Tournedos Tyrolienne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Butcher's twine
• •Warm 12-inch (30 cm) round serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare tomato and beef

   Cut a shallow cross in the tomato skin, lower it into boiling water for 20 seconds, then cool and peel it. Halve it across the middle, squeeze out the seeds and loose watery pulp, and roughly chop the flesh. Pressing means removing excess water, not flattening the tomato. Tie each tournedos around its circumference if it is uneven, then pat the meat thoroughly dry. Keep it cool while you begin the sauce.

   If ripe tomatoes are poor, use the same weight of well-drained canned whole peeled tomatoes. The classical pantry is an honest answer to a tired fresh tomato.
2. 2

   Build the Tyrolienne sauce

   Melt the sauce butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook gently for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until soft and translucent without browning. Add the pressed tomato, parsley, garlic, ¼ teaspoon of the salt, and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tomato has collapsed and its loose water has evaporated. If it catches before the tomato softens, add a teaspoon of water and scrape the pan clean. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Boil with poivrade

   Stir the prepared poivrade sauce into the tomato and onion mixture. Bring it to a proper boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until glossy and cohesive but still loose enough to spoon. Taste and adjust with a little of the remaining salt and pepper. Cover and hold over the gentlest heat while the tournedos cook.

4. 4

   Sear the tournedos

   Season the dry tournedos on both sides with the remaining salt and pepper. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat, then add 2 tablespoons of the frying butter. When it foams vigorously and begins to smell nutty, add the beef with space between the pieces. Sear without disturbing for about 3 minutes, until a dark bronze crust forms and the meat releases willingly. Turn, add the reserved tablespoon of butter, and cook the second side for 2 to 4 minutes. If the butter solids turn black, lift out the beef, wipe the skillet carefully, add the reserved butter, and continue. The dish is not lost.

   For medium-rare beef, remove it at 125 to 128°F (52 to 53°C); it should finish near 130 to 135°F (54 to 57°C) as it rests. For the conservative food-safety standard, cook whole-muscle beef to 145°F (63°C) and rest it for at least 3 minutes.
5. 5

   Rest and gather fond

   Transfer the tournedos to a warm plate and rest them loosely covered for 5 to 7 minutes. Pour excess butter from the skillet, leaving the clean brown fond attached to its floor. Spoon the prepared sauce into the skillet and bring it to a brisk simmer for 30 to 60 seconds, scraping up every browned morsel. If the sauce tightens into a paste, loosen it with 1 tablespoon of hot water; if it remains watery, boil it for another minute. It should coat a spoon and fall from it generously.

6. 6

   Form the crown

   Remove the strings and arrange the four tournedos in a loose crown on a warmed round platter. Cover each generously with the tomato-onion poivrade sauce, allowing the remainder to pool in the center where everyone can reach it. Serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A tournedos is a thick, compact round cut from the center of the beef tenderloin. Thin medallions cook before they can brown properly, so ask for pieces about 1½ inches (4 cm) thick and tie them if their shape is loose.
• •The prepared poivrade sauce is used as a finished component, exactly as the source entry intends. Its concentrated pepper, vinegar, and brown-sauce character gives the mild tenderloin its backbone; tomato and onion alone make a pleasant sauce, but not Tournedos Tyrolienne.
• •Butter, not margarine. Control the heat and keep one portion of butter in reserve, because replacing scorched butter takes seconds and saves both the crust and the pan fond.
• •Serve with pommes château or plainly buttered green beans, keeping the plate quiet enough for the sauce. A fresh Cabernet Franc from Chinon has the acidity for tomato and the savor for poivrade without bullying the tenderloin.
• •Leftover sauce keeps for up to 2 days in the refrigerator and reheats over gentle heat with a spoonful of water. The tournedos are best cooked at the last moment; reheating tenderloin costs more tenderness than it saves in convenience.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the tomato, onion, parsley, and garlic mixture up to 1 day ahead, cover it, and refrigerate. Reheat it gently, add the prepared poivrade sauce, and complete the required 5-minute boil shortly before cooking the beef.
• •Shape and tie the tournedos up to 8 hours ahead. Leave them uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator so their surfaces dry, then take them out about 20 minutes before searing.
• •Have the prepared poivrade sauce ready according to its own recipe before beginning. This dish needs only a small quantity, but that spoonful is structural, not optional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 170g)