[Sca-cooks] FW: [TY] choke that Muse!

[Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach Phlip:
>Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...
>
>>  Brangwayna
>>
>>  PS  What exactly is Chateaubriand, anyway?  I think it's some sort of
>beef...
>
>
>Chateaubriand is what you get when you cook and entire beef tenderloin like
>a roast- in other words, a BIG honking filet mignon ;-) A very lovely cut of
>meat when done right- tender juicy, and delicately flavored.

More or less (and more or less to Bear, too).

It's a thick cut from the middle of the beef tenderloin, grilled 
under protective circumstances so the end product is kind of like the 
perfect prime rib: perfectly, evenly, pinky-rare (as opposed to most 
steaks which are rarest in the center and more well-done near the 
edges.

Originally this was done (for the sake of amusement and enlightenment 
as well as simple accuracy) by trussing or tying three (count 'em... 
three) filet steaks together in a stack, and grilling the resultant 
hunk-o-beef until properly done in the center. In theory, the outer 
pieces (usually somewhat thinner than the inner steak) are thrown 
away, but I'm sure these were probably eaten by restaurant and 
household cooks. Obviously, the dish acquired a wide reputation as an 
extravagance in record time.

Nowadays it's just a center-cut tenderloin steak about four inches 
thick, carefully grilled, and served sliced, kind of like roast beef. 
Fork-tender and, as stated elsewhere, a generally beautiful piece of 
meat. I prefer the stronger-flavored cuts myself; give me a good 
churrasco or the Porterhouse at Peter Luger's any day.

Classically accompanied by any of several sauces, such as bearnaise, 
foyot (my fave), or one of several demiglace variants.

Adamantius (trying to touch base every so often)