No. 1404

Minions of Tenderloin of Beef a la Meyerbeer

Mignons de Filet de Boeuf a la Meyerbeer

The tenderloin is to be prepared and cooked the same as for plain (No. 1399), and when done properly prepare a Piedmontese risot (No. 2981). Garnish the center of a dish with this, piling it high and dome-shaped; then glaze the minions, and arrange them around the rice. Divide some lamb or mutton kidneys in two, having half a kidney for each minion; season these with salt and pepper, then saute them in some butter on a hot fire. When done, drain off the butter, add a little fresh butter and some meat glaze (No. 402), and toss the kidneys in this. Lay half a kidney on top of each minion, serving at the same time, but separately, a sauce-boatful of sauce Perigueux (No. 517).

← No. 1403 Minions of Tenderloin of Beef a la Fearing Beef No. 1405 Minions of Tenderloin of Beef a la Salvini →

For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer writes in cross-references, so this reads as a note to a kitchen brigade rather than a set of instructions. Assembled, it is tenderloin medallions on a dome of risotto, each topped with a sautéed kidney half and served with a truffled demi-glace.

What a "minion" isAn anglicized mignon: a medallion cut from the tenderloin, roughly 2 to 3 oz and about an inch thick, trimmed round and often flattened slightly.
The cross-referenced componentsNo. 1399 is the plain mignon preparation this one builds on. No. 2981 is a Piedmontese risotto, that is, rice cooked in broth with butter and cheese, and preparations under that name often carry truffle. No. 402 is meat glaze, a brown stock reduced to a syrup, and No. 517 is sauce Perigueux, a demi-glace with Madeira and chopped truffle. Any of these can be replaced with a good modern equivalent; commercial demi-glace concentrate stands in for the glaze.
The kidneys are the hingeLamb kidneys need two to three minutes total over high heat, cut side down first. Held longer they tighten, weep and turn grainy and ammoniac. Peel the membrane and cut out the white core before seasoning.
"Glaze the minions"This means brushing the cooked medallions with reduced meat glaze for shine, not putting them under a broiler. Do it after they have rested, immediately before plating.
Draining and re-butteringThe butter the kidneys cooked in is browned and often bitter from the blood; discarding it and tossing the kidneys in fresh butter with glaze is what gives the coating gloss. Keep the pan off the heat while you do this so the butter emulsifies rather than splits.
Temperature and timingMedallions this size take about 3 minutes a side in a heavy pan for medium-rare; an internal 125-130F is right for tenderloin, which has little fat to protect it past that point.
Building the domeRisotto piled dome-shaped will slump if it is loose, so the rice for this must be firmer than a modern all'onda risotto; cook it slightly firm and let it set a minute before mounding, or mold it in a warmed bowl and invert it onto the platter.
Sauce served apartThe Périgueux goes to the table in a sauce boat, not over the meat, so the glaze on the medallions stays bright. Truffle in the sauce should go in off the heat at the end.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Charles Ranhofer's record of thirty-odd years as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and its beef section runs through dozens of near-identical mignon preparations distinguished only by garnish and named for singers, actors and patrons of the house. This one honors Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864), the German-born composer whose grand operas dominated the Paris stage in the mid-nineteenth century; classical garnishes bearing his name are generally characterized by kidney and truffle, the best-known being the eggs à la Meyerbeer of the same period, and the attribution is culinary tradition rather than anything the composer is documented to have ordered. The pattern of the dish is pure haute-cuisine assembly: an expensive cut cooked plainly, a starch molded for height at the center, an organ meat as the accent, and a truffled brown sauce sent round separately so the diner controls it. The presence of a Piedmontese risotto in an American book of the 1890s reflects how thoroughly Delmonico's kitchen worked in the French repertoire, where Italian rice dishes had already been absorbed as a standard garniture.