Filet Steak with Bordelaise Sauce

This is an absolute classic French dish that you should expect to see on any good French restaurants menu and selling in big numbers! The famous Filet Steak with Bordelaise Sauce is perhaps one of the most famous French dishes you can get. Perfectly cooked Beef that is served with a wonderfully rich and indulgent Red Wine Sauce that is packed full of flavor. The techniques in this recipe are classic French cooking, and are simple enough for anyone to be able to make it at home

While you may think the star of the show is the Steak, as that’s what usually jacks up the price of dishes like this in French Bistros, you’ll be mistaken. The real hero of this dish, and honestly the hero in most French cookery is the Sauce. An amazing Sauce that is generously poured over this beautiful piece of Steak brings the whole plate to life. The Sauce requires the most attention and time to perfect

What goes into a Bordelaise Sauce?

So, if the appearance doesn’t give it away then the name certainly will. Bordelaise Sauce is, of course, a Red Wine Sauce. The famous and classic way to make this sauce is to naturally use Bordeaux Wine, a famous French Red wine from the South-West of France. It’s known for its well balanced flavors of fruits and tannins, it’s a very versatile Wine that can be paired with so many dishes

I think that is one of the reasons that Bordelaise Sauce is so popular. The Wine is so versatile and enjoyed by so many that is naturally translates well into a well rounded sauce. To make a traditional Bordelaise Sauce you should use Bordeaux Red Wine, however we’re not too fussy

Any medium to fuller bodied Red Wine will do. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Shiraz, Malbec will all work well. Try to avoid lighter wines like Pinot Noir. The heavier Red Wines lend themselves better to being used in Sauces, especially rich ones such as this

Other that Wine, the second major ingredient is Demi-Glace

This ingredient is the true hero in so many amazing French Sauces. Demi-Glace is essentially concentrated Beef Stock that is added to the Red Wine, giving it a Beefy flavor and overall luxurious, velvety texture. You may think that the Red Wine requires the most cooking time in this dish, but in fact it’s the Demi-Glace!

To make the Demi-Glace you’ll need to first create a Beef Stock. You want this Stock super-beefy, so use about 2 lbs. of Beef Bones (we recommend freezing Beef Bones after you’ve used them in meals). You can also buy Beef Bones from the butcher and use those

The secret ingredient to a Bordelaise Sauce is using Demi-Glace, otherwise known simply as concentrated Beef Stock

To make a great Beef Stock, roast the Bones in the oven until they are caramelized. I like to add an Onion and Carrot to the pan too and get them nice and roasted. Then, straight into a stock pot or Instant Pot they go along with Celery and a load of Water

Boil the whole thing for about 2 hours until the Beef fat is completely rendered out and infused into the Water. Strain the whole thing and return the Beef Stock to the pot and boil it, uncovered, on high for about 30 minutes. It’s texture will slowly change from a liquid to a glossy, buttery texture. You now have Demi-Glace!

We’ve dedicated an entire recipe to making Easy Demi-Glace at home, which you can check out here. It’s a great technique to learn, and having some ready made Demi-Glace sitting in your freezer is always a good thing to have on hand whenever the need for some fancy home cooking strikes!

Preparing the Filet Steak with Bordelaise Sauce dish

Once you’ve got your Demi-Glace ready it’s time to make the Steak and Sauce dish. This whole recipe is essentially now a one pot dish, all made in the trusty frying pan. The first step is to cook the Steak in the pan. Now, cooking a Beef Tenderloin / Filet is easy. For a typical 5 – 6 oz. Filet it will need to cook for 4 minutes on each side, so 8 minutes in total

Set your timer for 2 minute increments and then place the Steak onto a hot pan with a little bit of Oil. After 2 minutes, rotate the Steak 90 degrees (but keep it on the same side). 2 minutes later, flip it over and then do the same rotation after 2 minutes

After 8 minutes in total, flip the steaks over to sear the sides, about 30 seconds on each side should do. The steak will then be cooked a perfect medium rare! For smaller sized steaks, reduce the time from 2 minutes to 1 minute, 30 seconds. Allow the Steak to rest while you make the Bordelaise Sauce

Make the Bordelaise Sauce in the same Pan as the cooked Steak

Once the Steak has been removed you’ll notice there will likely be some wonderful flavors left in the pan. Some pieces of Beef stuck to the pan and likely some Juice as well. This stuff is gold, and will only further flavor the Sauce

To the pan we add Shallots and a generous amount of Butter (about 20g or so should do it!). Allow the Butter to melt and the Shallots to cook for a few minutes, then in goes some Garlic. Cook until fragrant and then add the Red Wine

How much Red Wine to add is generally up for debate. The purists will tell you that you only need about ½ a cup. However, when I’m making a Red Wine Sauce I want to taste it! I recommend about 1 ½ cups of Red Wine. That still leaves enough for a few generous glasses to enjoy with dinner!

Cook the Red Wine for about 5 minutes over a relatively high temperature until it reduces and thickens into a concentrated, almost syrup-like texture. At this point the sauce is ready for the Demi-Glace! Add about half the amount of Demi-Glace as you added Red Wine. So, about ¾ a cup. Bring it to a simmer then drop the heat to low

Adding more fat to help emulsify and thicken the sauce

The final step in making the Bordelaise Sauce is to add fat. The traditional method to do so is by adding Bone Marrow. This luxurious ingredient is packed with fatty flavor and can be found at most butchers. It is a little on the expensive side these days, so you can simply replace the Bone Marrow with Butter

Add a generous amount of Marrow / Butter to the pan and then continue to simmer over a low heat. Shaking the pan will help to incorporate the fat and emulsify the liquid. After a few minutes the Sauce will thicken and have a beautiful shiny look to it

The final step is to add some freshly chopped Parsley and then give it a taste! You can add a little Salt if needed, but likely there will be enough Salt in the pan already from the Steak, however it never hurts to taste test!

By this time the Steak will be well rested so you can slice it up and plate it. Drizzle a generous amount of the sauce over the top and serve with your favorite sides. That’s it, the most luxurious homemade Filet Steak with Bordelaise Sauce is ready to enjoy

Filet Steak with Bordelaise Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 x 5 oz. Beef Filets
• 40g Butter
• 1 Shallot, finely diced
• 3 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
• 1 ½ cups Red Wine
• ¾ cup Demi-Glace (recipe here)
• ½ cup of Parsley, roughly chopped
• Salt and Pepper
  
  

Instructions

1. Remove Steaks from refrigerator and bring them to room temperature then season generously on all sides with Salt and Pepper
2. Add the Oil to a large frying pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add the Steaks and press down on them
3. Cook the Steak for 2 minutes then rotate them 90 degrees and cook for 2 more minutes. Flip the Steaks over and repeat the process, cooking for 2 minutes then rotating and cooking for 2 more
4. Place the Steaks on their sides to seer the remaining sides for 30 seconds each side. Remove from heat and set aside to rest
5. In the same pan, drop the heat to medium and melt 20g of Butter then add Shallots and cook for 5 minutes, scraping off all the meaty bits stuck to the pan. Add Garlic and cook for 30 seconds
6. Add the Red Wine and cook for 5 minutes until it begins to turn slightly syrupy. Add the Demi-Glace and mix through
7. Add the remaining Butter and stir by shaking the pan, allowing the Butter to emulsify the Sauce. Continue to cook over a low heat until the Sauce thickens then remove from heat and mix in Parsley
8. Slice the rested Steak and plate. Pour over a generous amount of Bordelaise Sauce and season with Flaky Sea Salt
   
   

Recipe Notes

• Allow 2 additional hours if you are preparing the Demi-Glace from scratch
• You can replace the remaining 20g of Butter with Bone Marrow for the authentic Bordelaise Sauce
  
  

We know you will love this amazing Beef Filet with Bordelaise Sauce recipe. The huge flavors you can create by making your own homemade Demi-Glace will transform the dish, leveling it up to restaurant quality flavor

For more delicious Steak recipes, check out these favorites of ours:

• Steak Diane
• The Perfect Porterhouse Steak
• Peppercorn Steak and Pea Puree
• Honey Soy Hanger Steak
  
  

Happy Cooking!