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Filet Beefsteak

4 servings

Ingredients

• Tenderloin (filet), not from an old-slaughtered animal (pcs)
• Pepper (a little)
• Salt (a little)
• Butter (a little)
• Water or bouillon from cooked meat scraps (very little)
• Onions (to taste)
• Eggs for fried eggs (to taste)

Instructions

1. The tenderloin used for this should not be from an animal slaughtered too old.
2. Cut it into slices two fingers thick and pound them with a round meat mallet.
3. Then, sprinkle them with pepper and salt, immediately place them in sizzling hot butter, and pan-fry them quickly over high heat.
4. Let the pieces cook until a little blood appears on top, then turn them with a knife without piercing, and continue frying, basting diligently until the underside is browned.
5. Afterward, turn them once more and fry the second side; if you let them fry longer, they will become dry and tough.
6. Quickly place them on a hot platter, stir a very small amount of cold water or, even better, bouillon from cooked meat scraps into the sauce, and pour this boiling sauce over the meat.
7. If you wish to serve the beefsteaks with fried eggs, place an egg with neatly trimmed edges on each steak.
8. If they are to be fried with onions, brown the butter about 10 minutes beforehand, add plenty of diced onions and let them brown, then push them aside, place the meat in the boiling onion butter, and finish frying it.
9. When serving, spread the onions over the top.

Modernized from a treasured 19th-century German cookbook.