Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 Read online

  Sévigné, braised lettuce broiled mushrooms, potatoes sautéed in butter

  BIFTECK SAUTÉ AU BEURRE

  [Pan-broiled Steak]

  Pan-broiled steak is very French and also a very nice method for cooking small steaks. None of the juice essences are lost, and it is easy to tell when the steak is done.

  A 1-inch steak takes 8 to 10 minutes to cook, and the sauce, or pan gravy, 1 to 2 minutes to prepare after the steak is on its platter. The sauce, you will observe, is a deglazing of the pan with stock, wine, or water, and a swish of butter at the end. It is purely an extension of the pan juices, and amounts to only 1 or 2 tablespoons of buttery, concentrated essence per serving.

  KIND OF STEAK TO BUY

  In France you would select an entrecôte, romsteck, faux-filet, or bifteck. In America buy any tender, well-aged ¾- to 1-inch steak or steaks which will fit easily into a skillet such as:

  Club or Delmonico Small Sirloin Tenderloin Butt

  T-Bone Loin Strip Steak Rump Steak

  Porterhouse Rib Steak Chuck Steak

  AMOUNT TO BUY

  One pound of boneless steak will serve 2 people, 3 if the rest of the menu is copious. For large sirloins, T-bones, and porterhouse steaks, count on about ¾ pound per person.

  PREPARATION FOR COOKING

  Trim off excess fat. Cut small incisions around the circumference of the steak wherever there is a layer of gristle, usually between the fat and the meat. This will prevent the steak from curling as it cooks. Dry the steak thoroughly on paper towels. It will not brown if it is moist.

  For 4 to 6 people, depending on your menu

  One or two heavy skillets just large enough to hold the meat easily in one layer

  1½ Tb butter and 1½ Tb oil, or rendered fresh beef suet, more if needed

  2 to 2½ lbs. steak ¾ to 1 inch thick

  Put the butter and oil, or beef suet, in the skillet and place over moderately high heat until you see the butter foam begin to subside, or the beef fat almost smoking; this indicates the fat is hot enough to sear the meat. Sauté the steak on one side for 3 to 4 minutes, and regulate the heat so the fat is always very hot but is not burning. Turn the steak and sauté the other side for 3 to 4 minutes. The steak is done to a medium rare (à point) the moment you observe a little pearling of red juice beginning to ooze at the surface of the steak. Another test is to press the steak with your finger; it is medium rare when it just begins to take on a suggestion of resistance and spring in contrast to its soft raw state. If you have any doubts at all, cut a small incision in the steak.

  A hot platter

  Salt and pepper

  Remove the steak to a hot platter and season it quickly with salt and pepper. Keep warm for a moment while completing the sauce.

  ½ cup stock, canned beef bouillon, red wine, dry white wine, dry white vermouth, or water

  2 to 3 Tb softened butter

  Pour the fat out of the skillet. Add the liquid, and set the skillet over high heat. Scrape up coagulated juices with a wooden spoon while rapidly boiling down the liquid until it is reduced almost to a syrup. Off heat, swirl the butter into the liquid until it is absorbed; the butter will thicken the liquid into a light sauce. Pour the sauce over the steak and serve.

  VARIATIONS: FLAVORED BUTTERS

  Any of the following are delicious when beaten into your sauce in place of plain butter. They are simply butters creamed with flavorings. If you are serving a broiled steak, spread one of the butters over it just before taking it to the table.

  Parsley Butter

  Herb Butter

  Mustard Butter

  Shallot Butter

  Garlic Butter

  Snail Butter (with shallot, garlic, and herbs)

  VARIATIONS

  Bifteck Sauté Bercy

  [Pan-broiled Steak, with Shallot and White Wine Sauce]

  For broiled steak, use a beurre Bercy, and spread it over the steak just before serving.

  For 4 to 6 people, depending on your menu

  2 to 2½ lbs. steak

  1 Tb butter

  3 Tb minced shallots or green onions

  Sauté the steak as described in the master recipe and remove it to a hot platter. Pour the fat out of the skillet. Add the butter. Stir in the shallots or onions and cook slowly for a minute.

  ½ cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth

  Pour the wine into the skillet and boil it down rapidly, scraping up the coagulated juices from the bottom of the pan until the liquid has reduced almost to a syrup.

  4 to 6 Tb softened butter

  Salt and pepper to taste

  2 to 3 Tb minced parsley

  Optional: 2 to 3 Tb diced, poached beef marrow

  Off heat, beat in the butter a spoonful at a time until it is absorbed and has thickened the sauce. Beat in salt and pepper to taste, then the parsley. Fold in the optional beef marrow. Spread sauce over the steak and serve.

  Bifteck Sauté Marchand de Vins

  Bifteck Sauté à la Bordelaise

  [Pan-broiled Steak with Red Wine Sauce]

  Use the same procedure described for the preceding Bercy sauce, but substitute red wine for white. If you add the optional beef marrow, the sauce becomes a bordelaise.

  Bifteck Sauté Béarnaise

  [Pan-broiled Steak with Béarnaise Sauce]

  For 4 to 6 people, depending on your menu

  2 to 2½ lbs. steak

  ½ cup brown stock, canned beef bouillon, dry white wine, or dry white vermouth.

  ¾ cup sauce béarnaise

  Sauté the steak as described in the master recipe, preceding. Deglaze skillet with stock, bouillon, or wine, boiling it down rapidly to reduce it to 1½ spoonfuls. Beat the liquid by droplets into the sauce béarnaise.

  Sautéed or fried potatoes

  Fresh water cress

  A warmed sauceboat

  Decorate the steak platter with sautéed or fried potatoes and fresh water cress. Serve the sauce in a warmed sauceboat.

  Steak au Poivre

  [Pepper Steak with Brandy Sauce]

  Steak au poivre can be very good when it is not so buried in pepper and doused with flaming brandy that the flavor of the meat is utterly disguised. In fact, we do not care at all for flaming brandy with this dish; it is too reminiscent of restaurant show-off cooking for tourists. And the alcohol taste, as it is not boiled off completely, remains in the brandy, spoiling the taste of the meat.

  For 4 to 6 people, depending on your menu

  2 Tb of a mixture of several kinds of peppercorns, or white peppercorns

  Place the peppercorns in a big mixing bowl and crush them roughly with a pestle or the bottom of a bottle.

  2 to 2½ lbs. steak ¾ to 1 inch thick

  Dry the steaks on paper towels. Rub and press the crushed peppercorns into both sides of the meat with your fingers and the palms of your hands. Cover with waxed paper. Let stand for at least half an hour; two or 3 hours are even better, so the flavor of the pepper will penetrate the meat.

  A hot platter

  Salt

  Sauté the steak in hot oil and butter as described in the preceding master recipe. Remove to a hot platter, season with salt, and keep warm for a moment while completing the sauce.

  1 Tb butter

  2 Tb minced shallots or green onions

  ½ cup stock or canned beef bouillon

  ⅓ cup cognac

  3 to 4 Tb softened butter

  Sautéed or fried potatoes

  Fresh water cress

  Pour the fat out of the skillet. Add the butter and shallots or green onions and cook slowly for a minute. Pour in the stock or bouillon and boil down rapidly over high heat while scraping up the coagulated cooking juices. Then add the cognac and boil rapidly for a minute or two more to evaporate its alcohol. Off heat, swirl in the butter a half-tablespoon at a time. Decorate the platter with the potatoes and water cress. Pour the sauce over the steak, and serve.

  FILET STEAKS-TENDERLOIN STEAKS

 
Filets, Tournedos, Filet Mignons

  Filets, tournedos, and filet mignons are steaks 1 inch thick cut from the filet of beef as illustrated. The filet, the largest, should be 3 to 3½ inches in diameter, the tournedos about 2½ inches, and the filet mignon can be as small as 1½ inches. Since they are all cooked and served in the same way, we shall refer to all three as tournedos in French, and as filet steaks in English. Filet steaks are trimmed of all fat and surrounding filament. The circumference is usually wrapped in a strip of fresh pork fat or blanched bacon, and tied with string so the steaks will keep their neat circular shape while they are being cooked. The string is removed before serving and also, if you wish, the strip of fat or bacon. Although filet steaks may be broiled, they are usually sautéed quickly in hot butter to a nice brown on the outside and a juicy red inside.

  Filet steaks may be sauced and served exactly like the beefsteaks in the preceding recipes, but because of their expense they are usually surrounded with fine wines and truffles or other elaborations. They cook in 8 to 10 minutes, and the sauce takes about 2 minutes, so you can afford to spend a bit of time on the vegetables and garniture you wish to serve with them. Here are three classical combinations. See also the vegetable suggestions for steak.

  TOURNEDOS SAUTÉS AUX CHAMPIGNONS

  TOURNEDOS SAUTÉS CHASSEUR

  [Filet Steaks with Mushroom and Madeira Sauce]

  A handsome presentation for these steaks would be a platter decorated with whole baked tomatoes, artichoke hearts cooked in butter, and potato balls sautéed in butter. Serve with them a good red Bordeaux from the Médoc district.

  For 6 steaks

  6 crustless rounds of white bread, 2½ inches in diameter and 3/16 inch thick

  3 to 4 Tb clarified butter

  Sauté bread rounds in hot clarified butter to brown very lightly on each side. Reheat them for a minute in a 350-degree oven just before serving.

  ½ lb. fresh mushrooms, whole if very small, quartered if large

  2 Tb butter

  1 Tb oil

  2 Tb minced shallots or green onions

  ¼ tsp salt

  Pinch of pepper

  Sauté mushrooms in hot butter and oil for 5 minutes to brown them lightly. Stir in the shallots or onions and cook slowly for a minute or 2 more. Season, and set aside.

  6 filet steaks 1 inch thick and 2½ inches in diameter, each wrapped in a strip of fat as illustrated on this page

  2 Tb butter, more if needed

  1 Tb oil

  1 or 2 heavy skillets just large enough to hold the steaks easily

  Dry the steaks on paper towels. Place the butter and oil in the skillet and set over moderately high heat. When you see the butter foam begin to subside, indicating it is hot enough to sear and brown the steaks, sauté them for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. They are medium rare if, when pressed with your finger, they offer a suggestion of resistance in contrast to their soft, raw state.

  Salt and pepper

  A warm serving platter

  Immediately remove from heat. Discard the strings and, if you wish, the strip of fat. Season quickly with salt and pepper. Place each steak on a canapé, and keep warm for several minutes while preparing the sauce.

  ½ cup stock or canned beef bouillon

  1 Tb tomato paste

  Pour the fat out of the skillet; stir in the stock or bouillon and tomato paste. Boil rapidly, scraping up the coagulated cooking juices, until liquid is reduced to 2 or 3 tablespoons.

  ¼ cup Madeira mixed with ½ Tb of arrowroot or cornstarch

  2 Tb minced parsley, tarragon and chervil, or parsley only

  Pour in the starch and wine mixture; boil rapidly for a minute to evaporate the alcohol and to thicken the sauce lightly. Then add the sautéed mushrooms and simmer a minute more to blend flavors. Correct seasoning. Spread the sauce and mushrooms over the steaks, sprinkle with herbs, and serve.

  VARIATIONS

  Tournedos Henri IV

  [Filet Steaks with Artichoke Bottoms and Béarnaise Sauce]

  For 6 steaks

  6 filet steaks sautéed in oil and butter

  6 canapés (rounds of white bread sautéed in clarified butter)

  ¼ cup Madeira, dry white wine, or dry white vermouth

  ¼ cup beef stock or canned beef bouillon

  6 fresh artichoke bottoms cooked in butter

  ¾ to 1 cup sauce béarnaise

  Potato balls sautéed in butter, and rolled in 2 Tb minced parsley

  Asparagus tips cooked in butter

  Sauté the steaks as described in the master recipe. Season and place on canapés on a hot platter. Keep warm for a few minutes. Pour sauté fat out of skillet, add wine and stock or bouillon, and boil down rapidly reducing liquid to 3 tablespoons while scraping coagulated sauté juices into it. Spoon liquid over steaks. Top each steak with a hot artichoke bottom filled with béarnaise. Decorate platter with the hot potatoes and asparagus. Serve immediately.

  Tournedos Rossini

  [Filet Steaks with Foie Gras, Truffles, and Madeira Sauce]

  A platter of tournedos Rossini takes the filet steak about as far as it can go. Were you living in France during the midwinter, your foie gras and truffles would, of course, be fresh. Most recipes use canapés (rounds of white bread sautéed in butter) as a bed for the steaks; we have chosen artichoke bottoms as a further improvement to an already elegant presentation.

  Fitting accompaniments would be potato balls sautéed in butter, buttered peas, asparagus tips, or braised lettuce, and an excellent, château-bottled red Bordeaux from the Médoc district.

  For 6 steaks

  3 large, fresh artichoke bottoms cooked in a blanc

  Salt and pepper

  3 Tb melted butter

  Slice each cooked artichoke bottom in two, horizontally. Season with salt, pepper, and melted butter. Place in a covered dish. Fifteen minutes before serving, heat them in a 350-degree oven.

  6 slices canned “block” foie gras, ¼ inch thick and about 1½ inches in diameter

  2 Tb Madeira

  3 Tb rich stock, mushroom essence, or canned beef bouillon

  Place the foie gras slices in a covered dish and baste with the Madeira and stock, essence, or bouillon. Ten minutes before serving, set over barely simmering water to heat through gently.

  18 to 24 slices of canned truffle, 1/16 inch thick

  2 Tb Madeira

  Pinch of pepper

  1 Tb butter

  Place the truffle slices and their juices in a small saucepan with the Madeira, pepper, and butter. Five minutes before serving, warm over gentle heat.

  6 filet steaks 1 inch thick and 2½ inches in diameter

  Salt and pepper

  Sauté the steaks as directed in the master recipe. Season with salt and pepper.

  A warm serving platter

  Arrange the hot artichoke bottoms on the serving platter and place a steak on each. Over each steak lay a warm slice of foie gras, and top with slices of truffle. Decorate the platter with whatever vegetables you have chosen, and keep warm for 2 to 3 minutes while finishing the sauce.

  ½ cup stock or canned bouillon

  Juice from the foie gras and truffles

  1 tsp arrowroot or cornstarch blended with 2 Tb Madeira

  Salt and pepper

  3 to 4 Tb softened butter

  Pour the fat out of the steak skillet. Pour in the stock or bouillon, and the juices from the foie gras and truffles. Boil down rapidly, scraping up all coagulated juices, until liquid has reduced by half. Pour in the starch and wine mixture and simmer for a minute. Correct seasoning. Off heat, swirl in the butter. Pour the sauce over the steaks and serve.

  GROUND BEEF-HAMBURGERS

  Bifteck Haché

  Shock is the reaction of some Americans we have encountered who learn that real French people living in France eat hamburgers. They do eat them, and when sauced with any of the suggestions in the following recipes, the French hamburger is an excellent and relatively economical ma
in course for an informal party. Serve with them the same types of red wines and vegetables listed for steaks.

  The best hamburgers are made from the leanest beef. Actually some of the least expensive cuts, chuck and neck, are the most flavorful. Top sirloin, rump, and round are really second choice for hamburgers although they are more expensive. Be fussy in choosing your meat; have all the fat and sinews removed, and have it ground before your eyes or better, grind it yourself. The fat content of hamburger should be only 8 to 10 per cent, or 1¼ to 1½ ounces per pound. This may be in the form of butter, ground beef suet, beef marrow, or ground fresh pork fat.

  BIFTECK HACHÉ À LA LYONNAISE

  [Ground Beef with Onions and Herbs]

  For 6 hamburgers

  ¾ cup finely minced yellow onions

  2 Tb butter

  Cook the onions slowly in the butter for about 10 minutes until very tender but not browned. Place in a mixing bowl.

  1½ lbs. lean, ground beef

  2 Tb softened butter, ground beef suet, beef marrow, or fresh pork fat