Chateaubriand in Pepper Sauce: A Recipe for the Most Norwegian of French Dishes in Spain

If there’s a dish that fully encapsulates the Norwegian charter-holiday dream, it’s the chateaubriand, a pepper-sauce-covered beef tenderloin. It is what any self-respecting tourist caps off their Gran Canaria vacation with, and why not? It tastes great. Plus, it doesn’t take a lot of work to recreate the experience at home.

You can be as prescriptivist as you want with a chateaubriand recipe; I prefer to keep it simple. The recipe below takes about an hour, and the end result is of Gran Canarian proportions.

The Steak

• Beef tenderloin (center cut) (size of your liking)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp butter

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF and season beef generously with salt and pepper.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. When the butter is bubbling, place the meat in the pan and brown for 3 minutes on each side.
4. Transfer the beef to a rack in a roasting pan and roast to desired doneness. (Steak School has a good chart — medium rare clocks in at 130ºF.)
5. Remove from oven, and store in a tented foil for 15 minutes. This is a good point to start the sauce.

The Sauce

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp garlic paste
• Fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 2 cups heavy cream
• Peppercorns
• Salt
• ½ lemon — juiced

1. Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the onion. Saute until soft.
2. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
3. Add ground pepper and herbs.
4. When you can smell the toasted pepper, add the cream.
5. Add peppercorns, salt, and lemon juice.
6. Simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.

Optional accouterment: Roasted red peppers and pineapple slices; fries and/or mashed potatoes.

And serve as illustrated above, fully in the spirit of the Norwegian charter holiday dream!

Further Awesomeness Reading

A Brief History of The Norwegian Charter Holiday

How all-inclusive trips to the Spanish islands became part of Norway’s soul.

The Awesomeness DigestRemi Olsen

Source

The pepper sauce is based on a recipe from Simply Delicious.