Sweet Tender Meat

The steak that is as tender as your mother's love. Cut through it with a butter knife if you want to. Extremely lean and truthfully melts in your mouth. Cooked to a perfect medium or medium-rare and you may never look at steak the same. This is the filet mignon.

If you read the initial introduction, you know this meat is top of the line. Little fat around this piece of meat allows it to capture the flavors of the spices you use, but still, you taste the steak. The ribeye produces a lot of juices and flavor in general, the filet? Not so much. Seasoning a filet is more critical than most steaks. 

Additionally, this is one of the hardest steaks to grill. A filet is thick. I mean thick thick. These are often a couple inches thick, which requires a very cautious cook. You can cook it multiple ways, but cautious is key to make sure your filet is worth every bite. This week I will take you through the cooking process called reverse searing. This is the most optimal way to cook a filet or really any steak that is at least two inches thick. But first the seasonings. 

Seasonings 

All my steaks get the same seasoning. There is just something about the recipe I just cannot turn my back on it. The pepper, the crushed garlic pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder just explode in your mouth. It is hard to just leave it simple or change the recipe. I have never personally heard a complaint about the seasonings. As seen below, these are the seasonings I used:

One twist I love to put on filets is adding some extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil. Both of these create a nice bonding ingredient for the dry rubs. Since filet is such a lean mean, juices do not seep out compared to Ribeyes or New York Strip, the oil allows for the steak to get a good char/crisp along the outside which allows the flavors to stay inside the steak. 

Coat your steak with a little bit of oil and then add your dry ingredients. Remember rub them in and let your steak sit at room temperature up to an hour before you place it on your grill. 

Reverse Sear

The most common way to cook a steak is to start it on high and finishing it on low. Yes, this is best most of the time, but it doesn't work all the time. For example, Ribeyes are excellent to sear as the fat allows the steak to get crispy and cook quicker. Higher heat quickly cooks the Ribeye and seals in everything. For a filet though, cooking it on high will burn your steak and not cook it evenly.  

Reverse sear takes some practice so do not get upset if it doesn't turn out how you want it. First, get started in prepping your grill. For charcoal, light the coals and put ¾ of the coals on one side of the grill. This will allow on half to get to a high temperature of over 400°. This will create the best sear for the steak. The rest of your coals will allow your steak to cook properly on low. 

For a gas grill, you want to turn half your grill on high and half on low. Similar to that of charcoal, but still a difference in cooking. 

The Grill + Filet 

Once you have gotten your grill ready, charcoal, or gas, go ahead and put that steak on the low end of the grill. Let each side cook up to 10 minutes. This creates an even cook throughout the steak. The middle will be perfectly red for when you get ready to sear it. Like all steaks, you need to watch your grill to make sure the flames are in order. If you start to see flames when cooking it on the low side, move it to an area that is not flaming. 

After 10 minutes each side, go ahead and put that beautiful piece of meat on the hottest part of your grill. You only need to leave this on for 3-5 minutes each side. What this does is crisps up the outside. Most steaks taste better with a crispy outside. I do not mean burnt or black. I mean crisp like seen in the steaks below. After that 5 minutes each side, check your temperature. 

If your temperature is between 120-130°, please go ahead and pull it off your grill. If it is not you have two options to continue from. The first option is to leave it on the high temperature rotating it every minute or two, depending on what the outside looks like. If you like how the steak looks on the outside, then put it on the low side of the grill. The low side of your grill is option 2 and the most preferred method I use. This allows a more controlled cook. You can easily judge your temperature internally this way. Most of the time leaving it on low after that cook time allows the steak to settle better. 

The Product

Oh my was this steak cooked perfectly. 20 filets were harmed in the process of making this blog, and man was I upset there was no leftover. I used a plastic knife to cut through this steak, to be honest. The filet was mouth-watering and juicy. Had a nice char taste, but did not taste like the grill. I accompanied my steak with a blue cheese crumble salad, mushrooms, garlic bread, and fruit. It was the ultimate Sunday steak dinner that I enjoyed with my family. 

If you have any comments, suggestions, or insights, please feel free to write to me. I am here to help and guide your journey to making your Sunday Steak special.