Beef Three Ways

METHOD:

For the Beef Short Ribs:
Combine the orange zest, garlic, thyme, black pepper, paprika, bay leaves, olive oil and basil. Marinate the short ribs in the mixture overnight.

Preheat oven to 500ºF. Remove the ribs from the marinade and brown in clarified butter. Set aside. Sauté the mirepoix, garlic and tomato paste, then deglaze with the red wine vinegar. Reduce to a syrup.

In a separate pot reduce the orange juice by ¾, then add to the mirepoix mixture. Add the red wine and reduce again by ¾. Add the veal stock and a sachet of the remaining herbs and bring to a simmer. Cover and place in oven for 1 ½ hours. Remove from the oven and keep covered until cool. Uncover and allow to stand for one hour. Strain the braising liquid, then reserve the short ribs in the liquid until ready to use.

For the Ducasse Cheese Crusted Polenta:
Mix the parmesan, Gruyere, crème fraiche and egg together. Season with salt and pepper and roll the mixture to 1/16-inch thick. Top a piece of polenta with the cheese mixture and brown under a salamander. Reserve.

For the Cabbage Filling:
Blanch the cabbage for 1 minute then shock in an ice bath. Squeeze the cabbage dry and set aside. Render the bacon in olive oil until crisp, then remove and reserve the bacon. Add the onions and cook until translucent, then add the chicken stock and reduce by ½. Add the cabbage to the onions and continue cooking until it reaches a syrupy consistency. Add the cream and reduce until it clings to the cabbage nicely. Add the reserved bacon and thyme to the cabbage mixture, season with salt and pepper, and allow to cool.

For the Layered Beef and Foie Gras with Cabbage:
Slice off ½-inch sections from the top and bottom of the tenderloins lengthwise, resulting in 4long, thin pieces of tenderloin in total. Reserve the resulting rectangular centers for use in the Red Wine Poached Tenderloin and the 4 ½-inch palettes for this preparation.

Season the foie gras with salt and pepper and sear them lightly. Do not overcook the foie gras because it will cook further later.

Line half of the prosciutto on plastic wrap and top with one piece of beef tenderloin. Top the beef with ½ of the cabbage filling, and ½ of the foie gras. Sprinkle ½ of the herbs over the foie gras and top with the porcini mushrooms. Place another piece of beef tenderloin on top of the cabbage filling, then wrap the whole thing with the prosciutto. Wrap in the plastic tightly to form a cylinder and place in a freezer to chill for ½ hour.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Remove the tenderloin from the freezer, remove the plastic wrap, and truss the beef tightly. Brown the beef in the butter, olive oil, thyme rosemary, shallots and garlic. Baste the beef until browned, then finish cooking in the oven for approximately 8 minutes. Allow the beef to rest, then slice.

For the Red Wine Poached Tenderloin:
Sweat the onions, celery and shallots in butter and olive oil until translucent. Add the Pinot Noir, red wine vinegar, thyme, peppercorn and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and steep for 20 minutes. Strain the liquid and season with salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the butter over heat and bring the liquid to 140ºF.

Season the beef with salt and pepper and poach a two portions at a time until medium rare. Allow the beef to rest then slice. Froth the poaching liquid for plating.

To Assemble and Serve:
Place a portion of the cheese crusted polenta to the edge of a plate. The poached tenderloin sits next to the polenta with a small amount of poaching foam on top. The braised short rib and stuffed tenderloin share the other edge of the plate.