Recipe: Filet of Beef With Three-Peppercorn Sauce

Jan. 29, 2007 — -- From former White House chef Walter Scheib:To welcome President Bush to the White House, we made this dish using one of his favorite cuts of meat as part of the Inaugural Day buffet, served just hours after the ceremony.

Beef Filet Ingredients:

1 center-cut beef tenderloin, 1 ½ to 2 pounds, trimmed and tied at 1-inch intervals with kitchen string

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Three-peppercorn Sauce (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2. Season the beef generously with salt and pepper.

3. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan over high heat. Put the tenderloin in the pan and brown on all sides, 5 to 8 minutes total. Set aside the sauté pan; do not wash.

4. Set a rack in a roasting pan and transfer the tenderloin to the rack. Roast in the oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the tenderloin reads 140°F for medium rare, 15 to 20 minutes, longer for more well done. Transfer the tenderloin to a cutting board and let rest for 7 minutes.

5. While the tenderloin is resting, return the sauté pan in which it was seared to the stovetop and heat over medium-high heat. Ladle in ½ cup of the sauce and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any flavorful bits. Bring to a boil and let boil 2 to 3 minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into the rest of the sauce.

6. To serve, snip off and discard the kitchen string and slice the tenderloin into ½ -inch slices. Place 2 or 3 slices on each of four dinner plates. Spoon some sauce over each serving and pass any remaining sauce alongside. Serves 4.

Three-Peppercorn Sauce Ingredients:

½ tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup diced carrot

1/3 cup diced Spanish onion

2 tablespoons thinly sliced leek, white part only

2 tablespoons chopped shallot

½ tablespoon chopped garlic

1 ½ teaspoons crushed mixed peppercorns (black, green, and pink)

2 sprigs fresh thyme

½ bay leaf

2 tablespoons Cognac

2 tablespoons red wine

1 ½ teaspoons balsamic vinegar

2 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium beef or veal stock

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the carrot, onion, leek, shallot, garlic, and peppercorns, and sauté until the vegetables are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the thyme and bay leaf and cook for 30 seconds.

2. Add the Cognac and red wine. Bring to a boil and continue to boil until almost completely reduced, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the vinegar and stock, raise the heat to high, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until reduced by one third, about 30 minutes.

4. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl and discard the solids. Season to taste with salt and pepper and keep covered and warm. Makes about 1 ¼ cups.