Laura the Gastronaut > Julia Child > Meat > Braised Filet of Beef

Filet de Boeuf Braisé Prince Albert

April 20, 2020 | Updated August 24, 2023 | Laura

✽ Recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. I | Julia Child ✽

Julia Child Recipes 97-98 | 430 recipes to go!

✽ Filet de Boeuf Braisé Prince Albert [Braised Filet of Beef Stuffed with Foie Gras and Truffles], p. 303
✽ Purée de Pommes de Terre à l’Ail [Garlic Mashed Potatoes], p. 520

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✽ Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. I was written by Julia Child who co-authored with Simone Beck & Louisette Bertholle and was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1961.

✽ You can buy Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I which contains these recipes here. (affiliate link)

The purpose of this Julia Child section of my blog is to document my journey of learning how to cook. To show my successes, my failures, and what I learned along the way.

Since I didn't create these recipes (if only!), I do not post exact amounts of ingredients or word-for-word instructions. If any of these recipes spark your interest, I highly recommend you buy Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking (affiliate link). It's a great investment and learning tool and contains hundreds of classic recipes.

I hope that you enjoy reading my thoughts, learn something new, and leave inspired to try a new recipe. Bon appétit!

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✽ Butter Count: +14 TB

✽ Cost: $119.17 [~$14.90 per serving]

- Braised Filet of Beef Stuffed with Foie Gras and Truffles= $112.90 [8 servings]
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes= $6.27 [6-8 servings]

Check out the total Julia Child butter count & cost here!

→ Looking for a different Julia Child recipe? Here's a list of all of the completed and pending Mastering the Art of French Cooking recipes!

In Julia’s words, “a magnificent recipe for an important dinner.” If you have never bought a beef filet before know that you will be paying a pretty penny for it. I knew it would be expensive, but I didn’t know it would be THAT expensive. I ended up only buying half of what the recipe suggests because of the price.

Annndd this caused me to overcook the meat. I acted like it was the end of the world when I opened the Dutch oven and saw what I had done. However, it really didn’t matter. The filet was still super good.

I mean you have beef stuffed with foie gras and truffles covered in a thick delicious sauce. It’s difficult to ruin that.

As for the garlic potatoes, WOW. They are amazing. Your mouth may drop open when you read that the recipe calls for thirty cloves of garlic. Yes, thirty. Don’t’ even think of putting less. These potatoes are perfect just the way they are.

Looking for more Julia Child beef recipes to read about?

→ Check out all of the meat recipes that I've completed so far!

✽ Step 1: Marinate Truffles

The recipe begins by marinating the truffles in Madeira.

✽ Step 2: Cook Vegetables

Carrots, onions, celery, boiled ham, seasonings, an herb bouquet, and butter are all sautéed together for a few minutes. Madeira is poured in and boiled until almost evaporated.

✽ Step 3: Make Foie Gras Stuffing

The filet stuffing consists of minced shallots sautéed in butter, mousse de foie d’oie, Madeira, cognac, and seasonings.

✽ Step 4: Stuff Filet

The filet is cut down the length, seasoned, and filled with the stuffing. The marinated truffles are lined down the center of the cut.

✽ Step 5: Wrap Filet with Bacon

Lastly, blanched bacon is laid over the cut and string is used to tie securely.

✽ Step 6: Brown Filet

The sides of the filet are browned in butter and oil in a casserole and seasoned.

✽ Step 7: Cook Filet

The filet is covered with the sautéed vegetables, enough bouillon is added to cover half of the filet, and is brought to a simmer on top of the stove. The top of the casserole is covered with foil and the lid.

For a three pound piece of beef, it will cook 45-55 minutes at 350 degrees. Important- make sure you adjust the time for the size of meat (lesson learned the hard way…). The filet is ready when the meat thermometer reads 125-135 degrees.

✽ Step 8: Remove Bacon & Let Sit

When ready, the bacon is removed, and the meat is cooled for 10 minutes to ensure the juices retreat back into the tissues.

✽ Step 9: Make Sauce

Now, to the sauce! Once you skim the fat off of the braising liquid, the truffle marinade is poured in, and it is all boiled down. Cornstarch mixed with a little bit of Madeira is beaten in, and it is all simmered for 2-3 minutes. Lastly, correct seasoning and serve.

How to Make Garlic Mashed Potatoes

✽ Step 1: Boil Garlic

Now it’s time to pull out your thirty cloves of garlic! They are going to boil for two minutes. This will help tone down their strong flavor a little bit. Drain and peel.

✽ Step 2: Cook Garlic

The garlic is cooked slowly in butter in a covered saucepan for 20 minutes. You want them to get tender but not browned.

✽ Step 3: Make Roux

Blend in some flour and cook over low heat for a couple more minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in boiling milk, salt, and pepper. The mixture is boiled and stirred for one minute. I then put it all in a blender and simmer for a couple more minutes.

Always be careful with hot things in an electric blender. I have a permanent scar on my right arm to remind me.

✽ Step 4: Boil & Beat Potatoes

Baking potatoes (I used red potatoes) are peeled and quartered. Drop ‘em in boiling salted water and boil until they are tender. Drain and mash.

This next step is interesting and new to me. The mashed potatoes are beat with a spoon for several minutes over moderate heat. This is going to get rid of all the moisture. Once you see a film at the bottom of the pan, remove from the heat and stir in butter, salt, and pepper.

✽ Step 5: Add Garlic Sauce

Right before serving, beat in that delicious garlic sauce, cream, parsley, and seasonings. You will love these potatoes so so much!

Overall, this was indeed a magnificent meal. Next “Meat” chapter recipe is exactly the same except the filet is marinated beforehand. Definitely will not overcook that one.

*This blog, Laura the Gastronaut, and this post were/are not endorsed or supported by Julia Child or The Julia Child Foundation.

Category: Julia Child, Vegetables, Meat Cuisine: French
Keywords: julia child braised beef, garlic mashed potatoes recipe, filet de boeuf recipe

✽ Did you make this recipe too?
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More Beef Recipes:

✽ Hamburgers in Cream Sauce (the ultimate comfort food)
✽ Marinade for Filet of Beef (a marinade recipe that makes this beef even tastier)
✽ Tournedos Rossini (filet steaks served with foie gras, truffles, and Madeira sauce)
→ Check out all of the completed Julia Child meat recipes!

✽ You can find this recipe and all the other Julia Child recipes I make in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I (affiliate link).
→ Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. I was written by Julia Child who co-authored with Simone Beck & Louisette Bertholle and was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1961.

✽ Check out my Julia Child Recipe Checklist to see a list of all my completed and pending recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking!

Bon appétit!

April 20, 2020 by Laura Ehlers

*This Filet de Boeuf Braise Prince Albert blog post may contain some Amazon affiliate links. These link to products that I personally use and recommend. If you purchase anything using my links, it will not cost you anything. It will though give laurathegastronaut.com some financial support which helps me keep this blog running. Thank you for reading my blogs and your continued support.