FILLET.
The tenderloin and even the sirloin are sometimes called, or rather known, under the name of fillet, when cooked. It comes from the French filet—tenderloin.
Sirloin means surloin; like stock and several others, sirloin is purely English. The surloin is the upper part of the loin, as its prefix indicates; it is surlonge in French.
A fillet is generally larded with salt pork by means of a small brass larding-needle; the salt pork cut in strips to fit the needle (see Larding).
If you use a tenderloin, trim off the fat. If it is a piece of ribs, prepared fillet-like, shape it like a fillet as near as possible; the rest is used as directed above.
A piece of ribs is certainly cheaper, and can be had at any time, while the other is as difficult to procure as it is dear.
To lard it.—Have a towel in your left hand and place the meat over it, the most flat and smooth side up, holding it so that the upper part will present a somewhat convex surface, and commence larding at either end and finishing at the other, in this way:
Run the needle through the upper part of the convex surface, commencing at about a quarter of an inch from the edge of one side, running through the meat a distance of about one inch and a half, about half an inch in depth at the middle, and the strip of salt pork sticking out at both ends; that is, where the needle was introduced into the meat, and where it came out of it. Repeat this till you have a row of strips across the meat, the strips being about one-third of an inch apart.
Lard row after row in the same way, and till the whole flat side is covered; the ends of the strips of pork sticking out of each row being intermingled.
To cook it.—It may be roasted or baked exactly in the same way as directed above for roast and baked beef. It may also be improved in the same way.
When cooked in either of the two above ways, it is served with its gravy only, or—
With fried potatoes.
With potato coquettes.
With truffles.
With tomatoes.
With quenelles.
With Madeira-sauce.
With green peas.
The same as roast or baked beef above. It may also be decorated in the same way.
A fillet is also cooked exactly like beef à la mode, with the exception that it does not require as long; for a large one, it requires only about three hours.
When cooked thus, it is served with its gravy strained, and decorated with skewers, as above.
With Macaroni.—While the fillet is cooking, prepare a pound of macaroni au jus, and serve the fillet on the macaroni spread on a dish; the gravy of the fillet being mixed with the macaroni when both are done.
Fillet à la Brillat-Savarin.—Cook it in a pan as above, and serve it decorated with sweetbreads and slices of truffles, as described for roast-beef, and with a Champagne-sauce.
A la Chateaubriand.—This is prepared and served like the preceding one, with a Madeira instead of a Champagne sauce.
Sauté.—When cooked in a pan as directed above, cook mushrooms about ten minutes in the gravy, and serve mushrooms and gravy all around the meat.
A fillet sauté is always made with a tenderloin.
As is seen by the above receipts, all the good pieces of beef may be prepared in the ways described, ribs as well as other pieces, and from the plainest to the most recherché way, from the cheapest to the most costly manner.
Several names are given to the different ways we have described, such as fillet financière (fillet served with a ragout of chicken-combs), fillet Richelieu (fillet with half a dozen skewers), etc.
En Bellevue.—This is the best way to serve it cold. It may be served whole, or part of it, that is, what is left from the preceding dinner. For a supper or lunch, it is the most handy dish, as it can be prepared in advance. Make some meat jelly or calf's-foot jelly, put a thickness of about three-quarters of an inch of it in a tin dish or mould, large enough to hold the fillet; then place on ice to cool, and when congealed and firm enough, place the fillet on it, the larded side downward; fill now with jelly till the fillet is covered, and have a thickness of about three-quarters of an inch above it.
The fillet must not touch the sides of the mould, but be perfectly enveloped in jelly. If the thickness of jelly is even on both sides and all around, it is much more sightly. When the jelly is perfectly congealed and firm, place a dish over the mould, turn upside down, and remove it. Serve as it is.
As a tenderloin is very expensive and rather difficult to get, buy a fine piece of ribs, cut the fleshy part of the shape of a tenderloin, and prepare it as directed above; it makes an excellent and sightly dish. The bony part with the rest of the flesh is used to make broth.