Roast beef fillet with herb crust – a delicious alternative to steak

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 800 g beef fillet(s), in one piece
• 30 g clarified butter
• 30 g butter
• 3 tsp rosemary, chopped
• 2 tsp oregano, chopped
• 2 tsp marjoram, chopped
• 1 tsp thyme, chopped
• Garlic, dried
• Salt
• pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours; Total time approx. 15 hours 30 minutes

Low-temperature cooking

The day before: Wash the beef fillet, pat dry, and trim carefully. Because of the low temperatures, connective tissue doesn’t turn into gelatine with this preparation, unlike braised dishes, for example, so it must be completely removed. Rub the fillet well with salt and wrap it as tightly and airtight as possible in a bag, vacuum seal if possible, and refrigerate for 12-24 hours. 4 hours before eating, take the fillet out of the refrigerator and let it warm up at room temperature while still wrapped. At least 3 hours before eating, put a suitable pan (a shallow roasting pan, or a serving plate will do) in the oven and preheat it to 75 degrees Celsius. Heat a heavy pan, such as a cast iron pan, with the clarified butter on maximum until it starts to smoke slightly. Now sear the beef fillet on all sides over high heat until it is dark brown. Be careful! This can be a bit messy with splashing fat. Browning takes about 10 minutes in total, depending on the pan/stove. Now remove the meat from the pan and set aside for a moment. Remove the pan from the heat to cool. Use the short cooling time to prepare the herbs. Mix together chopped rosemary, oregano, marjoram, and thyme. The rosemary should be fresh; the remaining herbs can also be dried. If you want to use garlic (you can, of course, leave it out), be sure to use dried garlic, for example, from a grinder. I don’t know exactly why, but fresh garlic seems to burn too quickly, which then tastes bitter. Just use the right amount according to your taste—everyone has their own preferences when it comes to garlic. I use about half a teaspoon of dried garlic from a grinder. The pan should now be cool enough to prevent the butter from burning. If the pan is particularly heavy, you can help it along a bit by holding it at a slight angle under running water to cool the outside a little. Now melt the butter and herb mixture in the pan to dissolve the browning residue. Now thoroughly coat the fillet on all sides in the herb-butter-drainage mixture, season with freshly ground pepper and a little more salt if necessary (this depends on the cut of fillet; this is especially unnecessary for thinner pieces or the tip of the fillet). Place the fillet in the pan waiting in the oven and pour over the remaining herb stock. Reduce the heat to 65 degrees. Set the roasting pan aside for later and do not wash it. The fillet will remain in the oven for the next 2.5 hours. During this time, baste it three times with the herb butter that has collected under the meat. If you want the meat to be more dark pink, simply reduce the temperature by another 5-10 degrees after half an hour. After the cooking time is up, remove the fillet from the oven and set aside briefly. Preheat the roasting pan to medium heat again, taking care not to overheat the pan, as otherwise the butter will burn. Briefly sizzle the fillet with the herbs on all sides again. This will give it a finer and more intense crust. You can now carve the fillet and serve immediately. If you’ve done everything correctly, not a single drop of juice will leak out during the entire preparation process and even after carving – assuming the meat is of reasonable quality. Tip: If you have to delay serving, for example because guests are running late, you can easily extend the time in the oven by turning the oven down by 5 degrees half an hour before the end of the cooking time. Then an extra hour won’t make a difference. You can also thicken the butter and herb broth that’s left over at the end to make a rather intense herb sauce. The easiest way to do this is to briefly roast a teaspoon of tomato paste and then deglaze it with 200 ml of beef stock, mix well, and thicken or thicken until the desired consistency is reached. This can get quite salty, though—so, at least on the first attempt, you shouldn’t rely on it working out the way you imagined. Anything you’d eat with a steak works as a side dish. Personally, I think green beans and rosemary potatoes are perfect. The photos show this year’s Christmas roast. I used the “big end” of a whole Wagyu fillet. It was served with Thuringian dumplings, your choice of red cabbage or green beans, and a fruity peppercorn sauce.