Filete Enchocolatado (Beef in Chocolate Sauce)

Chocolate on beef sounds wild until you taste it. This Mexican dish simmers beef tenderloin in white wine with onion and garlic, then adds unsweetened chocolate to the sauce. The chocolate doesn’t make it sweet. It adds a deep, velvety richness and a faint bitterness that rounds out the wine and beef flavors in a way that has to be tasted to be understood.

Brown the tenderloin on all sides in butter first. That sear locks in the juices and creates fond in the pan that dissolves into the wine sauce. After 15 minutes of covered simmering, the chocolate goes in for the last 10 minutes uncovered, melting into the sauce and thickening it into something glossy and dark.

Sliced, sauced, sprinkled with crumbled cheese, and broiled until the cheese melts and bubbles. The tangy cheese against the bittersweet chocolate sauce is extraordinary.

Chef Tips

• Use unsweetened baking chocolate, not semi-sweet or milk chocolate. Any sweetness will throw off the savory balance.
• One ounce is all you need. The chocolate should be a background note, not the main flavor.
• Simmer uncovered after adding the chocolate so the sauce reduces and concentrates.
• Broil just long enough to melt the cheese. Too long and the sauce will dry out.

Variations

• Add a dried ancho chile to the simmering liquid for a more traditional mole-inspired depth.
• Use Gruyere or Manchego instead of French cheese for a different melting profile.
• Serve sliced over creamy mashed potatoes to soak up every drop of that chocolate wine sauce.