Fake fillet sous vide

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 2 kg beef shoulder (false fillet)
• 1 kg bones, leg slices, etc.
• 1 bunch of soup vegetables
• 1 pack of fresh mushrooms, approx. 400 g
• 2 large onions
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 bottle of red wine, good
• 2 tbsp dried herbs of Provence
• 1 pack of Spätzle, approx. 500 g dried
• Sunflower oil
• Clarified butter
• salt and pepper
• Butter, cold
• Cornstarch for binding

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 day 12 hours; Total time approx. 1 day 13 hours

It takes time, but it’s as soft as butter!

Trim the fillet, i.e. remove the silver skin and fat (save these trimmings) and seal in a little butter, then cook sous vide at 56°C for 35 hours. For the stock, halve the onions and roast them unpeeled, cut side down, in the pot without oil at maximum heat for 5 minutes. Then remove them from the pot and add the sunflower oil, bring to the smoking point (i.e. it will start to smoke at around 200°C). If necessary, sear the bones/leg slices/trimmings in batches for a few minutes on each side, then remove them. Brown the tomato paste for 2-3 minutes, then roast the soup vegetables for approx. 20 minutes, stirring occasionally (every 2 minutes or so). Pour in the wine and return everything to the pot with 2 tablespoons of herbs. After bringing to the boil, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and simmer for e.g. 8 hours. Then drain through a sieve into a new pot, squeeze out any excess water and discard the vegetables and meat. 4 hours will also work, but you should time it so that it’s ready about 45 minutes before the meat. When the meat is ready, sear it in clarified butter (2 minutes per side, there are 6 sides!). Don’t be alarmed by the slightly greenish color, it will go away when it sears. After searing, keep the meat warm and deglaze the leftovers in the pan with a splash of wine, simmer for 1-2 minutes, then add this jus and the meat juices from the bag to the stock and reduce everything by half or more over medium heat (takes about 20 minutes). Meanwhile, quarter the mushrooms and braise over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, then add them to the stock and cook. Likewise, put the spaetzle (if desired) in salted water. Season the stock with salt and pepper, add a little cornstarch (simply sprinkle in and mix), and thicken lightly with a nice knob of cold butter. The meat won’t look pink at first after cutting, but this will change after a few minutes of exposure to air. Important: If you want to reheat the meat later, it’s best to do so in a water bath at 55°C! It quickly gets too hot in a pot and therefore tough! Notes on the meat: The fake fillet has a lot of marbled texture and is therefore inexpensive to buy. This makes it perfect for sous vide preparation because, on the one hand, the low temperature keeps the piece nice and pink and juicy, and on the other hand, the long heating time completely converts the collagen (the tough white stuff) into soft gelatin. This results in meat that is almost as tender as fillet, but still more exciting to chew and, above all, with much more flavor.