Filet Mignon

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grillnputt

Knows what a fatty is.
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Happy Holidays Everybody!
I want to make a filet mignon for New Year's Eve. I can't find it here. Any links? I know I've seen something about cooking a whole tenderloin. I've only grilled these on direct heat. I want to slow cook a whole one. AND, can I use Phil's Prime Rib recipe (which I have) or do you all use something else? Thanks, Ron
 
i wouldnt recomend slow cooking a filet. Not enough fat content I would think you could use phils recipe but cook it in the hot spot the whole time.
 
I too thought the same as you and had a fueled argument with one of my chef friends where I took the stance that I was sure it would dry it out. We tried it the next weekend and cooked the filets on the pit until 100-105 then I transferred them to a hot grill and seared them off. We did leave one on the smoker, took it to 122, and then rested them all. I must say that they were wonderful, juicy and came out amazing. The ones that were finished on the grill had a great crust and a lightly smoked flavor. The one left on the smoker for the whole cooking process was one of the most tender filets I have ever had; the knife just sank through it with no effort but they did lack the nice brown crust that I love. If you keep an eye on your temperatures and pull them at the right time they are amazing. Something I have noticed is that the filets cooked this way seemed to be more relaxed as a finished product, it almost seemed like handling uncooked meat, its kind of hard to explain but I would give it a shot if you want to try it. You can learn a lot from trying non-conventional methods sometimes....
 
Sounds to me like he wants to do it as a "whole" tenderloin. Just do it like a prime rib I would think. Get it to about 135 for med rare and rest it in foil for a half hour.
 
Sorry...:eek: for those that never BBQ'ed a filet mignon, your missing a piece of heaven. Read post #17 in this thread. http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14899

Doing a fillet mignon.. hit it with high heat first, 300+ give some 275 smoke time, and then finish with high heat if you want a crust(bark). This was by far the best filet i ever made. A whole tenderloin took about an hour. Dont do steaks, do it as a roast. This technique yielded rare-med rare in the middle.

If you want the seared outside, after slicing it, a few seconds on a hot grill for a slice is enuf. A few got a quick grill hit to bring them to med.:eek: ... (stubborn wife.) Again, this was the best i ever made.. The next day, my friends said i have ruined them for steak houses.

snippet below of the post.. but theres some good stuff in the thread.



<snip>

I used a variation of the Prime Rib Recipe.

I rolled the fillet in the marinade fro prime rib. (its in the recipe section) and coated with turbinado sugar and let the turbinado dissolve, then rubbed it with Montreal Seasoning and a small amount of Tarragon. Let it sit for about an hour.

I prepped a 22inch kettle for offset cooking with Hickory and JD barrel oak and got temps to 300 with a water pan in the middle. Just before putting the roast on, i added a some more Montreal Seasoning and some worstershire sauce. Cooked it until temps hit 125 inside. When temp was about 110, i preheated the gasser, put the grates at medium level and got the temps in the gasser to about 600+. When the roast hit 125(took about 50-60 minutes), I put it on the gasser with the remote probe in there and closed the lid, leaving flame on high. Rolled it once.. temps climbed to 135 in a few minutes. Outside seared nicely, but I didn't want it to char so pulled early. Let it rest for about 20 minutes while i made some mushrooms in red wine with tarragon and chateaubriand sauce.. Sliced into 1 inch to 2 inch steaks witht the sauce spooned next to it.. and mushrooms underneath. (let them put the steak IN the sauce if they want.. I like it without, or on the side.)

Heres the sauce..
1/4 +pound butter, saute with a small amount of garlic and about a shy cup of finely chopped green onions then add
1 1/2 cup red wine (i used a good Bordeaux)
about 12 oz of auj jus(or beef base.. I used Better than Boullion).
1 shot of cognac
touch of lemon juice

simmer and reduce by about 1/2 to 3/4 then add some chopped parsley and finish for about another minute.



Heres some gloating.. I tasted the steak as I was slicing(got me the ends.. chefs choice :mrgreen: ). Had one bite, I knew i nailed it.. this was by far the best i ever did.. it was unbelievable.. my reaction was "holyt sh*t".

As I served, everyone was polite, waited for Sharon and I to sit down, even though i said "chow down, dont wait".. Well, I was glad they did becase i got to see the initial reaction. Watched as everyone took the first bite. Wanted to see if they reacted like i did.... My mom.. on the irst bite.. she STOPPED and looked at everyone else, with her eyes wide open.. stil chewing.. .. my friends.. one just smiled and sat back and moaned as his eyes rolled.. James was cutting the steak with his fork, no knife..

My other buddy, the one who told her to let me do my thing... looked at Mom and waited.. it was the first time in 20 years my mom shut up :twisted: .. finally.. her only words.. "Oh my god, how did u do this..?"

i told her I ordered out. :mrgreen:

Proud papa mod, but of course ya play it cool.

Now THATS why we do this stuff. .those reactions make it all worth wild. when someone asks why we babysit briskets all night.. its not to feed ourselves. its to feed friends and family and make there eyes roll into their heads. :shock:

<endsnip>
 
BBQchef33 said:
Sorry...:eek: for those that never BBQ'ed a filet mignon, your missing a piece of heaven. Read post #17 in this thread. http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14899

Doing a fillet mignon.. hit it with high heat first, 300+ give some 275 smoke time, and then finish with high heat if you want a crust(bark). This was by far the best filet i ever made. A whole tenderloin took about an hour. Dont do steaks, do it as a roast. This technique yielded rare-med rare in the middle.

If you want the seared outside, after slicing it, a few seconds on a hot grill for a slice is enuf. A few got a quick grill hit to bring them to med.:eek: ... (stubborn wife.) Again, this was the best i ever made.. The next day, my friends said i have ruined them for steak houses.

snippet below of the post.. but theres some good stuff in the thread.



<snip>

I used a variation of the Prime Rib Recipe.

I rolled the fillet in the marinade fro prime rib. (its in the recipe section) and coated with turbinado sugar and let the turbinado dissolve, then rubbed it with Montreal Seasoning and a small amount of Tarragon. Let it sit for about an hour.

I prepped a 22inch kettle for offset cooking with Hickory and JD barrel oak and got temps to 300 with a water pan in the middle. Just before putting the roast on, i added a some more Montreal Seasoning and some worstershire sauce. Cooked it until temps hit 125 inside. When temp was about 110, i preheated the gasser, put the grates at medium level and got the temps in the gasser to about 600+. When the roast hit 125(took about 50-60 minutes), I put it on the gasser with the remote probe in there and closed the lid, leaving flame on high. Rolled it once.. temps climbed to 135 in a few minutes. Outside seared nicely, but I didn't want it to char so pulled early. Let it rest for about 20 minutes while i made some mushrooms in red wine with tarragon and chateaubriand sauce.. Sliced into 1 inch to 2 inch steaks witht the sauce spooned next to it.. and mushrooms underneath. (let them put the steak IN the sauce if they want.. I like it without, or on the side.)

Heres the sauce..
1/4 +pound butter, saute with a small amount of garlic and about a shy cup of finely chopped green onions then add
1 1/2 cup red wine (i used a good Bordeaux)
about 12 oz of auj jus(or beef base.. I used Better than Boullion).
1 shot of cognac
touch of lemon juice

simmer and reduce by about 1/2 to 3/4 then add some chopped parsley and finish for about another minute.



Heres some gloating.. I tasted the steak as I was slicing(got me the ends.. chefs choice :mrgreen: ). Had one bite, I knew i nailed it.. this was by far the best i ever did.. it was unbelievable.. my reaction was "holyt sh*t".

As I served, everyone was polite, waited for Sharon and I to sit down, even though i said "chow down, dont wait".. Well, I was glad they did becase i got to see the initial reaction. Watched as everyone took the first bite. Wanted to see if they reacted like i did.... My mom.. on the irst bite.. she STOPPED and looked at everyone else, with her eyes wide open.. stil chewing.. .. my friends.. one just smiled and sat back and moaned as his eyes rolled.. James was cutting the steak with his fork, no knife..

My other buddy, the one who told her to let me do my thing... looked at Mom and waited.. it was the first time in 20 years my mom shut up :twisted: .. finally.. her only words.. "Oh my god, how did u do this..?"

i told her I ordered out. :mrgreen:

Proud papa mod, but of course ya play it cool.

Now THATS why we do this stuff. .those reactions make it all worth wild. when someone asks why we babysit briskets all night.. its not to feed ourselves. its to feed friends and family and make there eyes roll into their heads. :shock:

<endsnip>
Click to expand...

Farker. I'll buy one and try it tomorrow. What do you think about shaving half for sammies for New Years? Now I have to go buy more horseradish......
 
Phil, thread 7 is dead on. I could see the looks on the faces of your friends and family. As part of my VFW duties, I am the guest chef each month. I rotate between pull pork, country cut ribs and monster Brisket. The last time I did the brisket (which took about 15 hours to cook 4 10 - 12 pounders), the reaction from the first customer was as you described. First there was a bit of a gripe because I had the gaul to charge $8.00 :twisted: for the cheapest peice of beef known to man. Then the first cut with a fork (no knife required) and the look on their face when this master piece hit the pallete. Just as you described, the eyes rolled back and then the "Oh my God, this is Heavinly!!!". I sold out in one hour after that. 40 dinners that produced enough money to buy 100 phone cards for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to call home for Christmas.....

I hardly ever eat the stuff I cook other than chefs privilidge but to see my friends and family totally enjoying is the greatest feeling in the world......
 
BBQChef- Might I ask why you are hitting it with high heat first, smoking it and then searing it again? The smoke does most of its penetrating while the meat is still cool and I would think that searing it first would almost act as a sealer for all that good smoke flavor. In addition, I am lazy and do not like repeating the same step twice if it is not necessary. Please tell me if I have missed something......
 
I will say that I sear country ribs over high heat in the gasser then throw them in the smoker for a few hours. The searing tends to seal in the juices. Never had any issue with smoke flavor getting throughout either. I will say that I did not sear again. I was presuming that Phil was searing the second time after the loin had been sliced into individual steaks.
 
I hear people talk all the time about searing the meat first to seal in juices. I have done some tests on this and find that there is virtually no difference in how juicy a cut of meat is if it is seared first or not. Truth is that searing creates a great crust and the slight carmalization of sugars that add depth of flavor and a different texture. This can be seen most notably in the cooking of a prime rib. Classically this cut is usually seared first and then put into a 325-350 oven to finish. You also will read recipes on starting them in the oven at a higher temperature like 450 for the first phase of cooking then turning the oven down. This essentially does the same thing as searing. I have tried these methods and just throwing a raw rib roast into my pit at 250 and smoking the whole way. Guess what, the non-seared cut was possibly more tender and juicy than the seared cut. I know I am getting a bit off topic here, my apologies.
 
Thanks Phil. I knew I had seen that somewhere. So this does not need to be an overnight marinade or all day cook. Looks like a feww hours will do the trick. Hope it turns out ok. I'm making bagels from scratch Sun morning. But that's another thread. (not grilling those! But if you ever have, let me know!) :)
 
seth711 said:
BBQChef- Might I ask why you are hitting it with high heat first, smoking it and then searing it again? The smoke does most of its penetrating while the meat is still cool and I would think that searing it first would almost act as a sealer for all that good smoke flavor. In addition, I am lazy and do not like repeating the same step twice if it is not necessary. Please tell me if I have missed something......
Click to expand...

The high heat at first is to avoid oversmoking a great tasting cut of beef. I by no means want to do any searing. 300 degreess is not going to sear it. By high heat, I mean comapred to Q temps. I put it in the kettle at 300-325 and set dampers to let temps drop over the hour to 250 range. I dont want to sear it.. And even at the end, i only rolled it on the hot grill to set the glazing and give it a little bit of a crust..(the entire roast, unsliced). It wasnt on there for more than a couple minutes. It helped achive the finish temps and avoided spending to much time in the smoke.

Tendderloin is a lean cut, wont hold up well to an extended cook time, so the 300 just gives it a jump start. I also did not want to absorb to much smoke. The meat tastes great, and i was afraid to over smoke it, so i start out high to start temps moving, give it some smoke time, and then finish in a very hot closed grill(which is more like an oven). The trubinado from the rub sets up nicly with the brief shot of high heat.

Technically, if the argument holds that meat stops absorbing smoke at 140, the tenderloin will absorb the entire time its in there. By hitting it high first, your reducing that time in the smoke. If you want a heavy smoke flavor then skip the high heat, but that was not my goal.

IMHO, to sear without direct heat, you will need some time in 450+ temps.

I have in the past seared tenderloins in an iron skillet first and then grilled them in a closed gasser, grates in the highest position so it was more roasting.. at 350-400..totally different end product.
 
OK, I went to town for a tenderloin for tonight and no luck. The strip steaks (shell) looked pretty good so I've given em the same treatment. Plan on grilling the steaks and let them rest while I make the sauce. I did lighten up on the Montreal steak seasoning since a lot more surface is seasoned.
 
the recipe is for a roast... its very strong for a steak. I have used it for shells. BBQ only 300-350 degrees to 140, no grilling. Go light on the marinade too, dont marinade for more than 10-15 minutes and i would go light on the sugar if if not skipping it completely, especially if your gonna grill it at the end.
 
I did two using the Phil method. Siced one, I know it's a crime, and put it out for sammies with some horseradish sauce and some brown sauce w/sauteed mushrooms. It was inhaled! The second is in the fridge. I like to be a generous host, but not that generous.
 
The shell steaks turned out great. That sauce won approval from everyone.
 
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