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SCIENCE EXPERIMENT
A simple egg wash is the usual choice for binding a bread-crumb coating to meat, but it didn't work for our slippery horseradish-bread-crumb mixture. Could we do better by replacing the egg white with gelatin?
THE EXPERIMENT
We prepared two pastes, one made with egg white, horseradish, mayonnaise, and mustard and a second where we substituted 1/2 teaspoon of gelatin for the egg white. We applied each paste to a beef tenderloin and then cooked the roasts according to our recipe.
THE RESULTS
The gelatin paste kept the bread crumbs attached to meat much better than the egg version. It also had a slight elasticity and allowed it to remain firmly stuck to the meat as we sliced.
THE EXPLANATION
Meat and gelatin have a natural affinity. Both are made up of linear proteins that are able to form tight bonds with each other. The proteins in egg whites, on the other hand, are globular (wound up like balls of yarn). Although egg whites do eventually stretch into more linear shapes when heated, they still form a weaker bond with meat than gelatin.
CRISPER TENDERLOIN COATING
Fried potato shreds made for a far crisper—and more flavorful—crust than the typical bread-crumb coating.
1. GRATE potato on large holes of box grater for thin slivers that will crisp up quickly.
2. RINSE shreds to remove surface starch, then squeeze dry in kitchen towel.
3. FRY potatoes in oil to create savory crumbles that keep their crunch.
1 beef tenderloin center-cut Châteaubriand (about 2 pounds), trimmed of fat and silver skin
Kosher salt (see note)
3tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1cup plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 1/4teaspoons ground black pepper
1small shallot, minced (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
2medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1/4cup well-drained prepared horseradish (see note)
2tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1/2teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1small russet potato (about 6 ounces), peeled and grated on large holes of box grater
1 1/2teaspoons mayonnaise
1 1/2teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2teaspoon powdered gelatin (see note)
If using table salt, reduce the amount in step 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons. Add the gelatin to the horseradish paste at the last moment, or the mixture will become unspreadable. If desired, serve the roast with Horseradish Cream Sauce (recipe follows; you will need 2 jars of prepared horseradish for both the roast and sauce). If you choose to salt the tenderloin in advance, remove it from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking. To make this recipe 1 day in advance, prepare it through step 3, but in step 2 do not toss the bread crumbs with the other ingredients until you are ready to sear the meat.
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1st Keep
 DBKJones
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