Your best recipe for fillet steak?

Question

I want to use finest fillet steak for christmas dinner, as we don't like turkey very much. Need a nice recipe

Answer 1

I suggest you might want to think about Beef Wellington; either made as individual servings or whole and presented at the table for traditional "carving".


Recipe idea;

Luscious Beef Wellington

1 (3 1/2-pound) beef tenderloin, cleaned and tied with thin strips of bacon, at room temperature
3/4 pound button mushrooms, chopped fine
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup double cream
1/2 pound pate de foie gras, at room temperature
1 pkg pre-rolled puff pastry, plus additional for garnish, if desired
1 large egg, separated
1 teaspoon water
1/2 cup Madeira
2 tsp arrowroot or corn flour dissolved in 1 tsp cold water
1/2 cup beef broth

2 TBSP finely chopped black truffles, optional
Watercress, for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (gas mark 6).

In a roasting pan roast the beef in the middle of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer registers 120 degrees F when inserted into the beef. Let the fillet cool completely and discard the bacon and the strings. Skim the fat from the pan juices and reserve the pan juices.

In a heavy skillet cook the mushrooms in the butter, salt and pepper over moderately low heat, stirring, until all the liquid they give off is evaporated and the mixture is almost dry. Add cream and cook until cream thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Let cool completely.

Spread the fillet evenly with the pate de foie gras, covering the top and sides, and spread the mushrooms evenly over the pate de foie gras. On a floured surface roll 1 pound of the puff pastry into a 20 by 12-inch rectangle, or large enough to enclose the fillet completely. Slightly beat the egg white in a small bowl and set aside. Beat the egg yolk with the water to make an egg wash and set aside. Invert the coated fillet carefully under the middle of the dough, and fold up the long sides of the dough to enclose the fillet brushing the edges of the dough with some of the egg white to seal them. Fold ends of the dough over the fillet and seal them with the remaining egg white.

Transfer the fillet, seam side down to a jelly-roll pan or shallow roasting pan and brush the dough with some of the egg wash. Roll out the additional dough and cut out shapes with decorative cutters. Arrange the cutouts on the dough decoratively, brush them with the remaining egg wash, and chill the fillet for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.

Bake the fillet in the middle of a preheated 400 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F (gas mark 4), and bake the fillet for 5 to 10 minutes more, or until the meat thermometer registers 130 degrees F for medium-rare meat and the pastry is cooked through. Let the fillet stand for 15 minutes. In a saucepan boil the reserved pan juices and the Madeira until the mixture is reduced by 1/4. Add the arrowroot mixture, the broth, the truffles, and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook the sauce over moderate heat, stirring, being careful not to let it boil, for 5 minutes, or until it is thickened.

Loosen the fillet from the jelly-roll pan, transfer it with 2 spatulas to a heated platter, and garnish it with watercress. Serve the fillet, cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices, with the sauce.

***


Of course, individual filet mignon steaks are not only delicious but make an impressive presentation;

With individual portions, I ask the butcher to cut steaks at least 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches thick. I wrap the outside of each steak with a strip of partially cooked streaky bacon (cooked between several sheets of kitchen paper in micro for 1 minute) and fasten with a toothpick so it stays on during the cooking. This adds not only flavor, but also keeps the meat moist as tenderloin doesn't naturally have much fat to keep it from drying out.

Sear each fillet in a hot pan with a few drops of olive oil, first on one side no more than 3 minutes, the flip and sear no more than 3 more minutes. Transfer the steaks to a baking dish and finish them in a preheated 400 degree F (gas mark 6) oven for 10 minutes for medium-rare.

To make a sauce: in the sear pan, add some finely minced shallots, a nice knob of butter (if diet allows) and fresh sliced mushrooms and a healthy pinch of fresh or moderate amount of dried thyme. Season with sea or kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. Saute to brown the mushrooms until the shallots begin to turn translucent. Turn up the heat and add a generous glass full of red wine. Stir with a wooden spoon to lift the bits from the sear pan. Allow to simmer one or two minutes to burn off the alcohol, and to finish the sauce, add a half pint of single cream. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed with salt and fresh cracked pepper and finish with a squeeze of half a lemon.


Optional sauce choices; without alcohol and/or cream and/or mushrooms:

Make the sauce as directed above, but if you have guests who do not like mushrooms, it can be made with a half cup of caramelised onions (caramelise them one or two days in advance).

Instead of wine, add a good quality beef stock. If you also do not want cream, thicken by adding a slurry of 1 tsp corn flour and 1 tsp water and stir constantly until thickened. If permitted, finish the sauce with a nice bit of butter to add gloss and a certain creamy mouth feel.

To serve:
Carefully place steaks onto a warm serving platter, remove the toothpick at the last moment (or remember to warn your guests to remove them). Line them up, one after another and serve drizzled with some of the lovely sauce. Serve the remaining sauce on the side in a warmed bowl.


Cheers & happy holidays!

PS - Here's an inside tip - Hygienic reasons aside, DO NOT taste the sauce with the same spoon you will stir it with! Saliva breaks down sauces made with corn flour and will never allow them to thicken!

Answer 2

Trust me, this is an absolute beauty. (Beef Stroganoff) Fillet Steak for 2 TableSpoon of Butter 1 Onion 1 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper 250ml Single Cream. Fry the onion in the butter for 2mins, dont burn the butter. add the Cayenne stir and remove from the pan. Cut you rfillet steak into little strips (1/2 cm c 6 cm or whatever as long as they are uniform) Brown steak for seconds in hot pan for seconds only, add back the onion mixture and and stir in the cream. Add some salt and freshly chopped parsley. Serve with rice or chips. If thats not good and simple then I dont know what is.

Answer 3

If you want to do individual steaks, do nothing other than sprinkle with crushed black peppercorns and fry in a little olive oil. If you want to use a length of beef fillet, find a recipe for Beef Wellington. It's basically the fillet of beef, coated with pate, wrapped in bacon and baked in puff pastry; serve with a Madeira Sauce; absolutely heavenly. ENJOY!!!

Answer 4

Rachael Ray Individual Beef Wellington

Answer 5

If you cut it into say mignons, or keep them as whole fillet steaks, toss them in olive oil, and griddle very hot, about two minutes each side, turning after each minute. Serve with a black olive butter, or maybe even anchovy butter works well as well.

Also, some pan fried artichokes on the side with cherry tomatoes, and hand cut chips.

Answer 6

Fire up the grill and smother with mushrooms done in butter and a bit of red wine added right at the end or do a nice bernaise sauce - interestingly enough, there are great package mixes for that.

Asparagus and oven browned potatoes wedges or twice baked goes well.

Answer 7

Flame grilled fillet steak with a mushroom and stilton sauce!
served with roasted vegetables and potatoes.

Answer 8

This recipe for fillet steak with red wine sauce is very lovely!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/classicfilletsteakwi_70104.shtml

Fillet steak with stilton rarebit also sounds tasty
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/filletsteakwithstilt_73601.shtml

Fillet steak with Walnut pesto - sounds interesting
http://www.waitrose.com/food_drink/recipes/recipesearch/recipe/0612126-r03.asp

Fillet steak with sliced pickled chicory - mmm I'm getting hungry hehe
http://www.uktvfood.co.uk/index.cfm?uktv=recipes.recipe&iID=529788

Something slightly different -
Sliced fillet steak with anchovy & basil butter on toast
http://www.agalinks.com/recipes_770.htm

Answer 9

Try Beef Wellington

http://thefoody.com/meat/beefwellington.html

serve with a red wine sauce - delicious!

Answer 10

Moisten the meat with worsterschire sauce (pardon me for the wrong spelling), put lots of freshly ground black pepper, then grill.

Mince garlic with grated lemon rind, salt and coreander (again, pardon for the spelling) then grill.

Answer 11

Steak, potatoes (chipped roast mash whatever) and mushrooms. Good steak does not need anything else