arrange the four tournedos in a ring, browned faces upward and their edges nearly touching. Heap the soft potato cubes loosely in the center without packing them down. Spoon a little clean golden butter from the pans over the beef, leaving any blackened solids behind, then sprinkle the chopped parsley lightly over the potatoes alone. Carry the platter straight to the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for four tournedos cut from the same center section of the fillet. Matching thickness matters more than matching weight because all four must finish together; tie them if the butcher hasn't.
• •Choose a yellow-fleshed all-purpose potato. A very floury potato can collapse before the cubes are turned, while a firm salad potato may refuse to become properly soft. Regular knife-cut cubes are the honest home equivalent of the book's grooved spoon-cutter.
• •Whole butter is deliberate. The potatoes need its sweetness and the beef needs the flavor of its browning milk solids, so oil, margarine, and clarified fat change the dish. Keep the heat under control instead. We don't apologize for butter.
• •A supple cru Beaujolais or a restrained red Bordeaux suits the mild fillet and generous butter without burying them. Serve a sharp green salad afterward, not beneath the tournedos.

Advance Preparation

• •The tournedos can be tied and dried up to one day ahead. Refrigerate them uncovered on a rack, then bring them out twenty minutes before frying and season only when the pan is ready.
• •The potatoes can be cut up to four hours ahead and held in cold water. Drain and dry every cube thoroughly before it meets the butter, since surface water causes spattering and delays the gentle cooking.
• •The potatoes may be finished ten minutes before the beef and held covered off the heat. Do not fry the tournedos ahead; their brief rest is the only holding time they need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 340g)