The Classic French Chateaubriand Recipes

CHATEAUBRIAND

Steps:

• Rub the beef with the vegetable oil and season with freshly ground black pepper. Let the beef rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Quickly sear the meat about 5 seconds on each side, then remove from skillet. Melt and brown the butter in the skillet. Return the meat to the skillet, and fry 4 to 5 minutes on each side. The outside of the meat should be browned and crisp. Remove from the skillet and let stand for about 5 minutes for the juices to settle.

CHâTEAUBRIAND

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
• 2. In an ovenproof, heavy-bottomed frying pan, heat the olive oil over high heat until hot but not smoking.
• 3. Season the meat with salt and pepper, then brown it in the pan on all sides.
• 4. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until the meat's internal temperature reaches 130°F (for rare), 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven.
• 5. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and tent it with foil.
• 6. Pour all but a thin film of fat from the pan.
• 7. Add the shallot and saut it over medium-low heat until golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
• 8. Add the wine and raise the heat to high, scraping up any brown bits from the pan.
• 9. When the sauce is syrupy (about 5 minutes), turn off the heat and whisk in the butter.
• 10. Carve the meat in thick slices and drizzle with the pan sauce.

CHATEAUBRIAND

Steps:

• Heat oven to 250 degrees. Stand meat on its wider-cut end on a solid work surface. Fold a kitchen towel lengthwise once or twice into a wide band, and drape it loosely around the upright meat like a scarf. Gather the ends of the towel, and twist to form a tight collar that will hold meat in a round shape during pounding; grasp securely in one hand. With the other hand, pound top of meat with a meat mallet until flattened into an oval steak about 2 inches thick and 5 to 7 inches wide.
• Heat a medium grill pan over high heat until it is very hot. Rub steak with oil, and season with salt and pepper.
• Place steak on grill pan at an angle to ridges, and cook until ridges leave clear marks, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Turn, maintaining same angle and repeat on second side. Turn again, rotating so visible grill marks are perpendicular to ridges. Cook until a crisscross is clearly marked, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Turn once more, maintaining same angle, and grill so second side has been on grill exactly as long as first side. Brown steak on outside edge, holding with tongs or propping against a potato, shifting meat so entire edge gets browned. Grill a total of 10 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness of steak and desired degree of doneness.
• Meat will be barely springy to the touch, indicating that it is still rare. Transfer to a small shallow roasting pan, and place pan in oven for 15 minutes. Remove to a cutting board; slice thin on a bias. Place on a warm serving platter, and pour pan juices over. Serve with bearnaise sauce on the side.

THE CLASSIC FRENCH CHATEAUBRIAND

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat the oven to 375 F. Evenly season the beef with salt and pepper.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter with the olive oil in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) set over medium-high heat until cloudy and bubbly.
• Place the seasoned meat in the pan and brown for 3 minutes without moving the meat. Using tongs, carefully turn the tenderloin on its side and brown for 3 minutes more. Repeat the same browning process on all exposed surfaces of the meat.
• Transfer the tenderloin to a rack placed in a roasting pan and put in the oven. (Set aside the skillet with any accumulated juices for making the sauce.) Roast the beef to your desired doneness, about 15 minutes for medium-rare, 20 minutes for medium, and 23 minutes for medium-well.
• Remove the meat from the oven and transfer to a warm serving platter. Lightly tent the meat with foil and let it rest for 15 minutes.
• While the tenderloin is resting, make the wine sauce. Combine the shallot with the juices in the skillet and sauté over medium heat until the shallot is soft and translucent.
• Pour the wine into the skillet and bring the sauce to a boil, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
• Continue boiling the sauce until it reduces by half.
• Add the demi-glace to the sauce and continue boiling the mixture until slightly thickened.
• Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon softened butter and tarragon. Taste and season with salt and black pepper as needed.
• Slice the meat on the diagonal and serve with the wine sauce. Enjoy.