Ingredients
- 2 cups red Bordeaux wine
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 teaspoon arrowroot, or 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon warm water
- 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Four (6-ounce) fillets of beef (tenderloin) steaks, about 1 1/2 inches
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Sauce:
For the Steaks:
thick, at room temperature
Preparation
TO MAKE THE SAUCE: In a saucepan, combine the wine, shallot, thyme, and bay leaf. Boil gently, until the wine is reduced to1/4 cup of loose syrup that coats the shallots. It will take about 20 minutes to reach this point.
Pour the beef broth into the wine and reduce over a high flame by about a third. The mixture will thicken slightly. Dissolve the arrowroot or cornstarch in the water, and whisk it into the sauce. Bring to a boil and allow it to thicken to a point where it will coat the back of a spoon. Lower the heat, whisk in the butter, and season with salt and pepper. The sauce can be kept warm in a double boiler for an hour before serving. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
TO MAKE THE STEAKS: When ready to serve, heat a heavy-bottomed skillet. Add the oil. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels, and season one side of the meat with half the salt and pepper. Lay the steaks seasoned side down, in the pan, and cook over high heat until the steaks are a rich burnished brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Season the remaining side with the rest of the salt and pepper, turn the steaks, and brown the other sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Brown the sides of the steaks by holding them with tongs and searing the edges in the hot oil. Transfer the steaks to a warmed platter or individual plates. To add an extra beefy flavor to the sauce, pour off the residual oil left in the sauté pan, then pour the sauce into the pan and scrape up the brown drippings and bits. Pour the sauce over the steaks and serve.
