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[side_show]

I'm looking to make filet minion tonight, and I'm shelling out some serious $ for the best beast.  I want melt-in-the-mouth tender.  I've never prepaired it before.  Any suggestions?

[Choop]

Read this: http://www.ivyhillhoa.org/bryan/Recipes/how_to_dry_age_beef_at_home.html

Your best bet is to start at least a day before, but a number of hours should enhance the flavor somewhat.

Soak one toothpick per filet mignon in water for 30 minutes, and cut some bacon to fit around the steak. Secure the bacon around the steak with the soaked toothpick, but don't pierce the beef the whole way through. Salt and pepper either visible side of the steak.

Using only natural hardwood charcoal, get your grill very hot (if you can hold your hand 6 inches from the cooking surface for 10 seconds, it's not hot enough). Place the beef directly over the coals and cover. After 4 minutes, turn and cover again. After 3 more minutes, they'll be almost medium-rare. Another 2 minutes on top of that will give you medium-well, if your grill's still plenty hot.

You do have a charcoal grill, don't you? I don't find great beef to be worth cooking without charcoal.

Ash, what kind of coal do you use?

[side_show]

Yeah, I'm all about doing the bacon wrap.

Sadly, I have a propain grill, will this ruin it?  Being a former vegetarian, I've never prepaired filet minion, but have eaten and enjoyed it.  (I'm pretty sure what I had was not grilled - it was at a $200 a plate charity thing that a rich person I did not know bought me and some pals tickets to.)  I'm genearlly of the dash of salt, pepper and garlic school of steak as is - I just really don't want to over cook it.

[Choop]

Rather than a gas grill, try it on the stove, au poivre.

[jough]

I would caution against putting a toothpick into the steak.  Think of the steak like a water balloon with its juices trapped inside.  You don't want to puncture the steak prior to or during cooking.

Also, don't forget to let it rest for a few minutes after cooking if you want it juicy and delicious.

[Choop]

The fat from the bacon seals the hole in the steak; the reason you don't push it the whole way through is twofold: one, you don't want to lose the toothpick in the steak, and two, the second hole will push the bacon away from the steak and result in the dreadful loss of juices. Butcher's twine would be better for the beef, but tends to catch fire on the grill.

Alton Brown's recipes really aren't as difficult as he makes them seem, and they work quite well most of the time. Emeril's recipes I caution against, but that's personal preference as well.

[side_show]

Rather than a gas grill, try it on the stove, au poivre.

I dunno Choop, to me, with the cream this recipie is one decadent option.  The meat I've picked up is so perfect, I don't want to add anything that distracts from it, but it sounds fun to try some other time.  

This beef is so beautiful it's deadly (they're probably the most expensive and nicest looking pieces of meat I've ever bought).  The marbling is like... marble.  I could cry.

It's only about 14 deg Celsius out today, so I'll be taking a lot of care to get a super hot grill and to keep it closed except when flipping.

Thanks to you three your input - I've got the meat carefully placed on a rack with towels as the dry aging sight suggests, and I'll tell you how it goes. 

[kellichou]

So, I am dying to know after reading this thread, was your filet mignon all delicious and . . . mignon-y?  How did you cook it?  Did it make angels weep with its beauty and juciness?

[jough]

Man, I cringe every time I see this subject line.  And you're way closer to Quebec than I am, Smells.  For shame.

[pmcd9]

It's a steak so good you will so it's bidding.  The minions of the Filet.

~Paul

[Doc]

It wasn't all the way dead. Her dinner rose up and ate her!
Too rare Smells! Too rare!

[Turbo Ninja]

Last weekend I had a bloody-rare filet at Gibson's in Chicago.  It was huge and pretty damn nice for a steak of that size and doneness, but my gut punished me for my sin later that night.

If you're interested in a dining experience that everyone swears is wonderful but in fact is designed to get you in and out as quickly as possible for the highest ratio of minutes sat at your table/dollars you spend, get yourself a seat at Gibson's.  Overrated, unless you really love the idea of racing your waiter's pace as you try to finish a three-pound porterhouse.

At one point, a waiter threatened to put a fouth beverage in front of me.  I ordered a gin and tonic before the meal, which I had not finished when the waiter brought our wine (PROTIP: avoid the "Gibson's" wines.  They don't taste like anything).  I still had a few sips of Sapphire and probably half a bottle of bland Cab Sav on the table (plus a water glass) at the end of the meal when the waiter offered coffee.  Dammit man, we just sat down forty minutes ago and you can plainly see that I have three other beverages to choose from. 

How did that steakhouse get such a good reputation among all the good ones in Chicago?

When I do steak at home, I make sure it's close to room temperature before I put it over heat.  Let it sit out for a few minutes; maybe sprinkle it with kosher salt so some of the liquids come to the surface and help to give you a good crust (if you're doing it in a pan) or grill marks (if you're doing it on a grill).  That's really the only tip I have, other than the conventional wisdom suggesting a five/ten minute rest between removal from heat and first slices.

[side_show]

Man, I cringe every time I see this subject line.  And you're way closer to Quebec than I am, Smells.  For shame.

You know I've always spelled it the french way, but several of the sites I visited spelled this way... I should've just trusted myself.

Anyway.  I was deeply disapointed, I did exactly as was noted 4 m first side, 3 the other, and the bacon caught on fire sometime after I flipped it. The burnt bacon affected the meat itself in a not nice way... My SO didn't care (it was his B'day) - he was ooohing  and ahhing, and saying it was great.. but I was not pleased.  Once you got to the middle it was alright... but after so many bites that tasted like burned bacon... yeah - not good.

[AlohaDawg]

This works for filets too

[Choop]

The bacon caught fire!?!?!?! Dayum! Never had that one happen to me before; probably another reason for charcoal over gas: gas flames, charcoal doesn't once it's ready to cook over. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your filet as much as you'd hoped you would. Was it at least a nice medium-rare?

I've just been on vacation for a week on the northern gulf coast. While we were down there, we bought a couple of 12oz New York Strips, as marbled as Venus de Milo. I dry-aged them for 3 days, and they weren't as tender as I hoped they'd be. I think I'll go a full week of dry-aging next time, with proper equipment, and see how that does me.