Broad Reach – a Maine Windjammer Blog

This recipe is one that I made for Jon and I a few years ago. The beef tenderloin and the Port make it a meal for special occasions, but it’s a simple recipe and not something to slave over for hours. Just my thing! Whether you enjoy this with friends on a special night or with your family for Sunday dinner, give thanks for all of your loved ones gathered around the table with you. There’s no greater pleasure for me than enjoying good food with the people I love. 
Enjoy,
Annie

Sautéed Beef Tenderloin Steak with Port and Mushroom Sauce
4 8-ounce beef tenderloin steaks
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper, 1/4 tsp each
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons Port
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced shallots
8 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced 

Marinate the beef in the oil, salt and pepper. This adds flavor to the entire dish. While the beef is marinating, heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat for a minute or two (until a drop of water dropped in the pan “pops”). Place the beef in the pan and cook until the sides of the meat turn gray/brown at least halfway up. Then turn the meat to cook the other side. You can test the meat for doneness by feel or by slicing into one and looking at the color. When it’s a little less cooked than you want it, remove the steaks from the pan and place them all on one plate, then cover with aluminum foil and to keep them warm. The steaks will continue to cook (up to 10 degrees more, meaning it will go from medium rare to medium) while on the plate and will come to the desired temperature. In the same sauté pan, over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon butter and shallots. Sauté for 30 seconds to a minute, then add the mushrooms. Sauté until the mushrooms are almost cooked through, then whisk in the Port and the Worcestershire Sauce and bring to simmer. Remove from heat and gently whisk in the rest of the butter (2 tablespoons). Pour the juice from the beef plate into the pan and whisk. Spoon the liquid onto a platter, place the beef on top of the sauce and then spoon the mushrooms onto the beef. 

What you just made was a butter sauce. It’s a very delicate sauce, meaning that it breaks easily. Breaking means the fat separates from the rest of the ingredients and you have a gloppy, oily mess. It’s important to put the butter into the pan while the burner is either off or on low. To bring this sauce to a boil is to break it. All you want to do is gently melt the butter.

You can use this recipe as a base and add all sorts of ingredients to change the flavor of the sauce. The basics are the same. When you are combining ingredients, most of these will work together: choose two or three and be brave!

Additional Suggestions:
Peppercorns
Tomatoes
Lemon juice
Caramelized onions
Herbs, try fresh chives and parsley
Chopped black Kalamata olives

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