Porcini Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Reduction Sauce

Difficulty:

1/5

This recipe is from Episode 5 of This Food That Wine

Wine Suggestion: Canernet Sauvingnon

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

Beef

6 beef tenderloin steaks cut to 1 1/4” thickness (32mm)
2 tablespoons dried porcini mushrooms (30 ml)
1 tablespoon olive oil (15ml)
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce

1 cup cabernet sauvignon (250 ml)
2 tablespoons unsalted cold butter (30ml), cut into 1/4” cubes (6 mm)
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C)

Directions

Place the beef on a clean baking tray.
Using a coffee grinder dedicated to spices (or mortar and pestle) grind porcini mushrooms to a fine powder.
Pat the beef tenderloin dry with a paper towel. Season both sides of the beef with salt and pepper. Sprinkle each side of the tenderloin with the porcini dust.
Add oil to a large oven-proof skillet and place over high heat. Allow the skillet and oil to get hot but not smoking, about 1 minute.
Place the beef tenderloin into the skillet and allow it to cook for approximately 3 minutes on one side or until a deep dark caramelized crust is achieved. Flip and repeat on the other side.
Place the skillet into the preheated oven for approximately 3 minutes to cook meat to medium rare.
Remove the skillet from the oven and place the beef tenderloin on a plate. Reserve the skillet for sauce.
Loosely cover the tenderloin with foil and allow it to rest for 5 minutes.
To make the red wine reduction, add the cabernet sauvignon to the skillet used to sear the beef tenderloin and place over medium heat.
Scrape caramelized bits off of the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon.
Allow the red wine to reduce to ½ cup (125ml) (half of the original amount) then reduce the heat to low.
Whisk the cubes of cold butter into the skillet a bit at a time. Whisk quickly to allow the butter to blend smoothly with the reduced wine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Remove the sauce from heat.
Remove the foil from the beef tenderloin once rested and plate as desired. Top the beef tenderloin with sauce and serve immediately.

Wine Pairing

Description: Cabernet Sauvignon is full bodied, flavourful, rich, and made to drink with red meat. It has aromas and flavours of dark berry fruit like black currant and blueberry, vanilla, smoke, spice, and a subtle hint of dark chocolate. It has mouth-filling body and flavour, with big tannins that dry out your mouth.

Pairing: Beef and Cabernet Sauvignon are a classic pairing, perfect for a table full of men. The beef tenderloin is rich and flavourful, and the Cab is full bodied enough to stand up to it. The most important thing in this pairing, however, are the tannins in the wine. The protein in the meat softens the tannins in the wine, which makes the wine feel softer and smoother in your mouth, allowing you to taste the flavours of the wine better.

Wine Suggestion: Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile)