Tag Archives: filet mignon

Stir-Fried Beef and Gai Lan

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This riff on the ever-evolving Chinese American standard features gai lan (Chinese broccoli) and filet mignon: The luxurious cut is ideal for quick, high-heat cooking; is readily available in small portions; and just needed a brief chill in the freezer to firm up for easy slicing before being coated in a simple mixture of soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and cornstarch.

While the meat chills, slice the gai lan stalks thin on the bias and cut the tender leaves into wide ribbons. Start the stir-fry by cooking the stalks in oil in a hot wok. As they sizzle, the oil smolders, infusing the dish with a smoky aroma. Then set the stalks aside and stir-fry the leaves with garlic and toasted sesame oil, speeding their cooking with a small but flavorful addition of chicken broth before arranging them on a serving platter.

Finally, stir-fry the marinated beef; returned the stalks to the wok; and stir in a blend of chicken broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, toasted sesame oil, and cornstarch. The sauce thickens in less than a minute. Arrange the beef mixture over the leaves, ensuring that each bite is perfectly sauced. If desired, serve with steamed rice.

If gai lan is unavailable, you can use broccolini, substituting the florets for the gai lan leaves. Do not use standard broccoli. In the end, we found it served 3 sufficiently, or 4 “small plates”.

Stir-Fried Beef and Gai Lan

  • Servings: 3-4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 (8-oz.) center-cut filet mignon, trimmed
  • 1 lb. gai lan, stalks trimmed
  • 5 tsp. Shaoxing wine or dry sherry, divided
  • 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, divided
  • 2 tsp. cornstarch, divided
  • ¾ cup chicken broth, divided
  • 2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
  • 1½ tsp. toasted sesame oil, divided
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
  • 1½ tsp. grated fresh ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic, divided

Directions

  1. Prepare white rice as per package directions.
  2. Cut beef into 4 equal wedges. Transfer to plate and freeze until very firm, 20 to 25 minutes. While beef freezes, prepare gai lan. Remove leaves, small stems, and florets from stalks; slice leaves crosswise into 1½-inch strips (any florets and stems can go into pile with leaves); and cut stalks on bias into ¼-inch-thick pieces. Set aside.
  3. When beef is firm, stand 1 piece on its side and slice against grain ¼ inch thick. Repeat with remaining pieces. Transfer to bowl. Add 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch and toss until beef is evenly coated. Set aside.
  4. In second bowl, whisk together ½ cup broth, oyster sauce, ½ teaspoon sesame oil, remaining 4 teaspoons Shaoxing wine, remaining 2 teaspoons soy sauce, and remaining 1 teaspoon cornstarch; set aside.
  5. In third bowl, combine 4 teaspoons vegetable oil, ginger, and ¼ teaspoon garlic.
  6. Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in wok over high heat until just smoking. Add stalks and cook, stirring slowly but constantly, until spotty brown and crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to bowl.
  7. Add remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil, remaining 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, and remaining ½ teaspoon garlic to wok and cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add leaves and cook, stirring frequently, until vibrant green, about 1 minute. Add remaining ¼ cup broth and cook, stirring constantly, until broth evaporates, 2 to 3 minutes. Spread evenly on serving dish.
  8. Add ginger-garlic mixture to wok and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beef and cook, stirring slowly but constantly, until no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Return stalks to wok and add oyster sauce mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, 30 to 60 seconds. Place mixture on top of leaves. Serve.

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Recipe by Lan Lam for Cook’s Illustrated

Individual Beef Wellington

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The back story. This elegant staple of 1960s dinner parties derives its name from The Duke of Wellington, the nineteenth century English statesman and military officer. The name is not due to his gourmet tastes, however, but because the final dish is said to resemble the shiny dark military boots he wore.

Boots aside, it was Valentine’s and we wanted to treat ourselves at home as opposed to dining out. Initially our plan was a surf and turf riff of some sort, but then The Hubs ran across these individual “wellies” from NY Times Cooking, and we never looked back. The dinner, with a fantastic bottle of rioja wine, red salad, red baby bliss potatoes and the most mouth-watering tender braised leeks was a moment in Heaven, sigh.

Beef Wellington traditionally is a 2 to 4 pound beef tenderloin topped with mushroom duxelles and foie gras pate, and then encased in puff pastry. The preparation is simplified by instead wrapping individual beef filets. The Hubs had the romantic idea of adding heart embellishments with the leftover puff pastry and I whole”heart”edly jumped on that idea ❤

The filets need to be cut about 1 1/2-inches thick to ensure that the meat doesn’t dry out or become overcooked while roasting in the oven. If the meat is cut thinner, reduce the oven cooking time appropriately. And if your filets are greater than six ounces, the puff pastry may need to be cut into a larger square in order to envelop the meat completely. Ours were over 6 ounces, yet I managed with just the one sheet.

Also, the cooking plus resting time, is for meat that’s served medium-rare. If you like your meat more done, increase the initial cooking time in the skillet by another minute or two, and monitor the doneness of the meat from the oven with an instant-read thermometer. This recipe makes 2 servings, but it easily can be doubled.

Individual Beef Wellington

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: intermediate
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Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 (6-oz.) filet mignons, at least 1 1/2″ thick
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 4 oz. cremini mushrooms, wiped clean, stemmed, and finely chopped
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 1/2 tsp. herbes de Provence
  • 1 tsp. honey
  • 1/4 cup dry red wine
  • 2 Tbsp. heavy cream
  • Frozen puff pastry (1 sheet from 17 1/4-oz. package), thawed but still cold
  • 1 large egg

Directions

  1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon oil. Generously season the filet mignons with salt and pepper, and sear until the surfaces on the top, bottom and rounded sides are no longer raw, about 2 minutes total. Transfer the steaks to a plate, reserving the oil in the skillet. Brush or spread on the Dijon mustard all over each filet and refrigerate until cool, about 15 minutes.
  2. Turn the heat to medium-high, and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Add the mushrooms and shallot, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until deeply browned and no longer watery, about 10 to 12 minutes. Be patient: The mushrooms will first release some water; then, once that liquid evaporates, the vegetables will start to brown. If they are starting to stick before they brown, lower the heat or add a little water to the pan.
  3. When the mushrooms are deeply browned, reduce the heat to medium and stir in the herbes de Provence, honey, wine and cream. Let the liquids bubble and reduce until the moisture is thick and jammy, about 2 minutes. transfer to a small dish and refrigerate until cool.
  4. To assemble the Wellingtons, cut the puff pastry sheet in half (it doesn’t matter which direction). Lightly flour your working surface. Use a rolling pin to evenly roll each sheet into an 1/8-inch-thick rectangle. Mount a filet mignon-size circle of the chilled mushroom mixture in the center of each rolled-out sheet, evenly dividing the mixture between the 2 sheets. Top each mound of mushrooms with a filet.
  5. Carefully bring the edges of the puff pastry up and over the steaks, stretching the dough if needed to completely cover the meat. Twist the tops of the dough to seal the filling, as if you’re making dumplings. You want an even, uniform layer of pastry, so trim any overlapping dough as you go. When the tops are nicely sealed, flip the Wellingtons over, seam side down, and transfer to a parchment lined sheet pan. You can use your hands to gently tighten each Wellington into perfectly smooth spheres. Refrigerate to chill completely before baking, at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours (ours were refrigerated 6 hours).
  6. Heat the oven to 425°. In a small dish, whisk the egg until homogenous and, using a pastry brush or your fingers, evenly coat the entire outsides of the chilled Wellingtons with the egg, discard the remainder. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, 17 to 20 minutes. The internal temperature should read 120° for medium-rare (it will continue to cook as it rests.)
  7. Transfer the Wellingtons to serving plates.Let them rest for about 15 minutes before serving.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe from the NYTimes Cooking

Ginger-Miso Filet Mignon

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You will adore this lickety-split sauce of butter, green onion, and ginger, which adds an Asian-style final touch to this steak recipe. With its crisp pan-seared exterior and succulent juicy center, and quick cooking time, you’ll find you’ll want to make this recipe often. And you can mix it up by using filet tips like we did.

In the original version from Better Homes & Gardens, the recipe calls for four filet mignon steaks. But we had 14 ounces worth of filet tips in our freezer, which had thick and thin areas, so cooking them was a little tricky. Once the meat was medium-rare, they were plated and covered while the sauce was made; then thinly sliced and laid over a bed of steamed rice. This actually stretched the portions to three with less than a pound of meat!

The most-time consuming portion of this recipe is the wait. The meat has to be seasoned and refrigerated for 2 hours, then taken out to room temperature for another 30 minutes. The actual cooking time is only about 15 minutes. If you are serving rice too, make sure to time it correctly so that is ready when the sauce is.

Omitting any rice keeps the dish low-carb and keto-friendly.

Ginger-Miso Filet Mignon

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 4 beef tenderloin steaks (filet mignon), cut 1- to 1 1/4-inches thick
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 
  • ⅔ cup rice wine
  • 2 Tbsp. white miso paste
  • 2 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions
  • 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
  • Toasted sesame seeds
  • Jasmine rice, cooked according to package directions (optional)

Directions

  1. Season beef generously with salt and pepper. Place on a plate. Chill, uncovered, for 2 hours. Remove and let stand 30 minutes. Heat a heavy 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. To check when hot enough, add a large drop of water (1/8 teaspoon) to the skillet. When it rolls around the pan like a bead of mercury it is ready. This will take 2 to 3 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat; add oil. Swirl to coat bottom of skillet. Return to medium-high heat. Add beef. Cook for 5 minutes or until a crust forms (be patient; the beef will release when it’s ready to be turned). Turn and cook for 2 to 4 minutes more or until done at 135°F.
  3. Remove beef from skillet to a clean plate; cover loosely. Remove skillet from heat. Carefully add wine, miso, and soy sauce (mixture will spatter).
  4. Return to heat. Bring to boiling, stirring to scrape up browned bits and whisking to incorporate miso. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter, green onions, and ginger.
  5. Spoon sauce over beef to serve. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

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Adapted from a recipe By Colleen Weeden for Better Homes & Gardens

Dry-Brined Filet Mignon with Sautéed Garlic Mushrooms

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Father’s Day and grilled steak go together like peanut butter and jelly, ham and cheese, or any number of iconic pairings that you can think of. So when youngest son David and girlfriend Vikki said they’d be paying us a visit on Dad’s Day, we immediately thought of grilled steak to celebrate.

A win-win for the three of us, but the issue was Vikki who maintains a mostly plant-based diet. However, she did say she’ll eat an occasional filet mignon, and wouldn’t you know, I had just picked up a 7-pound tenderloin that we cut down into an array of filets. Perfect!

It is undeniable that the most tender, buttery, luscious steak on a cow is the filet. The perfect filet mignon will have a tender, juicy interior with a flavorful, crisp exterior, exactly what we were trying to achieve here.

The tenderloin was butchered the day before our gathering so that we could season and dry-brine the filets over night. Brining, once a means of food preservation, is now prized for the flavor and moisture it brings. And if you’ve been following my blog recently, you know I’ve been singing it’s praises as of late.

Of course, you don’t need to wait until next Father’s Day to make this special combo meal. To me, any occasion is a good enough reason to treat myself and my loved ones.

Dry-Brined Filet Mignon with Sautéed Garlic Mushrooms

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 4 Filet mignon steaks, each 2″ thick
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

Directions

  1. Arrange the filets mignons on a rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Generously salt and pepper each on both sides.
  2. Dry-brine the steaks in the refrigerator overnight, uncovered.
  3. Heat your grill for the indirect method. Once at 250°, add the filets to the cool side and close the lid.
  4. After 25 minutes, using an instant read thermometer, check to see if they are registering 125° for medium-rare.
  5. Move them over to the direct heat side of the grill, turn up the burners to high, and sear each side for a couple of minutes. The final internal temperature of your steak should be 135°F for medium-rare and 145°F for medium. The sear will give your steaks the rich golden brown color and enhanced flavor that is typically associated with grilled steaks.

Sautéed Mushrooms with Garlic Butter

The important thing in making these gems really shine is sautéing the mushrooms in just the right way. You want to get them nice and golden brown because this is where the flavor comes from. Caramelization is key.

Do not be afraid of turning up the heat. In order to accomplish a nice sear on these mushrooms, start by sautéing them in olive oil, which has a higher smoke point. (If you use butter at a high heat like this, it could burn.) When they’re nice and golden brown, that’s when you’re going to add the butter to create a silky, shiny coating on the mushrooms.

Sautéed Mushrooms with Garlic Butter serves 4-6 and takes only 15 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  •  1 lb. cremini mushrooms, washed and cut in half
  •  1/2 tsp. kosher salt
  •  1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
  •  3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 2-4 cloves garlic, minced; OR 1 Tbsp. roasted garlic paste
  •  1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme

Directions

  1. In a large sauté pan (you want the mushrooms to fit in a single layer), heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat all mushrooms with the oil and then spread them into a single layer.
  2. Cook for four minutes on medium-high heat without stirring. Stir and cook for 2 more minutes without stirring.
  3. Reduce heat to medium-low and add butter and garlic. Cook for 3-4 more minutes, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are fully cooked, butter is melted, and garlic is fragrant.
  4. Remove from heat, stir in parsley and serve immediately.

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