Gorgonzola & mushroom carpetbagger filet

Ingredients

Sr. South Division Winner 

Michael Ransom, Murphy High School, Mobile County 

Start-to-finish: 2 hours, Serves 4-6

Red wine beef glacé:

½ cup unsalted butter, divided

¼ cup flour

2 cups beef stock

½ cup red wine

Stuffing and Filet:

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 ½-pound beef tenderloin

¼ cup fresh parsley

1 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 recipe red wine beef glacé

½ cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons butter

3 sprigs thyme 

1 clove garlic, slivered

Butcher twine 

Preparation

Begin making the red wine beef glacé first. In a large saucepan, melt ¼ cup butter. Sprinkle flour over butter and whisk until combined. Pour in beef stock and whisk until all clumps disappear. Add red wine and stir. Allow liquid to simmer on low until volume is reduced by half and it has thickened considerably, stirring occasionally. Add the other ¼ cup butter and stir until combined. 

While glacé is reducing, sauté mushrooms in olive oil and butter, covered for 5 minutes and uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring mushrooms halfway through uncovered cooking. Deglaze the pan with 1 tablespoon glacé and 3 tablespoons water. 

While the mushrooms are cooking, use a chef’s knife to butterfly the tenderloin into one long ¼-inch thick piece. Make the first cut anywhere on the tenderloin and use the knife to roll it out, keeping a ¼-inch thickness. Cover with plastic wrap, pound with mallet thinner and refrigerate.

Add mushrooms and any liquid in pan to a food processor with parsley; puree. Add bread crumbs and ¼ to ½ cup glacé and pulse together. Add Gorgonzola and stir by hand. Mixture should be moist; add more glacé and water or stock if needed. 

Season tenderloin with salt and pepper and place bread crumb mixture evenly over the meat. Using hands, press mixture into meat. Starting at one end, roll the tenderloin (like a jelly roll). Tie butcher’s twine around the meat.

To cook meat, add a small amount of olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. When butter is melted, add thyme and garlic. With butcher twine still tied, place tenderloin in skillet. Cook for 8-12 minutes, rotating tenderloin every minute or so until all sides have a nice brown crust. Baste tenderloin with butter while rotating. 

Finish cooking meat in a 350 F oven until it reaches desired doneness: for rare, internal temperature should reach 125 F; for medium-rare, allow internal temperature to reach 130 F; for medium, allow internal temperature to reach 140 F. 

Remove from oven and loosely cover with foil. Allow meat to rest five minutes (temperature will rise temporarily and finish cooking the meat, so don’t skip this step). 

Remove string and cut into 2-inch thick steaks. Use red wine beef glacé as sauce.