RECIPE: How to Sous Vide a Beef or Bison Chateaubriand Tenderloin

A friend of ours, who describes himself as "the steak expert,"  offered to teach me how to sous vide a chateaubriand tenderloin with both a pre- and post- sear.  

How to Sous Vide a Beef or Bison Chateaubriand Tenderloin

 Serves 6

We used a 1.75-pound chateaubriand, and intended to serve it in 1.5" thick slices, medium rare on the inside, and nicely browned on the outside.  Here are the photos I took:

First, he tied the roast with butcher's twine to insure it stayed round; 

Second, in a hot pan, he melted some beef tallow and seared the outside of the roll including the ends;

Third, he vacuum sealed it with some seasoned butter (grey shallots and thyme):

Chateaubriand tied, seared, and vacuum sealed with seasoned butter

Fourth, he cooked it sous vide at 130F for 1.5 hours.  This is how it looked when he removed it from the vacuum bag:

chateaubriand cooked sous vide at 130F for 1.5 hours

Fifth, he sliced it into 1.5" thick pieces - we ended up with 5 good size steaks and one slightly smaller:

Cutting the chateaubriand into 1.5 inch steaks

Sixth, in the same pan used to sear the outside, he melted some additional tallow and seared each steak on both sides until browned:

Searing the steaks on both sides

When he removed them from the pan, he sprinkled each one with a little coarse salt.  

Absolutely perfect medium rare tenderloin steaks!

After resting for 5 minutes, we served the steaks with additional seasoned butter.  They were perfectly medium rare inside!  Sorry I forgot to take a photo of the inside!  I was too busy eating!