Tournedos Bordelaise

Tournedos Bordelaise is a classic French dish that consists of a steak tournedos (a small, round, and thick cut of beef filet) served with bone marrow and an accompanying sauce Bordelaise.  The sauce Bordelaise take a significant time to prepare properly but the overall result is truly exquisite.

Preparation Time: 1 Hr

Cooking Time: 4½ Hrs

Total Time: 5½ Hrs

Ingredients

For 2 servings…

4                    Steaks  - fillet         

                     Pepper  - mignonette

                     Salt          

4 slices            Bone marrow          

                     Bordelaise sauce      

For the sauce

60 gms            Shallots  - chopped very finely  

30 cl               Wine  - red 

1 pinch            Pepper  - mignonette

1                    Bay leaf     

1 sprig            Thyme      

30 cl               Half-glaze  

1 tbs               Meat glaze

                     Lemon juice            

110 gms          Bone marrow          

For the half-glaze

30 cl               Brown (espagnole) sauce        

30 cl               Brown stock           

2 tbs               Sherry  - medium     

For the brown stock

6                    Marrow bones         

110 cl              Water       

1                    Carrot  - diced        

1                    Onion  - diced         

                     Parsley     

1 stick             Celery       

 sprig              Thyme      

1 leaf              Bay          

For the half-glaze - brown (espagnole) sauce

                     Brown stock           

60 gms            Butter       

2 tbs               Flour        

2 tbs               Tomato purée         

                     Mirepoix    

For the half-glaze - the mirepoix for the brown (espagnole) sauce

1 tbs               Pork  - stightly salted, diced     

1                    Carrot  - diced        

1                    Onion  - chopped     

1 stick             Celery       

1 sprig            Thyme      

½                   Bay leaf     

30 gms            Butter       

1 tbs               Madeira    

Method

Season the steaks and then grill the steaks for 2 minutes of each side.  Set a piece of bone marrow on each one.  Serve them with the Bordelaise sauce served separately

To make the sauce Bordelaise…

Put the shallots, wine, a pinch of mignonette pepper, the thyme and bay leaf into a saucepan.  Reduce the wine by three-quarters and add the half-glaze.  Simmer for ½ hour.  From time to time remove any foam or scum from the surface.  Strain it through a sieve.  When dishing it up, finish it with 2 tablespoonfuls of dissolved meat glaze, a few drops of lemon-juice, and 4 oz. of beef-marrow, cut into slices or cubes and poached in slightly salted boiling water.  Mix in a knob of butter.

For the half-graze…

Make a brown stock…

Roast the bones in a hot oven (180°C) for 30 minutes.  Scoop out the marrow (for other uses).

Place the bones and a pan of water with the carrot, onions and herbs.  Simmer gently for two hours skimming the surface from time to time.  Sieve the stock.

To make the brown (espagnole) sauce…

Make a brown roux by mixing together the flour and butter in a saucepan and then cooking them over a moderate until a light brown colour is obtained and it exudes a scent resembling that of hazelnut.

Over a gentle heat, mix in the brown stock, a little at a time.  Let it simmer for ½ hour.  Despumate it as necessary.  Add the tomato purée and mirepoix.  Simmer for another ½ hour and then sieve.

To prepare the mirepoix for the brown (espagnole)sauce…

Stew the pork, vegetables and herbs in butter until browned and finally swill the saucepan with the Madeira.

To make the half glaze…

Reduce the brown (espagnole) sauce and brown stock by half and then strain into a bain-marie off the fire.  Stir in the sherry.  Cover the bain-marie.

To make the meat glaze…

Reduce some brown stock on an open fire.  The glaze may be considered sufficiently reduced when it evenly veneers a withdrawn spoon.  The fire used for reducing should be gradually lowered as the concentration progresses, and the last phase should be effected slowly and on a moderate fire.

Wine recommendations

A Burgundy or a Claret.  The dish deserves the best.

Conventional

     Côte de Nuits Burgundy

     Médoc

Interesting

     Nuits-Saint-Georges

     Pauillac

Special

     Echézeaux

     Pomerol