Here’s our autumn-inspired recipe for steak, highlighting Chateaubriand. This particular cut from the tenderloin is extremely tender, yet it lacks the intense flavor found in other beef cuts. To enhance its taste, we pair it with a rich pink peppercorn sauce. After our last dinner out in Ikoyi, we were fascinated with a modern version of the peppercorn steak sauce that we were served. For our version, we opted for pink peppercorns, which differ from the black ones primarily on the heat level. They are more reminiscent of chiles with a sweet fruity flavour. The addition of roasted plums as a side balances the richness of the beef, providing a hint of freshness.
We sourced our meat at Turner and George. Meanwhile, the glace de viande was from Essential Cuisine (available at Souschef). One could make it oneself, but we think it’s better to avoid the trouble and just buy it. We found the quality of the glace excellent. It is definitely worth having one jar in the fridge (at least).
Chateaubriand, plums, and Bordeaux
Course: MainCuisine: French, ModernDifficulty: Medium2
servings30
minutes3
hoursIngredients
- Chateaubriand
Around 500g steak
Avocado oil
Butter
Aromatics: rosemary, thyme, garlic (unpeeled, lightly crushed)
Salt, black pepper
- Pink peppercorn sauce
23g glace de viande (heavily reduced brown stock)
30ml beef jus
45ml crème fraîche
1tsp pink peppercorns, coarsely ground
15g unsalted butter, cold
salt and pepper to taste
- Roasted Plums (adapted from Bon appetit)
4 plums, halved and pitted
1tbsp olive oil
Salt, black pepper
A few sprigs of thyme
Directions
- Chateaubriand
- Once cooked, open the bag, take the steak out and pat it dry with kitchen towels.
- Store on a wire rack in the fridge uncovered for a few hours before searing so that the surface dries more thoroughly
- Set a heavy bottom pan on the highest heat possible. Add avocado oil and as soon as it reaches 270C, put the meat on the pan.
- Once the steak is nicely browned on the first side, turn it around.
- Add a generous knob of butter (enough to baste the meat) and aromatics. Baste the meat with butter several times.
- Take it out of the pan and leave it to rest on a warm plate.
- Pink peppercorn sauce
- In a small saucepan combine the beef jus and glace de viande.
- Add the crushed pink peppercorns and bring it to a simmer.
- Pour in the crème fraîche and season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer again.
- Take it off the heat and stir in the cold butter. Mix until the mixture is nicely emulsified.
- Roasted Plums
- Preheat the oven to 200C. In a bowl, place the plums and the thyme and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss the plums to distribute it well.
- Arrange the fruit, cut side up, on a previously prepared baking tray lined up with parchment paper. Roast the fruit until soft for about 30min.
Notes
- For the perfectly seared steak, use the highest heat possible. That way only a thin layer of the meat will be cooked. If the temperature is lower, the meat will take a longer time to reach a desired color and in the effect, the steak will be cooked throughout.
- For searing the meat, ideally use an oil with a high smoking point such as avocado oil.
- Season the meat with black pepper only after it’s out of the pan, otherwise the pepper will burn on the high heat.
- This is a simpler version of the traditional pink peppercorn sauce. But we find it good enough for home cooking.
- The butter needs to be very cold to allow the mixture to be emulsified well.