Take it from Sam Elliott and Hannibal Lecter: You can’t go wrong with chateaubriand.
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Let’s talk about meat and serial killers, shall we?
If you’ve seen the 2002 movie Red Dragon, you might remember how FBI agent Will Graham visited Hannibal Lecter, picked up a cookbook in Lecter’s office, saw an entry about sweetbreads, then realized too late that Lecter was the serial killer he’d been looking for.
That cookbook was Larousse Gastronomique, a 20-pound encyclopedia of French cuisine (which Lecter was using for a sweetbread recipe, but instead of calf or lamb organs-—thymus or brains or pancreas or whatever—-he served his guests an amuse bouche made from a tone-deaf flautist from the Baltimore Symphony).
Larousse Gastronomique, which was written by a guy named Prosper Montagné, says a chef named Montmireil created Chateaubriand in 1822, naming it after his boss, the Vicomte François-René de Châteaubriand, who in turn was the French ambassador to England and who looked a lot like David Tennant, who played Doctor Who, all of which means that Sam Elliott can do voiceovers for beef commercials, which sell lots and lots and lots of beef.
![](https://food.livedogproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/chateaubriand.png)
Got all that?
Okay, good. So the point here is that Chateaubriand isn’t a recipe; it’s a cut of meat. Specifically, it’s part of the tenderloin, aka the psoas major muscle.
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The psoas major does very little work, so it’s the most tender cut of beef. A number of fancy cuts come from the tenderloin: Filet mignon; fillet steak (for Beef Wellington); tournedos; the butt end, etc.
Chateaubriand is the center of the tenderloin; it’s usually sold in one piece weighing 12 to 16 oz.
One Chateaubriand cut generally serves two, so if you’re serving more, just make more marinade.
- Ingredients:
- 1 Chateaubriand
- 2–4 cups of soy sauce
- 1 cup olive oil
- 12 oz. water
- 2 tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1–2 tbsp. black pepper
Directions
Combine ingredients and marinate 8 to 12 hours, turning or basting occasionally. Don’t throw the marinade or any juices out; save them for when it’s time to cook.
Preheat oven to 425° F.
Put the meat on a roasting rack in a baking dish.
For rare or medium-rare or medium, respectfully, cook until the center is about 120° or 130° F.
Cover loosely with foil; let rest for 15 minutes.
If you’re feeding any uncivilized barbarians who want it medium, medium-well, or even (gasp) well-done, take it out of the oven when it’s medium-rare anyway, then finish their slices off in a skillet with a little olive oil.
Cut into 1/4‑inch slices; cook a little more in a skillet if needed, and serve.