Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1

by Julia Child

  1½ tsp salt

  ⅛ tsp pepper

  ⅛ tsp thyme

  1 egg

  Add the beef, butter or fat, seasonings, and egg to the onions in the mixing bowl and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon to blend thoroughly. Correct seasoning. Form into patties ¾ inch thick. Cover with waxed paper and refrigerate until ready to use.

  ½ cup flour spread on a plate

  Just before sautéing, roll the patties lightly in the flour. Shake off excess flour.

  1 Tb butter and 1 Tb oil, or sufficient to film the bottom of the skillet

  1 or 2 heavy skillets just large enough to hold the patties easily in one layer

  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 the meat, sauté the patties for 2 to 3 minutes or more on each side, depending on whether you like your hamburgers rare, medium, or well done.

  A warm serving platter

  Arrange the hamburgers on the serving platter and keep warm for a moment while finishing the sauce.

  ½ cup beef stock, canned beef bouillon, dry white wine, dry white vermouth, red wine, or ¼ cup water

  2 to 3 Tb softened butter

  Pour the fat out of the skillet. Add the liquid and boil it down rapidly, scraping up the coagulated pan juices, until it has reduced almost to a syrup. Off heat, swirl the butter by half-tablespoons into the sauce until it is absorbed. Pour the sauce over the hamburgers and serve.

  VARIATION

  Bitokes à la Russe

  [Hamburgers with Cream Sauce]

  Ingredients for 6 plain beef hamburgers or the preceding flavored hamburgers

  Sauté the hamburgers in oil and butter as described in the preceding master recipe. Remove them to a hot serving platter.

  ¼ cup stock or canned beef bouillon

  ⅔ cup whipping cream

  Salt and pepper

  Pinch of nutmeg

  Drops of lemon juice

  Pour the fat out of the skillet. Add the stock or bouillon and boil it down rapidly, scraping up coagulated cooking juices, until reduced almost to a syrup. Pour in the cream and boil it down rapidly for a minute or two until it has reduced, and thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and drops of lemon juice.

  2 to 3 Tb softened butter

  2 Tb minced green herbs such as parsley, chives, tarragon, chervil, or parsley only

  Off heat, swirl in the butter by half-tablespoons until it is absorbed. Stir in the herbs, spoon the sauce over the hamburgers, and serve.

  VARIATION: FLAVORED BUTTERS

  Any of the butters listed here may be swirled into the skillet after it has been deglazed with stock, wine, or water.

  Parsley Butter

  Herb Butter

  Mustard Butter

  Shallot Butter

  Garlic Butter

  Snail Butter (shallots, garlic, and herbs)

  VARIATION: OTHER SAUCES

  Any of the following sauces are made separately. After the hamburgers have been sautéed and removed from the skillet, the sauce is poured in and boiled for a moment while the coagulated sauté juices are scraped into it. The sauce is then poured over the hamburgers.

  Sauce Tomate, or Coulis de Tomates, tomato sauce

  Sauce Poivrade, brown sauce with strong pepper flavoring

  Sauce Robert, brown sauce with mustard

  Sauce Brune aux Fines Herbes, brown sauce with herbs or tarragon

  Sauce Madère, brown sauce with Madeira wine

  Sauce au Cari, brown sauce with curry and onions

  See also the red wine and the white wine sauce for steaks on this page, and the mushroom sauce for filet steak on this page.

  FILET OF BEEF

  Filet de Boeuf

  FILET DE BOEUF BRAISÉ PRINCE ALBERT

  [Braised Filet of Beef Stuffed with Foie Gras and Truffles]

  Here is a magnificent recipe for an important dinner, and it is not a difficult one in spite of the luxury of its details. We have chosen braised filet because it is more unusual than roast filet. Everything except the actual cooking of the meat may be done in advance as indicated by the asterisk in the recipe.

  Braised lettuce and potato balls sautéed in butter would go beautifully with this, and you should accompany it with a fine chateau-bottled red Bordeaux from the Médoc district. See also the other vegetables suggested for steaks.

  For 8 people

  4 to 6 canned truffles about 1 inch in diameter

  3 Tb Madeira

  Cut the truffles in quarters. Place in a small bowl with juice from the can and the Madeira. Cover and marinate while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

  The braising vegetables (matignon)

  ¾ cup each: finely diced carrots and onions

  ½ cup finely diced celery

  3 Tb diced boiled ham

  ¼ tsp salt

  Pinch of pepper

  A small herb bouquet: 2 parsley sprigs, ⅓ bay leaf, ⅛ tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth

  3 Tb butter

  ⅓ cup Madeira

  Cook the vegetables, ham, seasonings, herbs, and butter slowly together in a small covered saucepan for 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender but not browned. Then pour in the wine and boil it down rapidly until it has almost entirely evaporated. Set aside.

  The foie gras stuffing

  2 Tb very finely minced shallots or green onions

  1 Tb butter

  4 ounces or ½ cup mousse de foie d’oie (or “block” foie gras, which is much more expensive but also much better)

  1 Tb Madeira

  1 Tb cognac

  Pinch of allspice

  Pinch of thyme

  ⅛ tsp pepper

  Cook the shallots or onions slowly in butter for 3 minutes in a small saucepan without browning them. Scrape into a mixing bowl. Beat in the foie gras and other ingredients. Correct seasoning.

  A 3-lb. trimmed filet of beef, at least 3 inches in diameter

  Salt and pepper

  Cut a deep slit down the length of the least presentable side of the filet, going to within ¼ inch of the two ends and to within ¼ inch of the other side, or top. Season the interior of the slit lightly with salt and pepper, and spread it with the foie gras mixture. Insert the truffles in a line down the center of the filled slit—reserve their marinade for later. Do not stuff the filet so full that the slit cannot be closed.

  A 2½-inch strip of fresh pork fat as long as the filet (or strips of blanched bacon)

  White string

  Lay the pork fat or bacon strips the length of the closed slit. Tie securely but not too tightly with loops of white string at 1-inch intervals.

  Braising the filet

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  A heavy, oval, fireproof casserole just large enough to hold the filet

  2 Tb butter

  1 Tb oil

  Salt and pepper

  A meat thermometer

  Brown the filet lightly on all sides in the casserole in hot butter and oil. Discard the browning fat. Season the meat lightly with salt and pepper. (Insert meat thermometer, unless you are using the “instant” kind.) Spread the cooked vegetables over the filet.

  (*) May be prepared in advance to this point.

  2 to 3 cups good brown stock or canned beef bouillon (or a very good brown sauce, in which case the starch liaison at the end of the recipe is omitted)

  An oval of aluminum foil

  A bulb baster

  Pour in enough stock, bouillon, or sauce to come half way up the sides of the filet. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Lay foil over the meat. Cover the casserole and set in lower third of pre-heated oven for 45 to 55 minutes. Regulate heat so liquid remains at a very slow boil. Baste the meat with the braising stock 3 or 4 times during its cooking. The filet is done at a meat-thermometer reading of 125 degrees for rare beef, or 135 for medium rare, and if, when you press the filet with you
r finger, it offers a slight resistance in contrast to its soft, raw state.

  A hot serving platter

  Place the filet slit-side down on a hot serving platter after removing the trussing strings and pork fat or bacon. The meat should cool for 10 minutes or more before carving, so that its juices will retreat back into the tissues.

  Sauce and serving

  Wine marinade from the truffles

  Skim the fat off the braising juices. Pour the truffle marinade into them, and rapidly boil down this liquid until it has reduced to about 2 cups and its flavor is rich and concentrated.

  1 Tb arrowroot or cornstarch mixed with 2 Tb Madeira

  Optional: 2 or 3 Tb diced truffles

  Beat in the starch mixture (unless you have used the brown sauce) and the optional truffles. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, then correct seasoning. The diced matignon vegetables remain in the sauce.

  Decorate the platter with whatever vegetables you have chosen. Pour a spoonful or two of the sauce and diced vegetables over the meat, and pass the rest of the sauce in a bowl. The filet is carved into crosswise slices about ⅜ inch thick.

  VARIATION

  If you do not wish to stuff the filet, cook it exactly the same way but without slitting and filling it. When you have placed it on a serving platter, you may garnish the top with broiled mushroom caps alternating with sliced truffles.

  VARIATION

  Marinade, for Filet of Beef

  The following marinade is particularly good if you do not have top-quality filet.

  ½ cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth

  ¼ cup Madeira

  2 Tb cognac

  1 tsp salt

  6 peppercorns

  ¼ tsp thyme

  ¼ tsp basil

  3 parsley sprigs

  3 Tb minced shallots or green onions

  2 or more canned truffles and their juice

  Place the raw, trimmed filet in an enameled or pyrex dish or casserole. Pour on the wines and mix in the seasonings, herbs, shallots or onions, and truffles. Cover and marinate for 6 hours or overnight, turning the meat and basting it several times. Drain and dry the meat thoroughly before browning it. Include the marinade, but not the truffles, with your braising liquid. Reserve the truffles for your sauce.

  BOILED BEEF

  Pot-au-feu

  POTÉE NORMANDE

  POT-AU-FEU

  [Boiled Beef with Pork, Chicken, Sausage, and Vegetables]

  Here is a sumptuous family-style boiled dinner which will serve 12 or more, and always makes a great hit with guests. It is brought to the table in its kettle or a reasonable facsimile, looking for all the world like a plain pot-au-feu. The host starts the proceedings as usual by spearing out the beef and placing it on a platter. Then he finds a sausage, and after that a big piece of pork. Finally, to wild acclaim, he brings out a chicken. Two or three sauces may be served, such as a cream sauce with mustard and tomato, an herbal mayonnaise, and a big bowl of the cooking stock. The potée, like all boiled dinners, is easy on the cook because it can simmer quietly by itself for 4 to 5 hours and if it is done before serving time, it can remain in its kettle where it will keep warm for a good hour.

  VEGETABLE AND WINE SUGGESTIONS

  Carrots, turnips, onions, and leeks cook along with the meats. Boiled potatoes, risotto, or buttered noodles are prepared and served separately. A nice, simple red wine goes well: Beaujolais, Bordeaux, or Chianti, or a chilled rosé.

  BEEF CUTS FOR BOILING—POT-AU-FEU

  First Choice: Rump Pot Roast—Pointe de Culotte or Aiguillette de Rum-steck

  Other Choices: Sirloin Tip, Knuckle—Tranche Grasse

  Bottom Round—Gîte à la Noix

  Chuck Pot Roast—Paleron or Macreuse à Pot-au-feu

  Brisket—Milieu de Poitrine

  For 12 to 16 people

  A kettle large enough to hold all the ingredients listed

  Beef (cooking time 2½ to 3 hours): a 4-lb. boneless piece of rump pot roast, sirloin tip, bottom round, chuck pot roast, or brisket

  Pork (cooking time about 3 hours): a 4-lb. piece from the butt, picnic, rolled shoulder, or fresh ham

  Chicken (cooking time 2½ to 3 hours): a 4-lb. ready-to-cook stewing hen of good quality

  Sausage (cooking time 30 minutes): 2 lbs. lightly smoked country or Polish sausage

  All the meats and vegetables listed at the left are simmered together in the kettle, but are added at various times, depending on how long they take to cook. Start the cooking 5 hours before you expect to serve, to be sure the meats will be done. Trim excess fat off the beef and pork. Tie each piece so it will hold its shape during cooking. Truss the chicken. To each piece of meat and to the chicken, tie a string long enough to fasten to the handle of the kettle, so that the meats may be removed easily for testing.

  NOTE: You could do with this chicken only, and it would be called a poule au pot.

  Vegetable Garnish (cooking time 1½ hours): carrots, onions, turnips, and, if available, leeks; 1 to 2 of each vegetable per person

  Prepare the vegetable garnish: Peel the carrots and turnips and quarter them lengthwise; peel the onions; trim and wash the leeks. Tie the vegetables in one or several bundles of washed cheesecloth so they may be removed easily from the kettle.

  Soup Vegetables and Herbs:

  3 scraped carrots

  3 peeled onions, each stuck with a whole clove

  2 scraped parsnips

  2 celery stalks

  2 leeks, if available

  A large herb bouquet as follows: 6 parsley sprigs, 1 bay leaf, ½ tsp thyme, 4 garlic cloves, 8 peppercorns tied in cheesecloth

  Cooking Stock: sufficient meat stock to cover ingredients by 6 inches; OR 3 cans of beef bouillon, 3 cans of chicken broth, and water

  Optional: raw or cooked beef or veal bones, meat scraps, poultry carcasses, necks, gizzards

  Place the beef in the kettle with the soup vegetables, herb bouquet, and optional bones and scraps. Cover with cooking stock by 6 inches. More liquid may be added later if necessary. Set kettle over moderate heat, bring to the simmer, skim. Partially cover the kettle and simmer slowly for 1 hour, skimming occasionally.

  Add the pork and chicken. Bring kettle quickly back to the simmer. Skim. Simmer 1½ hours more and skim from time to time.

  Then add the vegetable garnish and bring kettle quickly back to the simmer. Taste cooking stock for seasoning and salt lightly if necessary. Simmer 1½ to 2 hours more, adding the sausage ½ hour before the end. The meats and chicken are done when they are tender if pierced with a sharp-pronged fork or skewer. If any piece is tender before the others are done, remove to a bowl and keep moist with several ladlefuls of cooking stock. Return to kettle to reheat before serving.

  (*) If the potée is ready before you are, it will stay warm for at least 45 minutes in the kettle, or may be reheated.

  While the kettle is simmering, prepare one or two of the sauces suggested at the end of the recipe, using some of the liquid from the kettle if you need stock.

  Serving

  Drain the meats and the vegetable garnish. Discard trussing strings. Arrange vegetables on a large, hot platter and moisten them with a ladleful of cooking stock. Decorate with parsley. Either place the meats in a large casserole for presentation and carving at the table, or carve in the kitchen and arrange on a platter. Strain, degrease, and season enough cooking stock to fill a large serving bowl, and pass it along with whatever sauce or sauces you have chosen from the following suggestions.

  Sauce suggestions

  Make 6 to 8 cups if only one sauce is to be served; 4 cups each if two sauces are served.

  Sauce Alsacienne, hard-boiled egg mayonnaise with herbs, capers, and cooking stock

  Sauce Nénette, heavy cream simmered until it has reduced and thickened, then flavored with mustard and tomato

  Sauce Tomate or Coulis de Tomates, a good tomato sauce

  Sauce Suprême, a velouté sauce made with the cooking stock, and enriched
with cream

  BRAISED BEEF-POT ROAST

  Pièce de Boeuf Braisée

  BOEUF À LA MODE

  [Beef Braised in Red Wine]

  Braised beef is a wonderful party dish; it is not only delicious to smell, look at, and eat, but you have no worries about overdone meat, and you can cook it ahead of time if you need to. The following recipe calls for a 6- to 24-hour marination of the beef in red wine and aromatic vegetables before cooking. If you prefer to omit this step, pour the marinade ingredients into the casserole after browning the meat.

  VEGETABLE AND WINE SUGGESTIONS

  Boeuf à la mode is traditionally garnished with braised carrots and onions, and is usually accompanied by buttered noodles, parsley potatoes, or steamed rice. Other vegetables could be braised lettuce, celery, or leeks, or buttered green peas. Serve with it a good, characterful red wine, such as a Burgundy, Hermitage, Côte Rôtie, or Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

  BEEF CUTS FOR BRAISING

  Although it is not essential, beef for braising is usually larded. That is, strips of fresh pork fat are inserted into it, going in the direction of the grain. They baste the interior of the meat as it cooks, and make an attractive design when the meat is sliced. Most butchers will lard the meat for you.