No. 1450

Tenderloin of Beef a la d'Orleans—Whole

Filet de Boeuf a la d'Orleans--Entier

Have a fine tenderloin larded with strips of cooked red beef tongue and truffles, cook it the same as for a Bienvenue (No. 1445); glaze, then dress it, garnishing one side with small chicken quenelles molded with a teaspoon (No. 155), and the other side with some small peeled truffles previously warmed in Madeira sauce and meat-glaze. Place at both ends rounds or slices of cooked ham, cut one and a half inches wide by an eighth of an inch thick, and warmed in a little butter and meat glaze (No. 402). Decorate with skewers made of game quenelles a la Villeroi and cocks'-combs. Served separately an Orleans sauce (No. 512).

← No. 1449 Tenderloin of Beef Breaded and Browned in th Beef No. 1451 Tenderloin of Beef a la Godard—Whole →

For the Modern Kitchen

This is a garnish-and-assembly entry rather than a standalone recipe: Ranhofer assumes you have the numbered sauces, quenelles and glazes from elsewhere in the book. The whole thing hinges on a piece of tenderloin cooked no further than rare, since everything else is warm garnish placed around it.

The cooking method it points toNo. 1445 (Bienvenue), which is not reproduced here; consult that entry for the handling of the larded tenderloin. For a modern trimmed tenderloin of 4-5 lb, roast at 425F for about 25-35 minutes to an internal 125-130F and rest 15 minutes; the meat is the one element that cannot be held warm without ruining it.
LardingStrips of cooked tongue and truffle are threaded through the meat with a larding needle. If you skip the larding, bard the outside with a thin sheet of fat or lay the tongue and truffle in a lengthwise slit and tie the roast.
Glaze"Meat-glaze" (No. 402) is brown veal or beef stock reduced to a syrup that sets firm when cold. Commercial demi-glace concentrate is the practical substitute; brush it on the hot meat in thin coats for the lacquered surface Ranhofer wants.
QuenellesChicken quenelle forcemeat is raw breast pounded or processed with panada and cream, then shaped between two teaspoons and poached in barely simmering salted stock at about 175F. They must not boil or they break up.
Cocks'-combs and hateletsThe decorative skewers of game quenelles a la Villeroi and cocks'-combs were show pieces for silver service and are hard to source now. Omit them, or substitute a few glazed truffle slices; nothing is lost from the eating.
Truffles and Madeira sauce"Small peeled truffles" means whole fresh or preserved black truffles, an expense no longer proportionate to a garnish. Sliced preserved truffle warmed in Madeira sauce reads the same on the plate; do not use truffle oil, which turns acrid when heated.
Orleans sauceNo. 512, which is not reproduced here; follow that entry. Send it in a boat, as directed, rather than over the meat, so the glaze stays glossy.
Ham roundsCut cooked ham an eighth of an inch thick and about an inch and a half across, then warm it briefly in butter and glaze. Any longer and it dries and curls at the edge.
YieldA whole tenderloin dressed this way serves 8 to 10 as a formal main course, sliced at table so the larded interior shows.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer published The Epicurean in 1894 after some three decades as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and entries like this one show what the book actually was: a working index of banquet service, with every component cross-numbered so a brigade could assemble a dish from parts already in production. Whole larded tenderloin with quenelles, truffles, ham and skewered garnishes belongs to the grande cuisine of the period, in which a roast was a plinth for decoration and the carving happened in the dining room. Names of this kind were commonly attached in tribute or fashion rather than to record an origin, and "a la d'Orleans" is generally taken as a nod to the French royal house of Orleans; the same tenderloin appears in neighbouring entries as Bienvenue and Godard, differing only in garnish and sauce.