Beef, Dinner, Recipes, Sauces

Filet Mignon with Morel Bordelaise & Béarnaise Sauce

November 25, 2013

Beef Filet with Morel Bordelaise & Béarnaise SauceEvery now and then it’s nice to indulge in an extravagant dinner.   That could mean going out to a favorite restaurant or as we did last night “put on the Ritz” at home.  This dinner had its origin in our daughter Katie’s obsession with mushroom hunting. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, which is a mushroom hunter’s paradise.  She sent us a few jars of her dried mushrooms.  Her dried morels were the basis of a  delectable sauce for a marvelous steak.

Dried MorelsThese dried mushrooms plump up beautifully once soaked in warm water for 15 minutes or so.  It’s hard to tell they were ever dried.

Rehydrated morelsThere’s actually a novelty song called “I Just Love Morels Too Much.”

Sauteed MorelsSautéed morels.

Whole Foods filetsI’ve learned that the best filet mignon are found at our local Whole Foods store.  You will pay dearly, but they are worth it.  The Whole Foods filets are in a category of their own.  They are trimmed beautifully, tender and flavorful.

Demi Glace and herbsDemi-glace is a key ingredient in this recipe and a little goes a long way.  We like the veal demi-glace from Williams-Sonoma.

Red wine, shallots, herbs

Reduced wine and shallotsRed wine, shallots, thyme and a bay leaf.  The liquid is reduced to just a few tablespoons as shown above. The thyme sprigs and bay leaf are removed and  the demi-glace is added to the reduction.   Soon you’ll have one of the best home-made sauces imaginable!

Beef filet with Morel Bordelaise & Béarnaise Sauce

Filet Mignon with Morel Bordelaise & Béarnaise Sauce

Serves 2 (Recipe can be doubled or tripled to serve more)

Ingredients

3/4 ounce dried morels

2 teaspoons butter or olive oil

salt and pepper

1 cup chicken or beef broth

2 tablespoons Williams-Sonoma demi-glace (veal or beef)

1 cup red wine (or white wine for the red wine sensitive)

2 small shallots, finely diced

2 four inch sprigs fresh thyme

1 small bay leaf

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 six to eight ounce filet mignon rubbed with olive oil and seasoned with coarse sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, grilled or pan fried to desired doneness.

Bearnaise Sauce recipe

Preparation

Rehydrate morels in a bowl filled with warm water for about 15 minutes.  Drain and pat morels with paper towels to absorb excess water.  Chop morels into small pieces and sauté in butter or olive oil until warm, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Heat and whisk the chicken or beef broth with the demi-glace in a small saucepan until blended into uniform consistency.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Place red wine, diced shallots, thyme and bay leaf in a medium saucepan over medium – medium high heat and reduce until most of the liquid is gone (about 10 minutes). Remove from the heat and discard thyme and bay leaf.  Add demi-glace mixture and morels.  You can prepare the sauce up to this point earlier in the day and store in the refrigerator.  Just before the steaks are done, return the sauce to the stove over medium heat.  Once warm, stir in the butter then whisk in the sour cream and reduce if a thicker sauce is desired.

Spoon Morel Bordelaise sauce on a dinner plate, place filet mignon on sauce and top with a dollop of Béarnaise sauce.  Excellent accompaniments  are Potato & Leek Gratin and Glazed Carrots with Tarragon.

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  • Shanna Koenigsdorf Ward November 27, 2013 at 9:00 am

    Kiyo,
    This dish does nothing but impress! I bookmarked it immediately for my next special meal! I adore morels, any great French sauce – and obviously don’t turn my nose up at a delicious filet. Thank you SO much for sharing. You are a three Michelin star chef. 🙂
    Warmly,
    Shanna

    • Kiyo November 27, 2013 at 4:43 pm

      Hi Shanna,
      Thank you for your compliments! My step-daughter Katie will be here soon with her boyfriend and she has requested this for her birthday dinner. So be it! Thanks again.

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