Filet Mignon Recipe

The King of Steaks

Restaurant Beef Recipe

Filet Mignon : Tender, tender, tender. Expensive. Use this restaurant Filet Mignon Recipe to enhance the occasional extravagance you deserve! We all need to treat ourselves occasionally.

The restaurant guests love the Bleu Cheese Butter with their steak. It is what helps make this a favorite restaurant recipe.

What is filet mignon or tenderloin?

Filet mignon is French for “thick slice dainty.”

The words seem to be at odds with each other, but actually they are not when you think about it.

A filet mignon should be fairly thick. And even though it is thick, the meat remains easy to cut (tender or dainty).

Filet mignon comes from the small end of the tenderloin (called the short loin) which is found on the back rib cage of the animal. This area has no connective tissues that are hardened because the area bares no weight.

The term tenderloin or chateaubriand refers to the entire strip of meat. Slices of tenderloin are called filet mignon.

Some people say that a filet mignon is so tender it should never be cooked beyond medium-rare because the longer you cook it, the less tender and more dry it becomes. That is how I like my tenderloin cooked. That said, you should cook it to your own preference.

Although experienced cooks can touch a piece of beef to gauge doneness, I recommend using a meat thermometer. Even the chefs at the restaurant use one to double check themselves, especially when cooking expensive product!

A dry, high heat method such as broiling, roasting, pan-frying or grilling work well with this tender cut of beef. For this filet mignon recipe, I use a cast iron skillet to pan fry the steak.

Using a heavy sauté pan or even better, a cast iron skillet, will form that brown, flavorful, crusty surface that everyone seems to love. Yummy!

A tenderloin has no surrounding fat tissue so that is why you see that it is often wrapped in a layer of fat (called barding) such as bacon. This helps to keep it from drying out and it also adds flavor.

One other note worth mentioning: this recipe is fine for a low carb diet. Just don't serve it with potatoes or white rice. At the restaurant we are all familiar with the request "double vegetables - no potatoes."

Filet Mignon Recipe

Favorite Restaurant Beef Recipe

Preparation time: 10 minutes for the Bleu Cheese Butter. 10-15 minutes for the clarified butter. Cooking time for the steak depends on desired doneness and thickness of the cut (1 inch should be the absolute minimum). Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• Four 6 ounce filet mignon steaks (I like a thickness of at least 1 1/2  inches. I also recommend you purchase “natural beef” if at all possible.)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2-4 tablespoons of clarified butter (see below)

Instructions:

• Let the meat sit at room temperature for about an hour
• Heat the clarified butter (see below) in a large sauté pan or cast iron skillet over moderately high heat
• Salt and pepper the filet mignon to taste
• Place the steaks in the pan and cook until well browned on the bottom and about half done (cooked)
• Turn the steaks over and continue to cook to desired temperature (have your thermometer handy and see cooking temperature table below)

• Using your meat thermometer, check for doneness
• Remove from heat to warmed plates and place sliced Bleu cheese butter on top of each steak

Enjoy your Filet Mignon Recipe with Bleu Cheese Butter and the company of those you share it with!

Donna

Did you know? O. Henry (pen name of William Sydney Porter) was the first to use the term "filet mignon" in his book 'The Four Million' in 1906.

(Egads! My husband's sense of humor!

PLEASE ...use a good meat thermometer!)