Roast Centre-Cut Beef Fillet with Tarragon Butter Sauce and Roast Vegetables
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking, America's Test Kitchen and Serious Eats.
A tied beef fillet is seared and roasted, then served in thick slices with golden roast potatoes and carrots and a silky tarragon butter sauce.
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Method
- 1
Tie and season. Tie the beef with string every 3 cm so it holds a neat round shape and cooks evenly. Season with the beef salt and pepper and leave at room temperature for 30 min. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C).
- 2
Roast the vegetables. Toss the potatoes and carrots with the olive oil, vegetable salt and thyme in the roasting tin. Roast for 45-50 min, turning once, until golden and tender; spreading them out lets the edges brown rather than steam.
- 3
Sear the fillet. When the vegetables have 35 min left, heat the oil in the frying pan over high heat until it shimmers. Brown the beef well on all sides and the ends for 6-8 min in total. A deep brown crust gives flavour that the gentle oven heat will not.
- 4
Roast and rest. Put the pan in the oven and roast for 18-25 min, until a thermometer in the centre reads at least 63°C. Rest on the board for 10 min (at least 3 min) while you make the sauce, so the juices settle back through the meat.
- 5
Make the reduction. Simmer the cider vinegar, shallot, crushed pepper and tarragon stalks in the small saucepan for 4-5 min, until about 2 tbsp is left. Strain into the heatproof bowl, pressing on the solids, and cool for 2 min. This concentrated, tangy base gives the sauce its sharp backbone.
- 6
Cook the yolks. Whisk the yolks and 1 tbsp water into the reduction and set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, not touching it. Whisk constantly for 4-6 min until thick, pale and doubled, and a thermometer reads 71°C; lift the bowl off for a few seconds if it begins to set at the edges. Cooking the yolks to this temperature makes them safe and also helps the sauce hold together.
- 7
Whisk in the butter. Off the heat, whisk in the warm butter a spoonful at a time, then in a thin stream, until thick and glossy. Stir in the tarragon leaves, lemon juice and sauce salt, adding 1 tsp warm water if it is too thick. Keep it warm, not hot, and use within 30 min.
- 8
Carve and serve. Remove the string and slice the beef 1.5 cm thick. Serve with the roast vegetables and the tarragon sauce.
Storage
Refrigerate leftover beef and vegetables within 2 hours for up to 3 days and reheat until piping hot (74°C). The butter sauce does not keep or reheat well, so make only what you need.
Equipment
- kitchen string
- large roasting tin
- heavy ovenproof frying pan (28 cm)
- small saucepan
- heatproof bowl that sits over a saucepan
- balloon whisk
- fine sieve
- carving board
- instant-read probe thermometer
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 906 kcal |
| Protein | 51.7 g |
| Carbohydrate | 42.8 g |
| of which sugars | 6.9 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 58.8 g |
| of which saturates | 27.1 g |
| Fibre | 7 g |
| Salt | 2.33 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
5.7 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
