Chateaubriand With Chateau Sauce
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1center-cut fillet of beef, about 1¼ pounds and about 7 inches long
- Salt to taste if desired
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1tablespoon corn, peanut or other vegetable oil
- ¼cup finely chopped shallots
- ⅓cup dry white wine
- ⅓cup fresh or canned beef broth
- ¼teaspoon dried tarragon
- 2tablespoons butter
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
216 calories; 17 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 9 grams protein; 244 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Lay out a length of cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel on a flat surface. Stand the piece of meat vertically - like a pole - in the center of the cloth. Press the top down with the hands to partly flatten. Cover completely with the cloth. Using a meat pounder or heavy skillet,pound meat until it is the shape of a large, thick patty about 1½ inches thick and about 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper.
- Step 2
Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and add the meat. Cook over moderately high heat about 5 minutes or until meat is browned and slightly charred on one side. Turn the meat and cook 5 minutes.
- Step 3
Turn the meat once more and cook 3 minutes.
- Step 4
Transfer the meat to a warm platter and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
- Step 5
Pour off the fat from the skillet and add the shallots. Cook briefly, stirring, and add the wine. Cook about 1 minute and add the broth and tarragon. Add any juices that may have accumulated around the beef as it stands. Cook about 3 minutes or until the sauce is reduced to about ⅓ cup. Swirl in the butter.
- Step 6
Transfer the meat to a clean skillet and heat. Strain the sauce over the meat and serve sliced on the bias with an equal portion of the sauce spooned over each serving.
Private Notes
Comments
I have cooked this, exactly as outlined, many times over the more than two decades since the recipe was first published (with illustrations!). Hammering it into a patty shape doesn't destroy a beautiful cut, it makes all the muscle fibers run top to bottom, and the final product turns out so tender it can be cut with a fork. Perfection - and memorably delicious!
my grocery store has a very specific "chateaubriand cut" of meat so I was able to get 7 inches (closer to 9). Turned out to be about 1.6 pounds. I didn't bother to smash it down as that felt like a violation of a beautiful cut of meet. Rather, I laid it in the cast iron like a log and hit it with 4 minutes then 3 then 3. Outside was nice and crusty and inside was stunning. Reason for 4 stars: my chateau sauce reduced so fast that I mostly just had wet scallions :(
Not what I would call a sauce worthy of a Chateu cut.
The illustrations are available on the Times Machine at https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1987/02/25/issue.html
Someone, including the author, please tell me how the recipe is improved by pounding it with the grain into a disk. My thoughts are that its a lot of work to produce a disk rather than a tube and, at the end, it appears one would be slicing "with the grain" rather than across it. Serious question.
I have cooked this, exactly as outlined, many times over the more than two decades since the recipe was first published (with illustrations!). Hammering it into a patty shape doesn't destroy a beautiful cut, it makes all the muscle fibers run top to bottom, and the final product turns out so tender it can be cut with a fork. Perfection - and memorably delicious!