Showing posts with label Chateaubriand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chateaubriand. Show all posts

Filet Mignon on French Menus and Filet de Bœuf in French Cuisine.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

     
An 8-ounce Filet Mignon
  
When ordering a Filet Mignon in France
rule No 1 is to read the menu carefully.
     
A Frenchman, an Englishman and an American meet in Paris and decide to have lunch together. Without waiting for a menu the Frenchman chooses the best steak dish he can think of and orders a Filet de Boeuf, the Englishman ordered a Fillet Steak; and the American orders a Filet Mignon. The Frenchman and the Englishman are served excellent cuts from the center of a beef tenderloin, large fillet steaks. The American was served a superb cut, but, from a pork tenderloin!  He had not remembered rule number 1.
  
 A Filet Mignon in the USA
   
Ordering a Filet Mignon in the USA indicates that you want the very best of beef steaks.  In the USA a Filet Mignon is the name usually given to the tenderloin, a large muscle that is the most tender of all cuts.  Other cuts make great steaks and they may be tastier, but they are not as tender. A Filet Mignon is the most expensive cut that most US restaurants offer and it will generally be served with a sauce.
  
What is happening here?
  
The French term Filet Mignon means “dainty fillet” in English. In France, it does not refer to the whole beef tenderloin, rather to the narrow, almost pointed, end of the tenderloin. The thick end of a beef tenderloin, the fillet, in France is reserved for the cuts called a Chateaubriand and a Tournedos. As the tenderloin becomes thinner, about halfway down, the French will cut their Filets de Boeuf, beef fillets. The French beef Filet Mignon is the name given to the last few inches of the narrowest part of the tenderloin. Nevertheless, the term Filet Mignon may be used for a whole tenderloin, but that will be a pork or veal tenderloin! N.B. Confusion for the American traveler in France began in the American kitchen. When US chefs and butchers took French names for their own use but changed their original meanings they omitted to inform would-be travelers.
    
This cut, even when well marbled, has little natural fat and whether called a filet mignon in the USA or a fillet steak in the UK or a filet de bœuf in France they will be barded, wrapped in fat, before being cooked. Without the barding the steak would dry out. N.B. This cut should never be ordered well done. To see the post on ordering a steak in France cooked the way you like it click here.
     
A whole beef tenderloin (without any bone) may weigh anywhere from 1.3 kilos (2.5 lbs) to 2.3 kilos (4.5 lbs). In the USA most restaurants take the whole tenderloin beginning at the thickest end and cut 2" to 2.5" thick steaks until they reach the narrow end.  A large sized US Fillet Mignon steak is around eight ounces (225 grams). Some North American restaurants offer 10-ounce (280 gram) Filet Mignons.  
  


A whole tenderloin.
Photograph courtesy of Marx Foods.
   
The smallest part at the end of this cut, on the right-hand side in the picture above, is the French Filet Mignon, the dainty fillet.    Nevertheless, cuts taken from here will, in France, rarely be called Filet Mignon, rather they will on the menu as Médaillions, or used for the highest quality Steak Tartar or cut for dishes such as Beef Stroganov.  Whole tenderloins of pork and veal are much smaller, and it is for these that the French use the words Filet Mignon. A tenderloin, a Filet Mignon, from an average pig weighs about 500 grams (17.5 ounces, 1.1 lbs), and that is about enough for three people, two if they are very hungry.  A veal tenderloin weighs about 700 grams (24.5 ounces, 1.5 lbs), a fair sized meal for three.
    
Filet de Bœuf on French Menus:
   
Filet de Bœuf Poêlé, Jus de Cresson et Pommes Grenailles – A lightly fried fillet steak (tenderloin) served with a watercress sauce and small new potatoes.
   
A Filet de Bœuf.
  
Cœur de Filet de Bœuf Grillé, Sauce au Poivre Vert. A grilled center cut  from the heart, the center, of a beef tenderloin, served with a green pepper sauce,
  
Filet de Bœuf en Brochette Marchand de Vin – A beef fillet cut into cubes and served on a skewer with a Sauce Marchand de Vin; that is a sauce prepared for a wine merchant. A beef fillet served this way allows the use of the thin end of the tenderloin, the French Beef Filet Mignon which may be cut into small pieces. A Sauce Marchand de Vin is made with red wine and beef stock. N.B. The word brochette with two tees may easily be confused with brochet, with one tee, which is pike, the fish.
  
Filet de Bœuf, Sauce au Porto, Fricassée de Cèpes, Pleurotes et Champignons de Paris – A beef fillet served with a Port wine sauce and a stew of wild Porcini mushrooms and farmed oyster and button mushrooms
   
Médaillons de Filet de Bœuf Balsamique – Round cuts from the end of the tenderloin (medallions) served with a Balsamic vinegar sauce.
   
  
Médaillons de Filet de Bœuf
These three cuts together will weigh less than 6 or 7 ounces,
(170 to 200 grams).
Photograph courtesy of www.boeufinfo.org/

Tartare de Filet Mignon de Bœuf –  A Beef or Steak Tartar. The best Tartar will be cut from the end of the tenderloin, no better cut could be used for a steak Tartar
   
     
French beef comes from freely grazing grass-fed cattle
  
There are cattle feeding lots in France, but they are few and far between.  When the beef on your menu is named and it has a Red Label or an AOP then you know it is farm raised. You also know the calves were raised by their mother until they were weaned. The cattle graze freely in the summer and only in the winter are they allowed into barns. In the barns they are fed the same grasses, wildflowers and herbs they grazed on in the summer.   French beef will, therefore, be tastier, though it may also be slightly tougher as the cattle will have had more exercise. French beef may be well marbled but overall has less fat than beef sold in the USA.
   
You will nevertheless, see Filet Mignon on French Menus:
     
Filet Mignon de Porc aux Pêches, Miel, Amandes et Son Jus au Romarin – A pork tenderloin prepared with peaches, honey, almonds and a sauce made from the natural cooking juices and Rosemary, the herb.
 
Filet Mignon de Porc Jus a l'EstragonA filet mignon or pork served with a sauce made from the natural cooking juices and tarragon.
 
Filet Mignon De Veau Charolais, Son Jus Aux Escargots Du Brionnais Et Porto Rouge – A cut from a tenderloin of Charolaise veal served with a sauce made from the natural cooking juices and large-sized farmed petit gris snails, from the area of the Saône and the Loire in South Burgundy, and a red Port wine. The AOP Charolaise cattle were the third breed to receive an AOC to protect their provenance and unique qualities. To that French AOC has been added the Pan-European AOP.
 
Filet Mignon De Veau, Fricassée De Rattes Et Eryngii, Sauce Au Vin Rouge Et Morilles – A  veal filet mignon alongside a stew of ratte potatoes and farmed King Trumpet Oyster mushrooms served with a sauce made with red wine and wild morel mushrooms. (Ratte are a popular strain of potatoes in France.  Their name comes from their spurious resemblance to a mouse or a rat; rest assured that their look has nothing to do with their taste which is superb).
  
Ratte Potatoes.
  
More French confusion in US Kitchens
  
Another example of confusion with the use of French in the US kitchen is the use of the word entrée. Entrée in French means “the entrance, the beginning.”  Following on that entrée in France is used for the first course. In the USA they took the French word entrée and use it for the main course!
   
George Bernard Shaw said:  England and America are two countries separated by a common language.  However, Shaw ignored the confusion that arises when US chefs and butchers take words from French cuisine and bring them into the American kitchen.

A tenderloin steak in the languages of France’s neighbors: 

(Catalan – llom de bou), (Dutch - ossenhaas), (German – rinderfilet), (Italian - filetto di manzo), (Spanish  -  filete de lomo ).
   
Connected Posts:
    
 
 

  
 
 
   
   
 
 
  
   
   
   
  
   
   
 
  
   

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Copyright 2010, 2016.

Estragon - Tarragon. Tarragon, the herb, in French Cuisine.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

­­ 
 
Tarragon, a very important herb.
www.flickr.com/photos/notahipster/4104268280/
 
Tarragon  

As one of France’s favorite herbs, fresh tarragon leaves will be in salads, salad dressings, vinegar, sauces, soups, egg dishes, tomato dishes, and herbal butters. Tarragon will also be accenting many meat and fish recipes. Tarragon’s aroma reflects its mild aniseed taste that adds a pleasant bittersweet flavor. While I do not like heavily accented aniseed dishes or pastries very much, tarragon is perfect.

Tarragon is an essential part of France’s most well-known herb group Les Fine Herbes and is the most important herb in Sauce Béarnaise. French bouquets garni nearly always include tarragon and tarragon is often included in the Provencal herb group the Herbes de Provence. Tarragon adds a flavor that can be identified as French though few first-time visitors to France can identify it by name.  

(A bouquet garni is made by tying several herbs with a thread and dropping them into the pot to flavor a stew or soup. When the herbs have created enough flavor the bouquet garni is removed by a tug on the thread.)


Bresse Chicken with Tarragon, Wild Rice
Photograph and recipe courtesy of Rostang Père & Filles
 
Which tarragon do French chefs use.

French chefs insist on fresh French Tarragon, (also called German Tarragon). Dried tarragon, as opposed to most other herbs, tastes stronger when dried and so is rarely seen in French kitchens. There are other tarragon family members, but they will not usually be used by French chefs. You may see a herb called Russian tarragon in the markets, it is more bitter than French tarragon and has a very mild tarragon taste. According to one of the chefs I talked to about herbs and spices, he said:” Russian tarragon is at its best when flowering in a garden!”

Cucumber-Tarragon Fizz
www.flickr.com/photos/edsel_/34973853581/
 
Tarragon on French menus:

Carpaccio de Magret de Canard a la Framboise, et Estragon -  Carpaccio of duck breast flavored with raspberries and tarragon.


Penne au Poulet et à l'Estragon
Penne pasta with chicken and tarragon
Photograph courtesy of Isabelle Hurbain-Palatin
www.flickr.com/photos/ipalatin/4085762877/
 

Côtes d’Agneau à l’Estragon – Lamb chops flavored with tarragon.

Langouste, Macédoine de Légumes, Mayonnaise à l'Estragon Lobster tail prepared with cubed vegetables and served with a tarragon flavored mayonnaise. A macédoine is a French culinary size for cubed vegetables, and occasionally fruit, that should be cubes about 5 mm (0.2”) by 5 mm (0.2”) by 5 mm(0.2”). Great importance is given to the uniformity so check the exact measurements with calipers.

 
Scallops, creamed corn and tarragon.

Joues de Boeuf aux Pleurotes & Estragon – Beef cheeks prepared with oyster mushrooms and tarragon. Beef cheeks are a bistro favorite and cooked for hours until they are really soft.


Asparagus, smoked trout roe, toasted brioche, tarragon
Photograph courtesy of Lou Stejskal
www.flickr.com/photos/loustejskal/18926879348/

Poëlée d'Escargots Fondue de Tomates et Beurre d'Estragon – Lightly fried petit-gris snails prepared with tomatoes cooked to a pulp and flavored with tarragon butter.


Poached Chicken with Tarragon Yogurt Sauce
Photograph courtesy of Michele Frazier
www.flickr.com/photos/michelecolettefrazier/8104762922/

Palourdes de Quiberon au Vin Blanc, Estragon et Salicorne Clams from Quiberon cooked in white wine and tarragon and served with samphire (Salicornia).   Samphire is often, mistakenly, called an edible seaweed; it is not.  Samphire is a coastal plant, with many family members, and grows in salt marshes and in the sand along the coast, not in the sea.  Its shape, not its taste, gives samphire another name, sea asparagus. Quiberon is a peninsula on the southern coast of the department of Morbihan in Brittany, and apart from its fishing industry and oyster and mussel farms Quiberon  is a very popular summer holiday vacation spot for the French.  In July and August do not even think about looking for a free hotel room; the hotels are often booked one year in advance. 

Soupe de Poisson aux Croûtons et sa Rouille à l’Estragon – A fish soup served with croutons and a tarragon flavored rouille sauce. Rouilles are thick sauces that are used to add spice and flavor. They will be served on the side, usually together with the croutons, and then the rouille and the croutons may be added by the diner to the soup, drop by drop or piece by piece, to his or her taste. 
 

Sauce Béarnaise on French Menus.

Le Saumon Grillé d'Ecosse, Label Rouge, Sauce Béarnaise - Grilled Red Label Scottish salmon served with Sauce Béarnaise. (It is tarragon that give Sauce Bearnaise its special flavor).  A few, unique, Scottish salmon farms produced the first non-French product to be awarded the French Label Rouge, red label, for its taste, consistent quality, as well as its manner of production. These same Scottish salmon farms came along with the British RSPCA label of Freedom food.  The RSPCA Freedom Food rating is the highest standard for farmed fish in the world.  

Chateaubriand Grillé, Sauce Béarnaise – A chateaubriand steak served with Sauce Bearnaise. The Chateaubriand is cut from the center, the best and thickest part of a tenderloin, a beef fillet. The same cut is used for a tournedos including the famed Tournedos Rossini.  A Chateaubriand is a very thick cut from the center of the filet that is first roasted and then cut into two large portions that are then lightly grilled before serving. This roasting and grilling are behind the tradition of Chateaubriand only being served for two persons, as you cannot roast a single 300-gram steak. (The early Chateaubriand steaks were closer to 400 grams (14 ounces) each).

Chateaubriand, the man whose name is behind this dish, was François-René, Vicomte de Chateaubriand, (1768-1848), Chateaubriand was a writer, a gourmand, as well as a politician. We traditionally have given the rights to the creation of the Chateaubriand steak to Chateaubriand’s personal chef Montreuil who named the dish after his employer. To order your Chateaubriand or any steak or roast in France, cooked the way you like it, click here.


Steak Entrecote, French Fries and Sauce Bearnaise.
Photograph courtesy of Trevor Pittman 
www.flickr.com/photos/46485532@N04/8445938443/

Côte de Veau Grillée, Pommes Rôties, Ratatouille Maison , Sauce Béarnaise - A grilled veal chop, served with roast potatoes, the chef’s version of Ratatouille and Sauce Béarnaise.

Tarragon and Les Fine Herbs

Les Fine Herbs, France’s most important herb group includes five herbs: Cerfeuil, ChervilCiboulette, Chives; Tarragon; Persil, Parsley, and Thym, Thyme. While the percentages of each herb in this group are not written in stone tarragon is used with a gentle touch. Too much tarragon and it may out flavor the other herbs.

Tarragon and Béarnaise sauce.

Sauce Béarnaise is a “child” of Sauce Hollandaise. In the 1830s the chef and restaurateur Jean-Louis Françoise-Collinet, in his restaurant, Pavillon Henry IV, 20 km (12.5 miles) from Paris, took Sauce Hollandaise and omitted the lemon juice. To replace the lemon juice Jean-Louis took white wine vinegarshallotschervil, and tarragon, with the accent on the tarragon; voila, Jean-Louis had created Sauce Béarnaise. During the nearly two hundred years that have followed, Sauce Béarnaise has become more and more popular. The restaurant and hotel, the Pavillon Henry IV, with new owners, is still open today.

The origin of the name Sauce Béarnaise.

Béarn was part of the ancient independent kingdom of Navarre on France’s southern border with Spain. Today Béarn is part of the department of Pyrénées-Orientales in the administrative region of Occitanie. While Sauce Bearnaise is not an ancient recipe Jean-Louis’s sauce did take its name from Béarn. King Henri III of Navarre, whose name was used for Jean-Louis’s restaurant, Pavillon Henry IV, spent his childhood in Béarn. King Henri would become King Henri IV of France and with the French crown, King Henri became the first Bourbon King of France.


Strawberriesgoat’s cheese, and tarragon.
Photograph courtesy of Cajsa Lilliehook
www.flickr.com/photos/cajsa_lilliehook/19892545826/
 
Where did tarragon come from?

Some food historians believe that the tarragon in French cuisine was brought from Eurasia by the usual suspects, the Romans. The Romans brought many trees, fruits, and vegetables from home when they colonized France beginning in 121 BCE. Despite that possibility, others award the honor to the Greeks; the Greeks loved good food, no less than the Romans, and had built the port city of Marseille in 600 BCE. The Greeks had also settled many other parts of Southern France long before the Roman settlers arrived and brought grapevines that are related to some of southern France's vineyards. Then to confuse us all, wild French tarragon is also found in North America. How tarragon arrived in North America I do not know; it certainly ­­­­arrived there without the help of the Romans or the Greeks!

Tarragon in French homeopathic medicines.

Homeopathic medicines are recommended by many French doctors. These natural medicines and remedies are trusted by many doctors and their patients and France’s national health insurance covers them. Tarragon is an important homeopathic herb and may be offered as a herbal tea; in France, herbal tea is called a fusion or a tisane. Tarragon is said to stimulate the appetite, relieve stomach cramps and reduce the effects of stress among other valuable attributes. 

Older beliefs in the value of tarragon

Gernot Katzer, a recognized expert on herbs and spices, allows me to use his website to check out the stories I have heard from chefs and others. I also use  Gernot’s translations. From Gernot’s notes on the history of tarragon, I learned that the origin of the herb’s name may be linked to Ancient Greek. The word estragon links to drakon, meaning dragon, and snake. In the Middle Ages, there was a widespread belief that tarragon could ward off serpents and dragons and heal snake bites. Following along on that I advise anyone visiting Transylvania to take some tarragon along with the garlic they will be carrying. Together tarragon and garlic will keep away the dragons and preclude any visits from vampires. 

  
Dragons and snakes.  
Wave a bunch of tarragon and they will be gone.
Photograph courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library
www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/8595536420/
                                 
Tarragon in the languages of France’s neighbors:

(Catalan - estragó), (Dutch - dragon), (German – französischer estragon), (Italian – estragone Françaisedragoncello), (Spanish - estragón), ( Latin - artemisia dracunculus).    

----------- 

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases
on
a French menu? 

Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" (best when including the inverted commas), and search with Google.  Behind the French Menu’s links, include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 450 articles that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations. 

---------- 


Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Copyright 2010, 2015, 2021
 
 

--------------------

Connected Posts:
 
Ail - Garlic. Garlic in French Cuisine.
 
Algue or Algue de Mer Seaweed, Edible Seaweed. Algue or Algue de Mer on French Menus.
 
Anis, Anis Vert - Anise or Aniseed. Anis on French Menus and in Pastis.
 
Asperges en La Cuisine Française – Asparagus in French cuisine. The Artists who Painted Asparagus or Lived Near Argenteuil.
 
Bar or Loup - European Sea Bass. Bar on French Menus. European Sea Bass in French Cuisine.
 
Bistros - The History of the French Bistro.
 
Carpaccio - The Tasty, Thinly Sliced, (Ideally Paper Thin) Dish of Meat, Fish, Vegetables or Fruits in French Cuisine.
 
Cerfeuil – Chervil, the Herb, in French Cuisine.
 
Chateaubriand Steak and Chateaubriand the Man. Ordering a Chateaubriand steak in France.
 
Chèvre and Chevreau or Cabri – Goat’s Cheese and a Young Goat, a Kid, on Your French Menu.
 
Ciboulette – Chives, the herb, in French Cuisine.
 
Citron – The Lemon. The Lemon, the Lime, the Citron, the Kaffir Lime and the Pomelo in French Cuisine.
  
Côte, Côtes, Côtières - A Bone-In Rib Steak, a Rib Roast, a Wine Growing Region, the Coast, and More. All will be on French menus.
 
Coquilles Saint-Jacques and the Vanneaux or Pétoncle. The King Scallop and the Queen Scallop in French Cuisine..
 
Échalotes - Shallots. Shallots on French Menus. Shallots are One of the Most Important Herbs in the French Kitchen.
 
Entrecôte (Entrecote). Ordering a Perfect Entrecote Steak in France.
 
Escargots - Snails. Snails in French Cuisine. How to Order Snails in France.
 
Filet Mignon on French Menus and Filet de Bœuf in French Cuisine.
 
Fraises - Strawberries. The Wild Strawberry and the Story of the French Strawberries From Plougastel.
 
French Bread - Different Types of French Bread. Ordering Bread in France.
 
Frites or Pommes Frites - French Fries in the USA and Chips in the UK. French Fries on French Menus.
 
Herbes de Provence - The Herbs of Provence. Provencal Cuisine and the Herbes de Provence.
 
Huitres. Oysters in France 1. Ordering, Eating, and Enjoying Oysters. Huitres on French Menus.
 
Langouste. Lobster Tails and the Tails’ Owner, the Rock Lobster, Spiny Lobster or Crawfish. Langouste on French menus.
 
Les Fines Herbes; the Most Important Herb Group in the French Kitchen. Les Fines Herbes in French Cuisine.
 
Magret de Canard or Lou Magret. - Duck Breast in French Cuisine.
 
Mayonnaise Fraîche - In France all Mayonnaise is Fresh Mayonnaise.
 
Moules - Mussels. Moules Frites and Much More. Mussels on French Menus.
 
Ordering a Steak in France, Cooked the Way you Like it.
 
Palourdes – Clams. Clams on French Menus.
 
Persil - Parsley. Parsley in French Cuisine.
 
Poulet, Poularde, Poule, Pousin – Chicken. Chicken in French Cuisine.  
 
Pleurote – The Oyster Mushroom in French cuisine. The Mushrooms of France VI
 
Ratatouille, the essence of Provencal cuisine and Ratatouille’s Ancestor, the Bohémienne de Légumes
     
Salades - Salads. Forty of the Most Popular (and Simply Made) French Salads. Salads in France.
 
Salicorne, Perce-pierre, Criste-marine or Haricot de Mer - The Vegetable Samphire or Salicornia in French Cuisine.
 
Sauce Béarnaise, its Creation, its Creator and its Connection with Béarn. Sauce Béarnaise in French Cuisine.
 
Sauce Hollandaise. The Mother of All Sauces.
 
Saumon – Salmon. Salmon in French Cuisine.
 
Soupe - Soup. The Treasures to be Found in in French Soups. A Lexicon of French Soups.
 
Thyme in France. Thym, Serpolet, Farigoule and Thym Citron, Lemon Thyme in France. Thyme. One of the most important herbs in French cuisine.
 
Truite - Trout, the Fish. Trout in French Cuisine.
 
Tournedos Rossini, after 150 years still the most famous of all steak dishes. Tournedos Rossini and Gioacchino Rossini.
 
Vinegar, Vinaigrette and Verjus in French Cuisine.
 
Volatile – Poultry. The Word Volaille, Poultry, on French Menus Only Includes Chickens and Turkeys. Volaille in French Cuisine.
  
 
                               
 
 

Responsive ad