Sirloin of Beef (Relevé)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy roasting pan, approximately 33 x 23 cm / 13 x 9 inches
• •Instant-read or leave-in probe thermometer
• •Wide 24 cm / 10-inch saucepan with lid
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Sharp carving knife and sturdy fork
• •Large warmed oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the aloyau

   Ask the butcher to shorten the flank, leave the fat on the contrefilet, loosen the chine for carving, and make several small cuts through the tough ligament running beside it. Do not strip or closely trim the upper fat; it protects the lean meat and bastes it as it roasts. Dry the joint thoroughly, score only the fat cap in a shallow crosshatch, and season every surface with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) of the salt and 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 2 g) of the pepper. Refrigerate uncovered for 12 to 24 hours if time allows. For same-evening cooking, season it at least 45 minutes before roasting.

2. 2

   Parboil the potatoes

   Heat the oven to 230°C / 450°F with a rack in the lower third. Put the potatoes in a saucepan, cover them with cold water, and add 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml / 8 g) of the remaining salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 8 minutes, just until their outer layer begins to soften. Drain well and shake them gently in the pan to roughen their surfaces. Toss with 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter and half the remaining pepper. They should still be firm inside; the roast will finish them.

3. 3

   Start the roast

   Pat the beef dry once more and set it bone-side down, fat-side up, in a heavy roasting pan. The bone is its roasting rack. Roast for 15 minutes, until the fat begins to bronze, then lower the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Arrange the potatoes around the joint in one uncrowded layer and turn them through the rendered beef fat. The fierce opening heat establishes the crust; the gentler heat cooks the two loin muscles without tightening them.

4. 4

   Roast it underdone

   Continue roasting for 35 to 50 minutes, turning the potatoes once, until a thermometer inserted from the side into the deepest part of the contrefilet, clear of bone and fat, reads 50°C / 122°F. It should finish near 54°C / 129°F after resting, rosy and underdone as the entry intends. Check the smaller fillet as well; if it is running several degrees ahead, shield that side loosely with foil. If the fat cap darkens too quickly, cover only the browned surface. If you overshoot, move the joint immediately to a cool rack and leave it uncovered for the first 10 minutes of resting, then carve thicker slices and serve the jus generously. Ça se rattrape, though no sauce can return moisture once it is gone.

   Begin checking early. A thermometer placed against the bone gives a misleading reading, and waiting for the center to look done inside the oven guarantees that it will be too done at the table.
5. 5

   Glaze the shallots

   While the beef roasts, melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in a wide saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots, sugar, the remaining salt, and the remaining pepper. Roll them in the butter for 4 to 5 minutes, until lightly colored, then add ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) of the stock. Cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Uncover and reduce the liquid until it forms a thin glaze around the tender shallots. If the sugar catches or the butter separates, add a tablespoon of stock and swirl over low heat until the glaze comes together again.

6. 6

   Rest and crisp

   Transfer the beef to a rack set over a board and rest it for 25 minutes. Leave it uncovered for the first 10 minutes, then drape it loosely with foil; wrapping it tightly softens the crust and traps too much carryover heat. Raise the oven to 220°C / 425°F and return the potatoes for 10 to 15 minutes if they need more color. They are ready when their rough edges are crisp and butter-gold. Never hold the beef in the warm oven while you finish the garnish.

7. 7

   Build the natural jus

   Pour excess fat from the roasting pan, leaving the brown fond in place. If using gelatin, sprinkle it over the remaining 2 cups (480 ml / 480 g) cold stock and let it stand for 5 minutes. Set the roasting pan over medium heat, add the stock and bouquet garni, and scrape up every brown deposit, leaving any truly black patch untouched. Simmer until reduced to about 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g), then strain into a small saucepan and add the juices released by the resting meat. Off the heat, whisk in the final 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) cold butter, a little at a time. This is a light jus de rôti, a roasting jus, not thick gravy. If the butter floats out in oily beads, whisk in a teaspoon of cold stock off the heat until the emulsion returns. Ça se rattrape.

8. 8

   Carve the relevé

   Run a sharp knife along the bone and lift away the fillet and contrefilet separately. Slice the fillet into thick medallions and the contrefilet across its grain into slices about 1 cm thick. Arrange both cuts on a warmed oval platter so each guest receives some of each, with the crisp potatoes and glazed shallots banked generously around them. Spoon over only enough jus to make the cut surfaces gleam and bring the rest in a warm sauceboat. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The cut matters here. Ask for a short-loin section with the fillet still attached beneath the bone and the contrefilet above it. A boneless strip-loin roast cooks by the same principle, but it is only the contrefilet and no longer the complete aloyau described in the source.
• •The source favors imposing Richelieu, Provençale, and Godard garnitures because a relevé had to fill a grand platter. Each is a full preparation with several elements. Buttered potatoes and glazed shallots preserve that generous scale for four without pretending to be one of those named garnitures.
• •Boxed beef stock often has flavor but little gelatin, so it reduces into saltiness before it gains body. Use unsalted stock and add the optional gelatin only when the cold stock feels thin between your fingers. It gives the jus the quiet gloss once supplied by a stockpot kept constantly at work.
• •For diners who require beef cooked to the public-health recommendation, take the finished center to 63°C / 145°F and rest it for at least 3 minutes. It will not retain the underdone character specified by the source, but the fillet and contrefilet remain best protected by whole-joint roasting.
• •Pour a structured red Bordeaux, such as Médoc or Saint-Émilion, whose acidity can meet the butter and beef fat. The roast needs backbone in the glass, not sweetness.

Advance Preparation

• •Have the butcher prepare the aloyau and salt it 12 to 24 hours ahead, leaving it uncovered in the refrigerator. The dry surface browns more readily, and the seasoning reaches deeper into both loin muscles.
• •The shallots may be glazed up to 4 hours ahead. Reheat them gently with a spoonful of stock and a small piece of butter while the beef rests.
• •Parboil and drain the potatoes up to 3 hours ahead, then let their surfaces dry before tossing them with butter and roasting.
• •Refrigerate leftover sliced beef and jus separately within 2 hours. Keep for up to 3 days, reheating the jus gently while serving the beef cool or only lightly warmed so the fillet does not dry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 520g)