Filet Mignon, translated from French as ‘cute fillet’ or ‘dainty fillet’, is often referred to as tenderloin steak. It has a very mild beef aroma and mild beef flavor when compared to other steaks and needs additional steps to make it more flavorful. Some chefs call filet mignon overrated, but most of us love it. When cooked right it’s very tender, flavorful and tasty.
The best way to cook filet mignon
Filet mignon can be cooked many different ways, but pan-searing it first in some oil and butter, then finishing in the oven is by far one of the best ways to cook it. A friend of mine who works at a local steakhouse shared this method and the recipe with me. I was skeptical at first, but once I tried it I knew I would never cook my filet mignon any other way. Filet mignon, being a very lean cut, is quite flavorless. To compensate, you must use butter and herbs. You pan-sear the meat with butter and oil over a fairly high heat, to give it a beautiful, intensely flavored crust. Then immediately transfer the pan into a preheated oven to complete the cooking which will result in a buttery-tender, perfectly cooked steak. This is it. This technique is simple and very effective.
Picking and preparing your tenderloin steak
To cook a perfect tenderloin steak you need to start with good meat, I think that goes without saying. Use the highest grade meat you can buy. Butter or not, good marbling will make filet mignon more tender and taste better. Beef tenderloin is a very tender cut, but you can tenderize it even further. This is not a required step, but I always do it and swear by it, and so does Meathead Goldwyn. About two hours and up to three days in advance, liberally salt both sides of each steak and put back in the fridge. Let the salt melt and be pulled back into the meat. Salt tenderizes and amps up the flavor.
Flavorize your steak
Another trick the pros have for making a perfect filet mignon is to serve it with a pan sauce, Bearnaise sauce or herb butter. The sauces take additional time and effort to prepare but that can be totally worth it. If you are like me and want things to be super simple, make some herb butter which takes about 5 minutes. My favorite combination to complement tenderloin steak is fresh garlic, rosemary, parsley and oregano. These herbs add complexity and a balanced flavor to the steak.
Don’t overcook you steak
So, what are the pros doing and what will you get at your local restaurant? Below is the table of temps that summarizes that very nicely. It’s based on a fairly unanimous opinion of my friend and such respected sources as AmazingRibs.com, CertifiedAngusBeef.com and other. To ensure even cooking, flip the steaks right before putting them into the oven, and then again halfway during oven baking. This will also help the steaks cook faster. Oven and pan heat is unidirectional, resulting in bottom side cooking faster then the top one. Flipping helps even things out.
How to tell when the steak is ready?
There are several ways to tell when the steak reached the desired doneness. I use the one and only method that works best for me – a BBQ thermometer. This little gadget makes things so simple and fool-proof that I use it practically daily, both for grilling and for oven cooking.
This post was updated on November 7, 2018
