Tournedos Rossini
Ingredients
Directions
Tournedos, black truffle of Périgord and foie gras are the basic ingredients of Tournedos Rossini.. A classic of French cuisine. Tournedos Rossini was created for Gioacchino Rossini, one of the greatest opera writers of all time. Tournedos Rossini requires thick steak, cut from the thickest part of the tenderloin called Chateaubriand which is then divided into 4 to 5 steaks.
This recipe is inspired by chef Martino Ruggieri who won Bocuse d’Or Italia.
Making this dish at home would cost you around $55.00 per person.
Cleaning tenderloin and the beef stock can be made days in advance. Wait for the sous-vide cooking technique to save even more time!..
Knowing how to clean a whole beef tenderloin is a valuable skill that you will learn in this video. It can save you money and it's fun. The Chateaubriand will be used for the filet mignons, extra roast and scraps for the beef stock. Scraps could also be used for ground meat.
Unwrap tenderloin and pat dry with paper towels. The first step is to remove all the excess fat, sinew, and connective tissue hanging on the outside. Most of this can be pulled away by hand but you will need to cut away some of the meat and connective tissue. Once the chain and connective tissue are removed, you should see a long tapered piece of meat with two flaps attached at one end. Remove and save. On the underside of the tenderloin, there’s some flaps of meat and fat. This needs to be cleaned up as well. All you can really do is cut it all away. Keep your knife as flat as possible and make long, smooth slices until the flaps are removed. The easiest way to cut away the silver skin is to find an edge, poke the tip of your utility knife under it and start cutting it away in long thin strips.
Trim both ends off of the cleaned tenderloin in order to get the Chateaubriand cut.
Gently tie up meat with butcher's twine before or after cutting. Make 4 to 5 Steaks and keep refrigerated for up to 5 days or put them sous-vide for later use.
Tenderloin tips can be saved for steak tartare or other uses. It can also be reconstituted into a roast or cut into more filet afterward. To do so, arrange meat together using meat glue and wrap up tight in cling film. Refrigerate overnight prior to slice and cook. The remaining pieces of meat and chain shall be used for the beef stock. The fat and sinew should go to waste.
Peel and chop carrots and onion. Make a bouquet garni with the leek and fresh thyme. In a large pot, brown the meat scraps in oil on all sides. Deglaze with a cup of water/250g, and cook for 20 minutes. In the mean time, sweat carrots and onions in butter for 10 minutes. Cover and cook veggies in the oven for an hour at 350ºF/180ºC. Pass meat through a sieve; discard fat. Return meat to the pot, and add water, bouquet garni and the cooked vegetables. Bring to boil and cook on medium-high heat for 4 hours. Skim off impurities. Pass beef broth through a chinois and cook for 2 more hours. Cool stock in ice water and refrigerate overnight. Then use a spoon to easily lift off the hardened fat. Discard fat – now the stock is ready to make the madeira sauce.
Best results for raw seared foie gras is the one that has not yet been frozen. Indeed, fresh foie gras renders less fat when cooking.
Leave foie gras at room temp for an hour. Separate the lob in two and take out some of the most obvious veins that show up and pat dry remaining blood spot. It is fine to sear foie gras that has not completely been deveined. Refrigerate to harden prior to portion. Carefully, slice out chilled foie gras into ≈3 ounces/90g slices. Arrange them onto a tray lined with parchment and keep refrigerated until ready to use. Save foie gras scraps to make foie gras au torchon, foie gras parfait or crème brulée.
Sweat shallots in butter and thyme for about 5 minutes. Deglaze with Madeira wine and reduce on low heat until shallots have absorbed the wine and most of the moisture has evaporated. Reserve reduced shallots for the madeira sauce.
Sieve and reheat beef stock slowly, and add reduced shallots. Continue to cook on low heat for an hour or so. Sieve the sauce to remove shallots (press down solids to extract as much flavor as possible). At this juncture, the sauce can be lightly thickened with one tablespoon/15g cornstarch mixed with one tablespoon madeira wine (slurry). Pour half of the mixture first in the sauce and bring to boil – add more slurry if needed. Be aware of the consistency of the sauce though; it should remain quite runny. Let sauce in a barely simmering stage until ready to serve.
The best black truffles undoubtedly come from France, where winter black truffles are more commonly called the Diamond of Perigord.
Peel the truffle and chop peelings; set aside. Cut the truffle into ≈2 mm slices (3 each per serving). Save chopped and sliced truffles in 2 separate containers. In a small sauce pan, cook chopped truffle with a dash of butter and truffled oil on low heat for about 3 minutes. Deglaze with a splash of madeira wine and chicken stock. Season with salt and reduce on low heat. Transfer truffle peelings to a small container and do likewise with the slices. Then reserve them to a separate container. Save and add fat and bits left in the pan to the madeira sauce.
Cut pain de mie into 0.40-inch/1 cm thick slices. Make 3.2 inch/8 cm disks. Sear bread with a fair amount of grape seed oil on both side; set aside.
Freeze foie gras slices for 10 minutes prior to sear. Freezing foie gras before cooking prevents from releasing too much fat. Heat up pan, set on medium heat and sear foie gras for 30 seconds on each side. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the pan to rest. Save the fat left in the pan to reheat the whole dish later.
Leave meat out for 60 minutes or more prior to cook. Season meat on all sides with salt generously. In a hot pan, add grape seed oil and sear filet mignon 3 minutes on both sides, and give a quick sear on the edges as well. Reduce heat to low and baste with butter, garlic and herbs for an additional 4 minutes (for medium-rare 130ºF/55ºC). Transfer meat onto a baking tray to rest. Remove excess fat from the pan, and deglaze with some of the madeira sauce and put the liquid back to the sauce.
Warm up plates. Reheat pan in which the foie gras was seared. Add truffle slices on the side, the meat and some of the madeira sauce.
In the center of the plate, add some of the truffle peelings mixture. Add toasted bread and the tournedos. Then top meat with truffle slices and the foie gras, and add madeira sauce.
Bon appétit!