Served with Pommes Fondant and Bearnaise Sauce. The delicate and tender beef tenderloin is perfectly complemented by a crispy herb breadcrumb, which both adds flavor and is visually appealing.
8pcs.PotatoPreferably large. They can easily be baking potatoes
14.9gramVinegar
20gramButter
27.2gramOilFlavor neutral
Bearnaise
250gramButter
59.6gramWhite Wine Vinegar
100gramWater
2pcs.Shallots
1bunchTarragonfresh
4pcs.Egg Yolk
5.1gramLemon Juice
Salt
Pepper
Instructions
Herb Breadcrumbs
Blanch the herbs (e.g., under a boiling water tap) and lay them to dry on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dry the herbs in the oven at 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) for 30 minutes.
Blend them together with breadcrumbs and salt in a blender/food processor or crush the mixture using an immersion blender.
The mixture is now ready to use.
Beef Tenderloin
For this recipe, we used a beef tenderloin head from a 60-day aged/dry-aged beef tenderloin.
The tenderloin was trimmed and then seasoned with salt and pepper.
Next, it was vacuum-sealed and cooked sous vide/in a water bath for 2 hours at 54 degrees Celsius (129 degrees Fahrenheit).
Normally, we would cook it for 3 hours at 54 degrees Celsius (129 degrees Fahrenheit), but since the meat is dry-aged, it has less juice, so it's very important not to overcook it as it will become dry.
After the 2 hours, take the meat out of the bag and pat it dry, either with a kitchen towel or paper towels. Heat a pan on high heat and add the oil.
Place the meat in the pan and add the butter at the same time. Fry it for 20-30 seconds on each side until it has a nice crust. Once this is achieved, immediately remove the meat from the pan.
It should be about 2-3 cm thick.
Sprinkle a good flake salt over it and season with freshly ground pepper.
Serve immediately.
Bearnaise Sauce
In a pot, add the tarragon stems – pluck off the tarragon leaves and set them aside – vinegar, water, finely chopped onion, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil and reduce until there is about 3-4 tablespoons of bearnaise essence left. Strain all the solids out so that only the pure essence remains, and pour the essence into a clean pot.
Set the pot with your essence on the second-lowest heat! Add the egg yolks to the pot and whisk until it foams and the egg yolks begin to thicken. You may need to turn up the heat slightly for the egg yolks to thicken, but it's crucial to continuously whisk the sauce and ensure the egg yolks thicken before whisking in the butter – otherwise, you risk the sauce being too thin.
When the egg yolks thicken, turn the heat down to the lowest setting and slowly whisk in the butter. Occasionally take the pot off the heat but continue to whisk constantly! Add one tablespoon of butter at a time until you have used about the first 10 tablespoons, then add the butter in a thin stream. Continue until all the butter is used.
At no point should the pot with bearnaise be left on the heat without being whisked. If it is, the sauce will separate, and it will also separate if reheated. It's perfectly fine if it is just warm when served.
Just before serving, season the bearnaise with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and add the finely chopped tarragon leaves.
Pommes Fondant
Cut the potatoes into squares and boil them in water with a little vinegar for 10 minutes.
Remove the water and lay them out to dry on a kitchen towel for about 30 minutes. It's important that they have time to dry properly.
Season with salt and pepper.
Heat a pan with the oil and add the potatoes and butter.
Fry the potatoes on all sides (there are quite a lot of sides) for 1-2 minutes to get a little crust all around.
When all sides have a crust, they are ready to serve.