The butter sauce for Ruth's Chris filet?

[savvysearch]

Can anyone share a recipe for a filet mignon that tastes like the butter sauce at Ruth's Chris? I'm assuming that it's not just butter and salt.

Edited May 8, 2005 by savvysearch (log)

[Random Alias]

Can anyone share a recipe for a filet mignon that tastes like the butter sauce at Ruth's Chris? I'm assuming that it's not just butter and salt.

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?? - not much more according to their website.

http://www.ruthschris.com/steak/ingredients.html

The best cuts of beef available. Broiled for an exact time at 1800 degrees Farenheit. A pinch of salt. A dash of ground black pepper. Fresh butter. A touch of parsley. That's all it takes to reach perfection. No need for exotic spices or heavy sauces. Just salt, pepper and whole butter. When a steak is this good, it needs nothing else.

Edit: Maybe try a European style butter like Plugra?

Edited May 9, 2005 by Random Alias (log)

[sassybat]

when i was a hostess at ruth's, i saw them make the steaks all the time. they just sprinkle it with s&p, toss it under the the ridiculously hot broiler, put it on a super-hot plate, top it with butter (which i think was just melted butter that solidified slightly at room temperature. it was opaque like a stick of butter, but liquid enough for them to ladle it on the steak), and dashed some parsley on it. that's really it.

[NulloModo]

The trick is the extremely high heat used in cooking. The biggest reason you can't get a steak to taste like it does at a top end steakhouse at home is that it is so hard to get the temps up high enough. A home oven can broil at maybe 600 degrees, and if you have a really good wood oven or coal BBQ maybe you can push near 700 or 800, but without pro equipment that instant sear and char that the pros can give you is just hard to come by at home.

[savvysearch]

Thanks guys.

[jeffperez62]

Some chefs make an emulsion, by boiling water and working butter into it. Like a beurre blanc. After the meat is grilled it is "rested" in the butter emulsion before serving

[k43]

The emulsion is called Beurre Monté. Here's a description:

Beurre Monté

Beurre monté is a stellar cooking medium. It's used constantly in the professional kitchen. However, it's an emulsion, something too many home cooks seem to fear. An emulsion is only a uniform mixture of two substances that don't readily combine by themselves, like oil and water. A vinaigrette is an emulsion. So is mayonnaise. In fact, a stick of butter is an emulsion. You can see that when butter melts, separating into clear fat, milk solids floating on top and water at the bottom.

Lobster tail, removed from its shell and poached in beurre monté, is like none other you've tasted–sweet, rich and remarkably tender. The addition of water gives the lobster a silky texture wholly unlike that of lobster fried in plain butter.

It's also the perfect baste for pan-roasted meats. A few spoonfuls of beurre monté over a pork tenderloin, filet mignon or chicken breast keeps the meat moist, flavors it, helps to ensure even cooking (since fat conducts heat so uniformly) and gives it a beautiful browned color.

You can even use it as a warm butter bath to rest meat in before it is served. A sautéed veal loin resting submerged in beurre monté maintains the perfect temperature and does not dry out; the density of the surrounding butter prevents juices from leaking out of the meat. You can then add some of that same beurre monté to a saucepan with some sweated shallots and, say, a purée of watercress, for an elegant sauce to serve with the veal.

It can also be eaten straight as a dipping sauce for bread.

1. Cut 1/2 pound unsalted butter into small pieces.

2. Bring 1-2 tablespoons water to boil in a medium-size saucepan and lower heat to just below the boiling point.

3. Whisk in a small piece of butter to form an emulsion. Add additional butter, one piece at a time, whisking constantly to maintain the emulsion. Move the pan off the fire frequently to avoid burning. When done, the sauce will look creamy and fluffy, almost like a hollandaise sauce.

4. Quickly remove from heat, cover it with plastic wrap or a tight-fitting lid and keep it in a warm place, such as a double boiler or bain marie. It can be kept for hours until you're ready to use it. Any that is left over can be stored in the refrigerator, where it can be clarified to be used for frying.

KRS

Edited May 12, 2005 by k43 (log)

[savvysearch]

The emulsion is called Beurre Monté.  Here's a description:

Beurre Monté

Beurre monté is a stellar cooking medium. It's used constantly in the professional kitchen.  However, it's an emulsion, something too many home cooks seem to fear. An emulsion is only a uniform mixture of two substances that don't readily combine by themselves, like oil and water. A vinaigrette is an emulsion. So is mayonnaise. In fact, a stick of butter is an emulsion. You can see that when butter melts, separating into clear fat, milk solids floating on top and water at the bottom.

Lobster tail, removed from its shell and poached in beurre monté, is like none other you've tasted–sweet, rich and remarkably tender. The addition of water gives the lobster a silky texture wholly unlike that of lobster fried in plain butter.

It's also the perfect baste for pan-roasted meats. A few spoonfuls of beurre monté over a pork tenderloin, filet mignon or chicken breast keeps the meat moist, flavors it, helps to ensure even cooking (since fat conducts heat so uniformly) and gives it a beautiful browned color.

You can even use it as a warm butter bath to rest meat in before it is served. A sautéed veal loin resting submerged in beurre monté maintains the perfect temperature and does not dry out; the density of the surrounding butter prevents juices from leaking out of the meat. You can then add some of that same beurre monté to a saucepan with some sweated shallots and, say, a purée of watercress, for an elegant sauce to serve with the veal.

It can also be eaten straight as a dipping sauce for bread.

1.  Cut 1/2 pound unsalted butter into small pieces.

2.  Bring 1-2 tablespoons water to boil in a medium-size saucepan and lower heat to just below the boiling point.

3.  Whisk in a small piece of butter to form an emulsion.  Add additional butter, one piece at a time, whisking constantly to maintain the emulsion. Move the pan off the fire frequently to avoid burning. When done, the sauce will look creamy and fluffy, almost like a hollandaise sauce.

4.  Quickly remove from heat, cover it with plastic wrap or a tight-fitting lid and keep it in a warm place, such as a double boiler or bain marie. It can be kept for hours until you're ready to use it. Any that is left over can be stored in the refrigerator, where it can be clarified to be used for frying.

KRS

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Thanks for the tip. So you coat the filet before sticking it in the broiler so it cooks more evenly?