Entrecôte à la bordelaise

Reduce the Bordeaux wine with shallot. Put the wine, shallots and thyme in a small saucepan and simmer uncovered until the volume is reduced by roughly two thirds. Use Small saucepan. Work at medium heat. Allow 15 minutes. About 100 ml of wine reduction remains, the shallots are soft and the liquid tastes concentrated rather than raw or sharply alcoholic. A strong wine reduction concentrates the Bordelais base before stock is added. Wine alcohol is reduced but not eliminated; keep the pan away from open flames.

Reduce with stock. Add the 250 ml beef stock and simmer until the sauce is lightly syrupy and the combined volume is about 280 ml. Use Same saucepan. Work at medium heat. Allow 10 minutes. The sauce has reduced to about 280 ml and lightly coats the back of a spoon while remaining pourable. Reducing stock supplies body without flour and sets the target serving volume. The stock contains celery; keep that allergen declaration with the finished dish.

Poach the marrow and mount the sauce. Add the chilled diced marrow and simmer gently just until hot through, then take the saucepan off the heat and swirl in the cold butter and parsley; do not strain. Use Same saucepan. Work at low heat then off heat. Allow 4 minutes. The marrow is hot and tender, the butter is emulsified, and the finished unstrained sauce is glossy at about 300 ml total volume. Gentle heat protects the marrow texture, while cold butter rounds and emulsifies the reduced sauce. Handle marrow as a perishable meat product and keep it refrigerated until it enters the hot sauce.

Season and sear the intact steaks. Pat the steaks dry, season with all 6 g salt and the pepper immediately before cooking, heat the oil in a heavy skillet and sear, turning every 2 minutes for even browning. Use Heavy skillet and tongs. Work at high heat. Allow 9 minutes. Target 63 °C. The thickest centre of every steak reaches at least 63 °C when the thermometer is inserted from the side, and the exterior is deeply browned. Frequent turning helps the 3 cm steaks heat evenly while developing a crust. The 63 °C endpoint plus rest applies to intact, non-mechanically-tenderized beef; use a clean food thermometer and do not judge safety by colour.

Rest the steaks for three minutes. Transfer the steaks to a clean warm plate and leave them undisturbed before serving; expect a small amount of carryover heat while the juices redistribute. Use Warm clean plate. Work under room temperature conditions. Allow 3 minutes resting. Target 63 °C. The steaks have rested for a full 3 minutes after first reaching at least 63 °C, with only a small amount of juice collecting on the plate. The three-minute rest is part of the safety requirement for intact beef and also reduces juice loss during cutting. Do not shorten the mandatory 3-minute rest.

Finish the plates immediately. Divide the hot sauce evenly over the four rested steaks, giving each about 75 ml and its share of marrow and shallots. Use Warm plates. Work at off heat. Allow 0 minutes. Each steak has an even portion of the glossy unstrained sauce, including marrow and shallot. Immediate plating keeps the mounted butter sauce emulsified. Serve promptly; alcohol may remain in the reduced sauce.