- Start with a top quality filet mignon
- Season with Grandpa's Thunder Powder or Arghhh Powder
- Preheat oven to 375º F
- Heat a large cast iron skillet to 450º on the stove top.
- Add 2 TBL butter and 2 TBL oil to the pan. The oil will help prevent the butter from burning.
- When the butter stops foaming, turn the heat down to medium.
- Sear the meat on all sides. If the meat sticks to the pan, leave it for another few seconds until it releases on its own.
- Put the pan into the oven until the meat has reached an internal temperature of 125º F. Use an external probe thermometer so you don’t have to keep opening the oven. This will take 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven.
- Put the meat on a warmed platter to rest for 15 minutes.
- While the meat is resting, prepare the sauce.
- Using the residual juices in the pan, place the pan over medium heat.
- Add the minced shallot and saute until translucent, but not browned.
- Add the red wine.
- Turn the heat up to medium high and reduce by half.
- Taste for seasonings. Add salt and pepper if necessary.
- Stir in the minced tarragon and remove from the heat.
- Stir in the softened butter right before serving. This will help to further thicken the sauce and give it a lovely sheen.
- For a classic presentation, slice your Chateaubriand in half diagonally and serve on warmed plates with the sauce spooned over.
- Garnish with some fresh tarragon leaves.
Technically, Chateaubriand is a dish and not a cut of meat; however, sometimes cuts from beef tenderloin are sold as Chateaubriand steaks. These cuts and filet mignon are two very similar pieces of steak. They both originate from the same place on the cow and are very tender when cooked with the correct methods.
From TheDailyMeal.com
It’s not as common a dish as it used to be, but one of the fanciest — and most expensive — dishes you might ever encounter on a menu is a chateaubriand, usually served “for two.” The fact that it’s generally listed alongside steaks gives away the fact that it’s also a steak, but what is it, exactly, and why is it called “chateaubriand”?
Like Delmonico steak, the chateaubriand is one of those cuts of steak that isn’t named for a specific cut of meat, and its definition has also changed over the years. As legend has it, the chateaubriand was named after a French aristocrat named François-René de Chateaubriand, whose chef invented a method of cooking a large, boneless cut of beef by wrapping it in poor-quality steaks (sometimes recounted as the smaller end pieces from the filet), tying it up, grilling it until charred, and tossing the outer steaks. The perfectly-cooked inner roast was deemed the chateaubriand. (Perhaps appropriately for someone whose name has been attached to such an opulent dish, Chateaubriand was exiled during the French Revolution.”.)
Today, a chateaubriand is generally agreed-upon to be a large center cut filet mignon, roasted and served alongside potatoes and a sauce (appropriately named chateaubriand sauce) usually made with shallots, beef or veal stock, white wine, tarragon, and butter. The legendary French chef Pierre Franey, in his recipe for The New York Times, suggests wrapping a 7-inch filet in cheesecloth, standing it on its end, and pounding it down until it’s 1 1/2 inches thick, 6 inches in diameter, and round, then cooking it like a steak, but you don’t see too many people doing that any more.
While the techniques may vary, any menu that includes a chateaubriand will take pains to prepare the dish well, and the results are typically delicious. So if you see chateaubriand on a menu and you can spring for it, we suggest you order it, because you’ll receive a beautifully roasted filet mignon alongside a tasty French sauce and potatoes. Some places will even carve it tableside for you.
