Filets de Levraut à la Vendome

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Four 2½-inch stainless-steel pastry rings
• •Kitchen string
• •Wide shallow sauté pan with lid
• •8-inch square metal pan
• •Deep roasting dish for the bain-marie
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Blender, food mill, or sturdy sieve

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the chestnut purée

   Reserve 1 cup of the stock before any raw hare touches the remainder. Put the chestnuts in a saucepan with ¾ cup of that reserved stock and simmer gently for 15 minutes, until they crush readily beneath a spoon. Purée them while warm with the cream, 2 tablespoons of butter, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Add the remaining reserved stock a spoonful at a time until the purée falls heavily from the spoon but does not run. Cover it directly with buttered parchment and hold it over barely warm water.

   If the purée becomes gluey, stop working it. Fold in a spoonful of warm cream with a spatula, then leave it alone; repeated blending is what makes chestnut starch turn pasty.
2. 2

   Contise and shape

   Make four evenly spaced, shallow diagonal incisions across the presentation side of each loin. Slip one reserved truffle sliver into every incision without cutting through the meat. Season the fillets with ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Butter the outside of four 2½-inch stainless pastry rings with 1 tablespoon of butter, wrap one fillet around each with its contised side facing outward, and overlap the ends by ½ inch. Tie each fillet gently around its mould with kitchen string. If one fillet will not quite meet, use a slightly smaller ring rather than stretching the meat; forced thin spots overcook first.

3. 3

   Poach the rings

   Butter a wide, shallow lidded pan with ½ tablespoon of butter and stand the four moulds upright inside it. Add enough of the remaining stock to reach halfway up the fillets, reserving any excess, and lay a buttered parchment circle directly over them. Bring the liquid slowly to 175°F to 180°F (79°C to 82°C), where it trembles without bubbling, then cover and poach for 8 to 12 minutes. The thickest part should reach about 150°F (66°C) and remain supple. If the liquid begins boiling, lift the pan off the heat, uncover it, and add ¼ cup of cold reserved stock. Ça se rattrape, provided you stop the boil promptly. Rest the rings for 3 minutes, strain and reserve ¾ cup of poaching liquor, then snip the strings and ease away the moulds.

4. 4

   Poach the forcemeat

   Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Reserve 2 tablespoons of the raw game forcemeat for assembly. Butter an 8-inch square metal pan and a sheet of parchment with ½ tablespoon of butter, then spread the remaining forcemeat in an even layer ½ inch thick. Cover it with the parchment, buttered side down, and foil. Set the pan in a larger roasting dish and add hot water to come halfway up its sides. Poach in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until just firm and 160°F (71°C) at the centre. Let it settle for 5 minutes before uncovering.

   The forcemeat should look set and moist, not browned. If a little liquid collects on top, blot it gently. A split edge can be patched with a scrap before the roundels are cut.
5. 5

   Cut and anchor

   Use one of the pastry rings as a cutter to stamp four forcemeat roundels matching the hare rings. Spread a thin dab of the reserved raw forcemeat on each roundel and set a hare ring firmly over it. Transfer the assemblies to a parchment-lined tray, cover loosely with foil, and warm at 275°F (135°C) for 5 to 7 minutes, just until the raw forcemeat binder has set. Keep them covered in a warm place while the garnish is finished.

6. 6

   Sauté the garnish

   Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a wide sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, add the mushrooms and toss for 1 minute. Add the minion-fillets, the remaining sliced truffle, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and the remaining pepper. Toss quickly for another 60 to 90 seconds, until the collops are coloured at their edges but remain tender. Transfer the entire garnish to a warm bowl, leaving the butter and fond in the pan.

7. 7

   Finish the poivrade

   Take the pan away from any open flame and pour in the Cognac. Return it to the heat and scrape the pan thoroughly while the brandy reduces almost dry. Add ½ cup of the reserved poaching liquor and reduce it by half, then add ½ cup of the poivrade sauce. Simmer until the sauce naps the back of a spoon, meaning it leaves an even coating when the spoon is lifted. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons of cold butter, a little at a time. If the sauce turns oily, whisk 1 teaspoon of cold poaching liquor in a clean warm pan, then add the split sauce gradually. Fold the collops, mushrooms, and truffles back into the finished sauce and warm them without boiling.

8. 8

   Fill and serve

   Warm the remaining ¾ cup of poivrade sauce separately and transfer it to a sauceboat. Reheat the chestnut purée gently, loosening it with a spoonful of cream if necessary, and spoon it into a small timbale or straight-sided serving bowl. Arrange the four hare rings in a circle on a warmed platter, each resting squarely on its forcemeat roundel. Fill the centres generously with the collops, mushrooms, truffles, and their glossy sauce. Serve the extra poivrade and chestnut purée apart, exactly as the dish intends. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Leveret means young hare, not rabbit. Ask a game butcher for two boned young hare saddles with the four outer loins and four minion fillets packed separately. Young farmed rabbit can follow the method if hare is unavailable, but its flavour is milder and its loins usually require smaller moulds; it is an honest cousin, not an invisible substitution.
• •The source treats game forcemeat and poivrade sauce as finished components, and this recipe does the same. Prepare them ahead so the evening belongs to shaping, poaching, and assembly. Replacing poivrade with bottled steak sauce removes the peppered game foundation the whole garnish depends upon.
• •Fresh black truffle is the source's standard. Outside its season, use well-drained whole preserved black truffles of good quality and pat them dry before slicing. Their perfume will be quieter, so add a spoonful of their preserving liquor to the poivrade only if it is unsalted and tastes clean.
• •A structured red Burgundy suits the lean hare and truffle, while mature Loire Cabernet Franc meets the pepper and chestnut particularly well. Serve either with enough freshness to keep the poivrade from feeling heavy.

Advance Preparation

• •The prepared poivrade sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Reheat it gently, then mount only the portion used for the garnish with fresh butter at serving time.
• •The chestnut purée can be made 2 days ahead. Press buttered parchment directly against its surface, chill it, and reheat over gentle water with a little cream.
• •The forcemeat slab can be poached and cut into roundels 1 day ahead. Keep the roundels covered and cold, reserving the raw binder separately.
• •The hare loins may be contised and tied around their moulds up to 4 hours ahead. Keep them refrigerated and bring them out 15 minutes before poaching.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 475g)