Name: The Greatest Filet Mignon
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 2 (6-8 oz each) center-cut filet mignon steaks, 2 inches thick; to taste kosher salt; to taste freshly ground black pepper; 1 tbsp neutral oil; 4 tbsp unsalted butter; 3 garlic cloves, smashed; 3 sprigs fresh thyme; for finishing flaky sea salt

The Greatest Filet Mignon

Prep

30m

Cook

10m

Total

40m

Bigly says

I want to talk about filet mignon. The filet. The tenderloin. The most maligned, most misunderstood, most CONSISTENTLY ruined steak in the modern American kitchen. People have OPINIONS about filet. People will tell you 'oh, it has no flavor.' Wrong. People will say 'I'd rather have a ribeye.' Different conversation. People will say 'why pay $50 for a piece of meat that needs a sauce?' Because, my friend, the texture is the POINT. The filet is butter. The filet is silk. You don't eat filet for the beefiness — you eat filet because it is the most tender cut on the entire animal and when it's cooked right it BARELY needs a knife.

Here's where most people lose the plot. They overcook it. They start with a cold piece of meat, they throw it in a lukewarm pan, they cook it to 145, and what they end up with is a sad gray hockey puck wrapped in bacon. Bacon-wrapped filet, by the way — DISGRACE. The bacon doesn't render properly, the steak overcooks, the whole thing is wet. If your filet needs bacon to be interesting, your filet is bad. Take the bacon off and start over. Period.

I'll be honest with you. I once made the greatest filet mignon of my life on a Tuesday, in a tiny apartment kitchen, with one beat-up cast-iron pan and a pat of butter. The whole thing took eleven minutes. ELEVEN. I texted a picture to a friend — a famous chef, won't name him, he'd be embarrassed — and he wrote back 'are you teaching classes now.' Take my word for it. You don't need a restaurant. You don't need a sous-vide circulator the size of a microwave. You need a hot pan, real butter, a thermometer, and the courage to pull the steak off five minutes earlier than feels safe. That's the whole secret.

Ingredients

2 (6-8 oz each)center-cut filet mignon steaks, 2 inches thick
to tastekosher salt
to tastefreshly ground black pepper
1 tbspneutral oil
4 tbspunsalted butter
3garlic cloves, smashed
3 sprigsfresh thyme
for finishingflaky sea salt

Steps

1
Take the steaks out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Pat dry with paper towels.
2
Season generously on all sides with kosher salt and pepper. Press the seasoning into the meat.
3
Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat for 5 minutes until it is smoking hot.
4
Add the oil. Lay the filets in the pan and do not move them. Sear 3 minutes until a deep crust forms.
5
Flip and sear the second side for 2 minutes.
6
Stand each filet on its edge and roll it briefly to sear the sides, about 30 seconds per face.
7
Reduce heat to medium. Add the butter, smashed garlic, and thyme.
8
Tilt the pan and spoon the foaming herb butter over the filets continuously for 90 seconds.
9
Check internal temperature: pull at 125F for medium-rare. Transfer to a warm plate.
10
Rest 6-8 minutes uncovered. Top with a pinch of flaky salt and a spoonful of the pan butter. Serve immediately.

One more thing

Plate it on something white. White plate makes the meat look like a million dollars and that is exactly what we are going for. Pair it with a smear of pomme puree, a few asparagus spears, and a glass of red wine that's bolder than you think you need. That is the meal. That is the experience. Anybody who needs bacon on this is in the wrong restaurant. Tremendous.