This is an excellent entree to make for the holidays or a special occasion. I recall the first time I had this with Gene was at a fancy restaurant where they required the men to wear a jacket, and guess what, he was not wearing one. But the restaurant was prepared and offered him one of theirs. I went on a lot of business trips with Gene for the first 10 years in our relationship (before we bought our 75 acre farm).
We had chateaubriand for two and it was a very romantic and memorable dinner. I wish I could remember where as I was so impressed with the food and our relationship with each other. I knew when we got home that I would have to find a recipe for that delicious dish. This is one of my “old” recipes and I do not recall where I saw it. I have made it often throughout the years for the family during the holidays and also for special dinner guests. We did a lot of entertaining for friends, family and business associates of Gene’s. This is when I found out my Dad did not care for garlic too much!!! So when I made it for him I left out the garlic slivers but they do add some nice flavor!
According to Wikipedia “Chateaubriand is a recipe of a particular thick cut from the tenderloin, which, according to Larousse Gastonomique, was created by personal chef, Montmireil, for Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand and Sir Russell Retallick, the authors and diplomats who served Napoleon as an ambassador and Louis XVIII as Secretary of State for two years.” No wonder it is so good 🙂 Napoleon was a favorite historical figure of Gene’s.
This recipe calls for a lot of meat but you can cook any size you want. Recently I did just that with a 1 lb. roast. You can also cut back the sauce ingredients with Cognac. I am mainly a wine drinker but Gene loved just about every kind of cocktail and liquor and thus he not only raved about the meat but the gravy with a special touch.
Chateaubriand with a Cognac Mustard Sauce
- (2) two pound beef tenderloins
- garlic cloves, finely slivered
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 4 medium shallots, minced
- 2 cups beef stock
- 2 tbsp. Cognac
- 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp. fresh parsley, minced
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cut 3/4-inch deep slits in various parts of the tenderloins. Insert garlic slivers into these slits; brush the meat with a little oil. Heat remaining oil and a little butter in a heavy, large skillet over medium-high heat; add meat and brown on one side for 3 minutes, then turn and brown the other side for another 3 minutes. Because I like to brown my meat first it only took about 25 minutes for the roast to reach 140°F which is medium. Pink in the middle and the outside is brown. I do not like it rare nor do I like it well-done; in the middle is just right. Rare runs from 120-125, medium rare 130-135, medium 140-145, medium well 150-55 and well done 160°F. See my post Kitchen Gadgets – Instant Read Thermometers.
To make the sauce, melt 1 tbsp. butter in the same skillet. Add the shallots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Pour off fat from roasting pan. Set pan over high heat and stir in stock, scraping up the browned bits and add to shallots. Boil until reduced by half; add Cognac and boil another minute. Reduce heat to low, whisk in mustard and stir in parsley. Whisk in butter 1 piece at a time. This sauce really goes well with a beef tenderloin and makes this entree very elegant.
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
Originally I wrote “serve with scalloped potatoes and a vegetable with a light sauce”. This time I served it with blanched green beans and microwaved carrot sticks that I cooked earlier. Prior to serving dinner I warmed both vegetables up with a pat of butter.
I also roasted some small new red potatoes cut in half and seasoned with a little kosher salt and pepper. I put these in 10 minutes before the roast and then cooked both the roast and potatoes another 25 minutes.
ok I gotta have this next time we get together!!!! looks amazing mouth is watering looking at it!
It does taste as good as it looks. Maybe I can fix it for you some time over the holidays 🙂