Filet Oscar Style
I used canned crab meat and just heated it slightly in the microwave. This is a terrific dish
I used canned crab meat and just heated it slightly in the microwave. This is a terrific dish
- 4 beef tenderloin steaks
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 alaskan king crab legs
- tips from 1 lb asparagus
- sea salt and cracked black pepper
- 1/4 cup shallot finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon
- 3 eggs yolks
- 1 stick butter cut into 8 pieces
- Carbohydrate 10.3997441670176 g
- Cholesterol 1335.753125 mg
- Fat 239.37210125 g
- Fiber 0.153533335369204 g
- Protein 139.250760416682 g
- Saturated Fat 118.776483 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (1019g)
- Sodium 610.815333333374 mg
- Sugar 10.2462108316484 g
- Trans Fat 23.4145172500001 g
- Calories 2793 calories
Step-by-step
- Steam the crab legs: Preheat oven to 375. Place the king crab legs in a loose-fitting foil pouch. Before sealing tightly, add a small amount of water. Place in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Using a fork or a crab-leg-meat-getter-outer, remove the meat from the crab legs and place in a medium bowl along with the blanched asparagus tips. Gently break up any overly-large pieces with your hands.
- Cook the steaks: In a large, oven-safe saute pan, melt butter and olive oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Pat the steaks dry and season both sides liberally with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Place the steaks in the pan and sear 3-4 minutes. Flip, sear for 3 minutes more and place the pan into the oven. Cook to an internal temperature of 135 (medium rare), remove from oven and tent with foil while you finish the sauce.
- Make the B?arnaise sauce: Boil wine, vinegar, shallots, and fresh tarragon in a small heavy saucepan until liquid is reduced to 2 tablespoons, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve set into a medium bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids.
- Whisk the yolks into the vinegar mixture, and then set bowl over a double boiler and cook until hot, whisking constantly until yolks have thickened slightly. Whisk in butter 1 piece at a time, adding each piece before previous one has melted completely. Remove from heat and whisk in lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste). Keep warm, if necessary, by leaving it on the double-boiler but make sure to turn off the heat.
- Assemble: Add about 1/3 cup of the sauce to the bowl of crab and asparagus. Lightly toss to coat. Plate the steaks and top with a generous portion of the crab-asparagus mixture. Top with additional B?arnaise sauce and serve.
Mastering the Emulsion and the Sear
Egg yolks serve as the primary structural anchor in a traditional béarnaise, requiring constant thermal management over a double boiler so the proteins coagulate into a smooth, velvety consistency rather than scrambling. When incorporating the chilled butter pieces, add them gradually while whisking continuously to build a stable emulsion that clings properly to the meat and seafood. Steaks demand equal precision on the stovetop and must be patted completely dry with paper towels before hitting the screaming-hot combination of butter and olive oil. Searing the beef tenderloin for three to four minutes per side before transferring the pan to a 375 degree oven ensures a deep, Maillard reaction crust develops while the interior reaches a precise medium-rare internal temperature of 135 degrees.
Balancing the Components for Service
Preparation timing requires careful coordination because the reduction of white wine vinegar, dry white wine, finely chopped shallot, and fresh tarragon forms the acidic backbone necessary to cut through the rich butter and protein elements. Steamed king crab meat mixed gently with tender asparagus tips creates the signature topping layer, which benefits immensely from a preliminary toss in a fraction of the finished sauce before plating. Doubling or halving the ingredient quantities necessitates proportional adjustments to the reduction and egg yolks, though scaling up the butter emulsion requires extra vigilance to prevent breaking the sauce under excess heat. Resting the cooked steaks under a loose foil tent for five minutes allows the internal juices to redistribute evenly throughout the muscle fibers before the final assembly.
