Almost every national cuisine of the world has its own signature dish of beef ; every self-respecting restaurant has several options for its dishes made from veal in its menu.
If you decide to treat yourself and loved ones to a delicious non-trivial dish, try to cook an dish of unrivaled taste - baked beef in French.
How to bake meat in the oven
Beef, which has been in the oven, acquires an unusual, incomparable taste and aroma. Baking any meat requires a considerable amount of time, does not endure haste, therefore, it is mainly prepared for large holidays, when guests dear to the heart gather at the gala table. In order for French beef in the oven to become a true masterpiece of your culinary skill, some rules must be observed.
The first, most essential condition for achieving an excellent result is the selection of a good quality piece of beef. The second is the selection of a suitable, convenient baking dish. And finally, the third - the temperature regime and the time period for cooking meat.
All other components of the recipe, such as the amount of seasonings, salt, herbs and other additives, are, of course, a matter of personal taste, but it is recommended that you follow the instructions of the recipe.
How to choose the right piece of meat
French beef in the oven will turn out tasty and juicy only if the right piece of meat is selected. It should be saturated red, smell good, have an elastic fibrous structure. French beef is not a recipe for an everyday table, and for it it is better to buy a tenderloin from an animal carcass that is no more than two years old. The most suitable places for baking are the lumbar muscle, scapula, notch and back. Pay attention to the fact that in the selected piece of fillet there should be as few veins, fat and films as possible - this will save you from the long work of cleaning the piece of excess garbage.
What utensils to use for baking meat
Most housewives have a rather impressive set of different kitchen utensils for cooking a variety of dishes. French meat is a recipe in which beef should be well baked. To achieve excellent results, you must use the correct baking dish. An excellent option will be cast-iron thick-walled, with excellent thermal conductivity, with high sides of the baking sheet.
Baking time and temperature
First you need to decide what result you want to get. French beef in the oven implies the presence of a crispy crispy cheese crust, and therefore it is better to bake it at a rather high temperature, about 220-250 ° C, for a short time. Some recipes for this dish recommend filling the top layer of cheese a few minutes before the dish is fully cooked. In this case, the baking temperature of the meat must be reduced to 150 ° C, and after adding cheese to increase the heating to 220 ° C.
How to prepare meat for baking
Before starting to cook meat, it is necessary to clean it of excess films, wash it with cold water and dry it with a cotton towel. Since beef is considered to be “dry”, that is, lean meat, some tricks used by experienced chefs will help to give it tenderness and prevent it from drying out during baking. For example, beef can be wrapped in thin strips of bacon or stuffed slices of meat with small pieces of bacon. French-style meat is a recipe in which beef just doesn’t have to be “dry”, so these simple tips will come in handy.
French Beef General
Somehow it happened that pork is cooked using this method, but beef in French is a no less appetizing recipe, the dish can decorate a festive feast and will certainly appeal to the most demanding eaters.
So, beef in French, the recipe. Photos of the finished dish and our step-by-step recipe will help inexperienced hostesses. There is nothing complicated about it.
And not all experienced housewives know how to cook beef in French. Advice for no one will be superfluous.
The first thing to do is prepare a suitable piece of meat. To do this, as mentioned above, it must be cleaned of excess veins and fat, washed well with cold water, dried with a towel or napkins. After these procedures, the fillet is cut into thin layers. Each piece is well beat off, salt, sprinkle with spices, lay on a greased baking sheet with a small amount of oil.
Onions, fresh tomatoes, potatoes cut into circles. All this is laid out on meat in layers: onion rings - mayonnaise - tomatoes - mayonnaise - potatoes - mayonnaise (do not forget to slightly add salt and pepper). Between tomatoes and potatoes you can put cheese grated on a coarse grater. Gently pour half a glass of water into a baking sheet - this is done in order to avoid drying out the ingredients.
The baking sheet goes to a well-preheated - up to 190-200 ° - oven for one hour. After this time, the form must be removed from the oven, pour meat with vegetables coarsely grated cheese, raise the temperature to 220 ° C and bake until a crispy golden crust appears.
How to properly serve baked beef in French will be described below.
Recipe for French Beef with Mushrooms
If you want to make the meat in French even more delicious, then the most win-win option is to add mushrooms to the main recipe. It can be champignons, oyster mushrooms and even fresh mushrooms. In order for them to give all their taste and aroma to meat, they do not need to be laid on top of all available layers. It is better to lay the mushrooms directly on pieces of beef.
So, for cooking beef in French with mushrooms you will need:
- beef;
- sour cream;
- potatoes;
- hard cheese;
- onion;
- mushrooms;
- mayonnaise;
- fresh garlic;
- soft cream cheese ;
- seasoning for beef.
We decided not to specify the exact amount of ingredients in this recipe, experiment, give free rein to your taste and desires.
As has been repeatedly said above, a piece of beef must be washed, dried, and cleaned of all unnecessary. Slice the meat into thin layers and beat off well. By the way, it is better to beat meat by wrapping it in a film - this will save you from the subsequent washing of the kitchen from small debris and meat juice.
Sprinkle each piece with spices, salt and grease with a small amount of mayonnaise.
Rinse the mushrooms well, remove the top film from the cap from the mushrooms. Cut into thin plates, if they are small, you can leave them whole. Fry the mushrooms with a small amount of onion until half ready.
Pass the garlic through a crush or chop finely. Chop the onion into thin rings. Grate the cheese through large cells and divide into two parts - one small, the second larger.
In a separate cup, combine sour cream, seasoning for beef, a small portion of grated cheese, garlic, finely chopped greens, salt.
Mix the cooled mushrooms with cream cheese, add to a cup with sour cream mixture. To stir thoroughly.
We begin to lay the fragrant layers of beef in French.
In a greased baking dish, lay out layers of meat, onions, sour cream and mushroom mass. From above, all this splendor is covered with grated cheese.
The meat is baked for approximately 40 minutes in an oven preheated to 220 ° C.
How to Serve Baked Beef
So, the cooking process has come to an end, it's time to take out the form from the oven. Do not do this right away. Turn off the stove, open the door and
give the dish a little rest, five minutes is enough. After that, take the mold out of the oven, wrap it with foil and leave it to “ripen” for fifteen minutes.
Cooked French beef in the oven is served in portions, on a preheated plate. Fresh vegetables, halves of cherry tomatoes, greens, olives and other suitable products can be used as decorations.
Bon Appetit!