How to Make the Best Chateaubriand with Cheesy Potatoes au Gratin & Delicious Peppercorn Cream Sauce.

How to Make Chateaubriand with Potatoes Au Gratin and Peppercorn Cream Sauce.

Our Mise En Place

2 Center Cut Prime Filet Mignon
2 Tablespoons of Sunflower Oil
2 Tablespoons of Crushed Black Peppercorns
1 Stick of Unsalted Butter
2 Small Shallots Chopped
1 Cube of Garlic Puree (2 Minced Garlic Cloves)
2 oz of Cognac or Brandy
2 oz of Lemon Juice
1 Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Cup of Beef Broth
1 Tablespoon of Dijon Mustard

The first thing that we want to do is to season the meat before we cook it. Its best to do this step one day before, but if you don’t have one day, then give it at least one hour prior to cooking. Apply a layer of salt to each side of the meat and press it in with your hand. Then wrap the meat back in the wrap and place it in the refrigerator overnight (or one hour prior to cooking). The salt pulls the moisture from inside of the meat, but then through a process called osmosis, the salted moisture gets pulled back into the meat.

When you’re ready to begin cooking, pat the filets so that they are dry. This will help to form a nice, charred crust when they are put into the pan. Season the filets with a generous amount of cracked black pepper on all sides. Since the filets are dry, the pepper might not stick, so press the pepper into the filets.

Add the sunflower oil to a cast iron skillet and turn the heat to medium high. Sunflower oil has a higher smoke point than olive oil, The high heat will sear the filets and help to give them a nice crust when they hit the hot pan. Cook for four minutes and don’t touch it! You might get the urge to mash it down or move it around but leave it alone so that the filet builds a charred crust.

After four minutes, flip the filets over a cook them for another four minutes. Look at that crust! The charred crust adds to the flavor and texture when you eat it; this is a fine dining restaurant trick of the trade.

After four minutes, flip the filets onto one side and cook for two minutes. Use a different section of the pan as you flip the filets; this will ensure that each part of the pan has some charred bits on it which will help the flavor when we make our sauce later. Cook each of the four sides for two minutes per side, and then place the filets onto a plate and put them into a 225-degree oven to continue cooking and stay hot. Right now, the steaks are rare, if you like them more medium rare, leave them in the oven for 10 minutes, otherwise turn the oven off and let the steaks rest.

And now we’ll make our sauce. Place four pieces of butter into the hot cast iron skillet. When the butter is melted, add in the chopped shallots, and cook them for about three to four minutes. Add in the garlic puree and cook it for about a minute. I’ll leave a link in the description on how to make garlic puree. Add in a few ounces of brandy and turn the heat up to medium so that it begins to simmer. Add in the cup of beef broth, the cup of heavy cream, the tablespoon of Dijon mustard, the 2 ounces of lemon juice, and the two tablespoons of cracked black peppercorns. Give the sauce a nice stir and let it simmer for about 10 minutes so that the sauce can reduce and thicken. Add salt to taste, then turn off the heat, add in a few pieces of butter, stir it in and we’re done.

And there it is! A Taste of Paris… Chateaubriand! Prime cut filet mignon with peppercorn cream sauce, served with asparagus, and creamy cheesy potatoes au gratin. Look in the description below for a separate recipe on the potatoes au gratin.

It was delicious!

Until next time,
Bon appetit.
Ciao,
Mark

For a video on how to make potatoes au gratin

For a video on how to make garlic puree