Mushroom-Stuffed Beef Tenderloin with Port Wine Sauce

I love Gwen Ashley Walters' Cool Mountain Cookbook. She has collected recipes from several great ski lodges, and everything in the Cool Mountain Cookbook is not only memorable and great tasting, it is also easy to prepare. I have yet to encounter a dud.

OK, so I was in the supermarket and their high-end beef tenderloins were on sale. And they looked really good. I don't cook much beef because the quality of supermarket beef is so hit-or-miss these days. These tenderloins looked really good though so I took a chance and bought one.

On the way home, I could here Adam chanting, "Grill!, Grill!, Grill!" but I wanted to do something different. Gwen Ashley Walters to the rescue again.

This recipe calls for Demi-Glace. I use More Than Gourmet's Demi-Glace Gold (I should join Amazon's affiliate program and take advantage of linking to them.) Mix it 4-to-1 with hot water, let it simmer a bit, and it is great stuff.

Mushroom-Stuffed Beef Tenderloin with Port Wine Sauce

1 slice smoked bacon, finely chopped
2 portabella mushroom caps, chopped
1/2 cup sliced white button mushrooms
2 teaspoons butter
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
4 (8-ounce filet mignons)
Kosher Salt
Ground black pepper
Flour for dusting
1 cup ruby port wine
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
1 cup demi-glace

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Add the bacon to a cold 10-inch skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Cook until bacon is brown. Stir in the mushrooms, butter, garlic, and rosemary. Cook until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Drain off liquid and place mushroom mixture into a food processor. Pulse a few times, finely chopping (but not puréeing) the mixture. Remove and season with salt and pepper.

2. Cut a 1-inch incision in the center (from the side, not the top) of the filet from top to bottom (I made a horizontal cut instead). Work the knife from side to side, trying to split the steak in half without actually doing so (to make a pocket within the steak). You don't want to cut through the sides and you don't want your incision too wide or the stuffing won't stay in.

3. Stuff the pocket with the mushroom mixture until full but not bulging. Lightly dust the filet with flour.

4. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and when hot, add the filets, searing both sides until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Move the pan to the preheated oven to finish (150-155F on an instant-read thermometer for medium to medium-well). When the filets are done, remove them from the pan, put them on a plate and tent with foil.

5. Put the sauté pan back on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the Port and deglaze the pan. Add the shallots and reduce by half. Stir in the demi-glace and cook until the desired consistency has been reached.

Shown here served with Pommes de terre de Hollande. Thank you Gwen, for permission to republish the recipe.

Comments

[adam]

Is it wrong of me to think of "Demi Cup" when I see Demi-Glace?

Anyway, no chanting of grill grill right now. However, considering next weekend being labor day weekend, I'm getting a little antsy.

[Dave]

Is it wrong??? naa. The comparison does conjur up some interesting images though, but I'm not going there. I bought some mesquite chips and a new smoker box yesterday, so you can be sure I'll grill something this weekend :-)

[Pamela]

Sounds absolutely divine!!

[mccormicky]

This sounds really good.I'll have to try it. Right now I am cooking a pot of beef burgandy--I just wish it were actually cold outside to justify this kind of heavy meal.
Are you near a Trader Joe's? They have really good sirloin filets,good quality and not too expensive.

[Dave]

Yes, Mccormicky there IS a Trader Joe's nearly. Here in Phoenix Arizona there really is no shortage of good beef. The Best filets, IMHO, are from Omaha Steaks and they actually have a store just a few miles away.