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Larded Fillet of Beef

A fillet of beef braised with stock and sherry, glazed, and finished with crisped lardons.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Beef and sherry work together. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 871 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓

Larded Fillet of Beef

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderately hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Braise the fillet

  1. Cover the pan and fry the fillet over medium heat for 20 minutes.

  2. Add the stock and sherry to the pan.

  3. Place the pan in a 350°F (175°C) oven and braise the fillet for 2 hours, basting frequently with the gravy.

  4. As the gravy reduces, add more stock as needed.

Glaze and finish

  1. Once cooked, transfer the fillet to a baking tin and brush it with warm glaze.

  2. Put it in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 20 minutes to crisp the lardons.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beef + sherrytop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together871 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Fillet of beef
Forms the main meat, which becomes tender and moist during slow braising.
Stock
Provides the liquid that braises the meat and forms the base of the gravy.
Sherry
Adds acidity and aroma that deepen the flavour of the gravy.
Lardons
Add fat and savoury flavour, and crisp in the oven for texture.

The step that matters

Keep the gravy topped up with stock. As the liquid reduces it becomes more concentrated and can scorch on the pan base or leave the meat drying out. Adding stock as needed keeps the braise moist and the gravy smooth.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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