Episode 3: Beef tenderloin roast and pan-fried tenderloin

Traditional Recipes

2020-12-11

Ingridients:

for Beef tenderloin roast
Ingredients:
•    tenderloin
•    pork fatback
•    onion
•    veal liver
•    vinegar
•    3 eggs
•    breadcrumbs
•    crushed aromatic spices
•    bread
•    butter
•    a quarter (¼ L) of sour cream
•    3 egg yolks
•    grated horseradish
•    salt
•    butter or other fat for frying
•    potatoes / fries

for Tenderloin for hedonists
Ingredients:
•    beef tenderloin (to be cut into slices about 3 cm thick)
•    salt
•    pepper
•    mustard
•    egg yolks (one per piece of tenderloin)
•    onion
•    grated horseradish
•    butter or other fat for frying
•    potatoes—for example, as fries

for Beef roast with mushrooms
Ingredients:
•    beef tenderloin
•    olive oil
•    onion
•    allspice
•    mushrooms
•    butter
•    tomatoes
•    cucumbers

We warmly invite you to read the third installment of our special series, in which we present a family story not so much “from the kitchen” as in connection with culinary tradition—with old and somewhat newer recipes. In this story, good taste plays an important role—literally, because the people mentioned here were united not only by family ties, ideals, a sense of mission or a work ethic, but also by the home table and the meals eaten at it—both everyday and exceptional. And since our thoughts are already circling around the upcoming Christmas holidays, a truly festive flavor will accompany us in this episode.

Thanks to the courtesy of Mr. Piotr Rydzewski, let us once again look into his extremely interesting family archive. So, as usual—first a few sentences of story and unique photographs, and then the culinary part…

We encourage you, dear Readers—try using the given recipes at home, adapting them not only to today’s possibilities but also to your own preferences. Creating dishes with wonderful flavor is the best way to create a unique atmosphere, so needed especially during the Christmas and New Year season.

In the previous episode we recalled, among others, the figure of Antoni Kuźnicki—a railway official of the Kalisz district and Mr. Piotr’s great-grandfather. Mr. Antoni played a significant and noble role in the history of the railways—at a time extremely important for Poland. Here is an exceptional document, issued on November 11, 1918. We all know this date as one of the most important days in our history—the day of regaining independence.

Episode 3: Beef tenderloin roast and pan-fried tenderloin

This letter, marked with the stamp of the Union of Railwaymen of the Łódź Junction, as well as the exact time (10 p.m.) and signed by members of the railway administration, obliges Mr. Antoni, a traffic department clerk, working at 21 Składowa Street, to “upon receipt of this order immediately proceed to take over from the Germans the Łódź Kaliska station and staff with Polish railway personnel all stations and posts up to Szczypiorno” [Szczypiorno is today a housing estate that is part of Kalisz].

When traveling by train today, especially in the Łódź region, it is worth remembering people like Antoni Kuźnicki, thanks to whom independence arrived in many places by rail—literally, along with the whistle of the locomotive and Polish railwaymen.

And now the recipes—this time two hearty meat dishes that can be an excellent proposal for holiday dinners. Starring—the tenderloin!

In the recipes we generally keep the original spelling, introducing only the necessary linguistic and editorial changes.

BEEF TENDERLOIN ROAST

Remove sinews from the beef tenderloin, lard it with pork fatback, salt it and place it in a pot, having laid slices of fatback and onion rings underneath—cover and let it braise. When it is [will be] nicely tender, pour in vinegar and put it back on the heat—take a roasted or boiled veal liver, cold, grate it, place it in a mortar, add 3 eggs, breadcrumbs, crushed spices [aromatic spices], salt, and onion sautéed in butter. Mix all that, make from it a ring [a circle around the rim] on a serving platter, garnish with cut-out and fried bread, take the tenderloin, slice it, arrange it on the same platter, layering with the same stuffing used to decorate the edge of the platter, only thin it with the juices from the tenderloin. Having arranged it this way, take a quarter [1/4 liter] of good sour cream, 3 egg yolks, add grated horseradish, mix and pour into the center of the tenderloin and over the top, drizzle with the “fat drippings” from the tenderloin, put into the oven. When it browns, serve.

TENDERLOIN FOR “HEDONISTS”

(so in this case, for everyone who derives particular pleasure from tasting delicious dishes!)

Cut the tenderloin into slices about 3 cm thick. Pound each piece into a thin cutlet, salt, pepper, spread with mustard; crack an egg yolk onto each piece of meat and spread it over the entire surface. Sprinkle with finely chopped onion and grated horseradish—fold in half and fry in hot fat on both sides. Serve with fries or potatoes.

BEEF ROAST WITH MUSHROOMS

Drizzle the tenderloin with olive oil, surround with onion slices and allspice—a few hours before frying, then sear the tenderloin in a pan on both sides, and finally bake it in a hot oven for about 20–30 minutes; then slice it onto a hot platter and pour over fried mushrooms cut into strips. You can also sauté onion in butter, then add squeezed [drained] slices of tomatoes and cucumbers and throw all of this hot onto the roast.