September 04

François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand's Birthday
 

Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand's life was an epic tale of love, political intrigue, travel, adventure, power, and talent. He lived, made, and wrote history. He witnessed the fall of the Bastille; was Louis XVI's hunting companion; dined with George Washington; lived with the Iroquois Indians; fought starvation; entertained lavishly as a French ambassador; helped restore the French monarchy; started the Spanish War of 1812; was loved by numerous beautiful women; and became one of France's major writers.

Chateaubriand's chef, Montreueil, invented a novel way to cook a steak to leave the center rare.  The steak which was cut two inches thick was placed between two other steaks trimmed to the same length and width, then grilled over a hot flame until the outer two steaks were burned. The burned outer steaks were thrown to the dogs and the inner steak, which was a perfect pink, was served with a butter sauce. he chef claimed that this method was inspired by Chateaubriand's  Le Genie du Christianisme with the center steak representing Christ and the outer steaks representing the two thieves. The recipe, when modified to more conservative cooking methods, became known as Chateaubriand.

 


The chateaubriand steak is a particular thick cut from the tenderloin, Because of its thickness, cooking chateaubriand requires care to avoid overcooking the outside while leaving the center rate to medium rare. Originally, the steak was served coated with Sauce Chateaubriand  More recently, many chefs prefer using a sauce béarnaise.

So enjoy François-René's birthday with the best steak you may ever have while watching his life unfold in the French TV production of  Chateaubriand (2010) with Frédéric Diefenthal in the title role.

 

Chateaubriand

 

 

Steak Ingredients
 		 Sauce Chateaubriand Ingredients
 

2 TB brown glace de viande*
1 TB dry Vermouth
1/4 lb butter
2 TB finely chopped parsley
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste


 
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 375º F (if you prefer to roast the steak).
  2. Rub  steak with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper on the steak.
  3. Place in an over proof pan if roasting, or a sauté pan if grilling. Cook in 4 TB cutter. If grilling, turn after 3 minutes. Cook steak in reached an internal temperature of 130°F. Tthis should take a total cooking time of take 4 or 5 minutes which, after a short rest, would produce a medium-rare chateaubriand.
  4. If using Sauce Chateaubriand, chip butter into small pieces. Blend in remaining sauce ingredients, Spread on both sides of cooked steak, slice  and serve.
  5. Steak may also be served with sauce béarnaise* as an option


Serves 2

© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes