Chateaubriand with Béarnaise Sauce

🧾 General Information

• Category: Meat Main Course
• Servings: 4
• Food cost target: 30–38%
• Service time: 10 minutes
• Difficulty: High

⚖️ Portion Sizes

• Beef tenderloin: 180–200 g
• Béarnaise sauce: 40 g
• Clarified butter: 10 g
• Potatoes: 80 g
• Sautéed mushrooms: 40 g

🧾 Total Ingredients (4 servings)

Meat

• 800 g center-cut beef tenderloin
• 40 g clarified butter
• 20 ml extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• black pepper

Béarnaise Sauce

• 4 egg yolks
• 180 g clarified butter
• 50 ml dry white wine
• 40 ml white wine vinegar
• 1 shallot
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• white pepper
• salt
• a few drops of lemon juice

Side Dishes

• 320 g baby potatoes
• 160 g mushrooms
• 20 g butter
• fresh parsley
• salt
• pepper

⚙️ Base Preparation (Prep)

Meat

• Trim the beef tenderloin and shape it evenly.
• Tie lightly with kitchen string to maintain shape and thickness.
• Store at +4°C until service.

Béarnaise Sauce

• Reduce the wine, vinegar and chopped shallot until only one third of the original volume remains.
• Strain the liquid.
• Whisk the egg yolks over a bain-marie with the reduction.
• Slowly incorporate the clarified butter.
• Finish with tarragon, salt, white pepper and lemon juice.
• Keep warm.

Side Dishes

• Cook the baby potatoes.
• Sauté the mushrooms with butter and parsley.
• Keep ready for service.

👨‍🍳 Service Procedure

1. Sear the beef tenderloin in a pan with clarified butter.
2. Finish cooking in the oven or pan to the desired doneness.
3. Let the meat rest for 4–5 minutes.
4. Slice into thick medallions about 1.5 cm thick.
5. Arrange on the plate with Béarnaise sauce.
6. Complete with baby potatoes and sautéed mushrooms.

🔑 Critical Control Points (CCP)

• Meat: internal temperature must be controlled.
• Resting: essential to retain juices.
• Béarnaise sauce: do not exceed 82°C to avoid splitting.
• Butter: must be incorporated slowly for a smooth and stable sauce.

🍽️ Plating

• Light-colored rectangular or oval plate.
• Beef slices slightly overlapping.
• Béarnaise sauce spooned over the meat.
• Baby potatoes and mushrooms on the side.
• Finish with:
  • fresh tarragon
  • black pepper
  • Maldon salt

Premium Option

• black truffle
• reduced brown stock
• green asparagus

🛠️ Recommended Professional Equipment

All the equipment listed is available for purchase on Ristorazione-Refrigerazione.it.

• Combi oven for precise cooking control.
• Induction hob to maintain sauce temperature.

💰 Estimated Food Cost

• Cost per portion: ~€5.75
• Recommended selling price: €24–32 depending on the venue

🔄 Menu Adaptability

• Steakhouse: iconic premium dish.
• French restaurant: classic proposal.
• Gourmet: ideal base for pairings with foie gras or truffle.

🧠 Professional Logic

Dish designed for:

• strong premium perception
• high visual impact
• enhancement of cooking technique

Final quality depends on the precision of meat cooking, proper resting and the stability of the Béarnaise sauce.