FoodieCuisine.com

Grilled Filet

By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com

I had a small dinner party over the weekend for my wife and some friends.  For the party I made the following:

• Arugula salad with homemade vinaigrette, sliced macadamia nut pieces, and fresh tomato
• Homemade pasta ravioli filled with French goat cheese, topped with a sage/butter sauce and fresh corn
• Filet Mignon, grilled to Medium/Rare, topped with sage/butter sauce
• Chocolate eclair for dessert (that I did not make, bought from Fresh Market)

I grilled the steaks on my Green Egg grill and everyone raved about how much they liked them.  I made two sauces that you can see criss-crossed on the plate in the picture.  The first one, a pesto sauce, was made with fresh basil, fresh parsley, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, anchovies, and lemon juice.  The second one, a sun-dried tomato cream sauce, was made with sun-dried tomatoes, heavy whipping cream, water (to thin it out), roasted red bell peppers, fresno peppers, salt, and some sugar (to remove the bitterness.)

Since the steaks turned out so well I figured I’d share with you how I grilled them.

1. Remove the steaks from the refrigerator
2. Dry them completely
3. Cover and let them come up to room temperature
4. Use charcoal and heat the grill up for at least 20 minutes
5. Only use real charcoal, not the pressed stuff that (it should look like burnt wood)
6. Put 1 teaspooon of olive oil over each steak, coat thoroughly
7. Put cajun seasoning + salt liberally on both sides of each steak
8. Set on grill but not directly over the flame
9. Close lid
10. Only turn the steaks once they have grill marks on the bottom, about 5 minutes
11. Let the steaks grill until they reach an internal temperature of 135 degrees
12. Remove from the grill
13. Let sit for 5 minutes
14. Remove the toothpicks and bacon (keep the bacon on the side for those who want it)
15. Pour 1 teaspoon on herbed melted butter over the top of each steak
16. Serve

Some things to note here. 

1. The olive oil keeps the steaks from sticking to the grill.  Its much easier, and more effective, to oil the steaks than it is to oil the grill surface. 
2. Use a LOT of seasoning.  This is a trick the steak-houses use.  There is no need to marinade the steak or let the seasoning sit on them for a long time with this method.
3. The steaks will continue to cook even when off the grill.  This is why I remove them at 135 degrees.  By the time they are served they reach 150+.
4. Filet Mignon is super tender and should not be cooked past Medium-Rare.  You may like steak that is very cooked, but it’s really not necessary with a good filet.
5. I use a temperature probe that I can leave in the grill.  It’s a probe that connects to the reader via a fire-proof cable.  I recommend you use one, or more, when grilling.  I personally have 4 that I use when BBQ’ing, but some may say that is a little overkill. 😉
6. The butter added at the end helps keep the steak juicy and is another steak-house trick.  It won’t add many calories and is worth it.  I recommend making a herbed butter with thyme as the herb or garlic butter for this purpose.

Enjoy!