If you want to make steakhouse quality Filet Mignon at home for a special occasions, you found the right recipe! This is how I make Filet Mignon at home with several side dishes to celebrate special anniversaries!
Going out lately has become almost a luxury! Not only have the prices of everything from food to drinks gone up, but so have added fees and tips. Plus we need to get a nanny too. So for a price of dinner out, we can actually go on a mini weekend vacation to the Keys or Naples.
While I cook cheaper steaks like chuck steak, thin milanesa steak or sirloin on a cast iron or regular skillet, I was a little intimidated by filet mignon initially. I didn’t want such an expensive steak to go to waste.
Please let me know if you have any questions in comments. I’ll try to be as detailed as possible with my tips and notes for making this recipe. If you’re looking just for the exact quantities, hit the Jump to Recipe button to skip all the explanations:).
How to Pick the Best Filet Mignon?
I have couple of tips on how to pick the best package of steaks. First, if you have a butcher you trust go there, he’ll do the picking for you.
But if you’re a mom like me that mostly stops for everything at the local grocery store, you have to make the decision yourself. Here is what I look for, maybe there are things I’m missing so feel free to comment below with additional tips.
- Source of meat and quality – Grass fed is best but that’s expensive and not always available. Country of origin might make a difference to you as well so check for that. I personally find a slight difference in taste depending on source of meat, so I have a list of countries of origin I like.
- Color and Shape – I usually like to look for a steak that looks red, fresh and not mushy. If you press on it, it should bounce back. Also shape wise you want the filet mignon to be about 2 inch thick and have consistent thickness throughout so it cooks evenly too.
- Marbling – Some marbling is necessary, too much can affect the cooking and taste.
- Fat layer – I prefer not to have to trim this steak, it’s expensive enough as is so usually I look for a good round shape steak, about 2 inches thick without anything to trim.
How to Season Filet Mignon?
I follow the advice from Ina Garten to keep the seasoning for Filet Mignon steak simple, just salt and pepper. Now since there are only two ingredients, be picky about them.
I love to use coarse sea salt and peppercorn to season the steak. I grind both the sea salt and the peppercorns (you can crush them in a mortar and pestle). Mix salt and pepper and spread the mix on a platter. Season steaks generously on all sides!
Searing and Then Baking the Steak in a Cast Iron
To achieve great quality filet mignon steaks, comparable to what you’d get in a steakhouse, I highly advice to sear the steaks first on all sides then bake them until you reach the correct internal temperature.
I love adding some butter over the steaks once they’re done searing and before I add the cast iron skillet to the oven.
Use a (affiliate) meat thermometer to achieve the correct internal temperature of the steak when baking. The below temperature chart is an estimate that works really well for me!
Pro-tip: Insert the meat thermometer side ways to reach the center of the steak for correct reading.
- 120 degrees F for rare steaks
- 130 degrees F for medium rare
- 140 degrees F for medium
- 150 degrees F for medium well
- 160 degrees F for well done
My Favorite Side Dishes for Steak
So technically I could add the asparagus and the potatoes as two separate recipes, but I’d hate to have you searching in different pages going back and forth so I’m adding these two recipes here for a complete dinner meal, not just the steak itself. You can later decide if you want to add other sides instead of the ones I picked!
- Blue Cheese Sauce
- Asparagus
- Crispy Potatoes
Blue Cheese Sauce
This blue cheese sauce adds a gourmet touch to any steak. My husband even loves the sauce with roasted vegetables like artichokes or cauliflower.
This sauce has very few ingredients and I prefer to serve it warm. Usually to get 4 servings, I use 1 medium size yellow onion, 1 cup blue cheese dressing, ¾ cup crumbled blue cheese and 4 tbsps of unsalted butter.
Cook the diced onion in butter until onion is very translucent and tender (cook longer than you would for a regular dish). Then slowly add the blue cheese dressing and blue cheese crumbles. Let simmer for few minutes until all cheese is melted and incorporated. Drizzle as desired over steaks or serve on the side!
Asparagus
Usually when serving with steak, I steam the asparagus. Or I boil it quickly then add it on iced water to stop the cooking process. Drain and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Freshly cracked pepper adds a hint of gourmet feel to this simple side dish.
Crispy Potatoes
I love using Dutch gold potatoes because they cook fast. I rinse the potatoes then cook them for about 10-15 minutes covered in water. Drain and let cool to touch. Slice the potatoes, season them and then cook them in a skillet until golden crispy on both sides.
Adding some fresh parsley as garnish makes the crispy potatoes look so appetizing. It’s a nice touch to add to this side dish:).
Sonila’s Extra Tips and Notes
You want to make sure to cook the steak to the exact temperature so you’re not dissapointed on it looking too pink or too cooked. While you might get an exact timing down to the second locked once you cook this recipe few times, for the first or second time I highly recommend you use a meat thermometer.
High quality steaks are better tasting when cooked less time, so you don’t want to make them well done. So while I cook my filet mignon medium rare for myself, I don’t mind a medium well or even well done flank steak. This is all to say I’m not going to judge if you overcook your steak, but I still want to make sure you enjoy it since it’s so expensive!
Add butter to the steaks, it makes a difference in taste!
If you don’t know if the blue cheese sauce is a good match for you for your steak, serve that on the side!
Another tip that is often overlooked is to pat dry the steaks then brush them with olive oil. Then season them thoroughly!
Homemade Filet Mignon
Equipment
Ingredients
Filet Mignon
- 2 filet mignon steaks about 8 -10 ozs each
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp peppercorn
- 0.5 tbsp sea salt
- 2 tbsps unsalted butter
- 1 rosemary twig (optional)
Blue Cheese Sauce
- 1 yellow onion, diced medium size, if it's large just dice half of an onion
- 4 tbsps butter
- ¾ cup blue cheese
- 1 cup blue cheese dressing
Asparagus
- 8 asparagus spears
- pinch sea salt
- pinch black pepper
- 3 lemon slices
Crispy Potatoes
- 24 ozs Dutch gold potatoes
- 0.5 tsp sea salt
- 0.25 tsp black pepper
- 0.5 tsp oregano
- 0.25 tsp paprika
- 1-2 tbsps olive oil
Instructions
Filet Mignon
- Bring the steaks out of the refrigerator about 30 an hour before you'll start cooking them. Pat them dry on all sides with a paper towel. Brush olive oil on the steaks.
- Grind sea salt and peppercorns, mix them and add them to a plate. Season steaks on all sides generously.
- Heat cast iron skillet well for few minutes. If cast iron has a good seasoning, I don't add any oil otherwise maybe just a tablespoon of oil. Add steaks in and sear them for 2 minutes or so on each side. Don't move steaks around during those 2 minutes. Then flip.
- While steaks are searing, start pre-heating the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Once steaks are done searing, add 1 tbsp of butter over each of them. Brush a rosemary twig lightly over each steak and later place the twig on the skillet to release more aroma and flavor.
- Place cast iron skillet with steaks on the oven, let cook until steaks reach 120 degrees internal temperature for rare or 125 – 130 for medium rare. See the temperature chart provided in the notes for correct doneness and use a meat thermometer for this. It took 8 minutes in the oven for my steaks to be ready but keep in mind that it might vary based on oven and steak thickness.
- Once steaks are done, remove skillet from oven. Cover and let rest for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with your favorite side dishes and enjoy your celebration:).
Blue Cheese Sauce
- On a skillet add 4 tbsps of butter, once butter melts add diced onion. Cook until onion almost melts, it has to be translucent and tender. Add blue cheese crumbles and blue cheese dressing. Mix and simmer until sauce gets combined and blue cheese melts.
Asparagus
- Steam asparagus spears after your chop off the dry tops. Steam them until you can pierce with a fork. Alternatively, you can boil them in water for a minute. Add them to cold ice water to stop the cooking process. Then season them with salt, pepper and lemon slices.
Crispy Potatoes
- Rince Dutch gold potatoes then add them in a pot with hot water. Set the pot to boil and once potatoes boil for 10-15 minutes, remove from heat and drain on a colander. Once potatoes are cool to touch, slice them in half. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and oregano (add your favorite seasonings too). Add olive oil to cast iron skillet and cook the potatoes in the stovetop until they're crispy. Flip and cook them same way on the other side. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve as a side dish.
Notes
- Please note that nutrition takes into account all the side dishes as well as the steak, plus a generous portion of the blue cheese sauce.
- Weight and thickness of filet mignons might vary, so that will slightly change cooking time. Focus more on the temperature and look of the steak rather than the clock for this recipe.
- Steak Temperature Chart –
- 120 degrees F for rare steaks
- 130 degrees F for medium rare
- 140 degrees F for medium
- 150 degrees F for medium well
- 160 degrees F for well done
Nutrition Label
Nutrition
Filet mignon is a cut of beef from the tenderloin area and cows only have two tenderloins, so this creates limited availability. Filet mignon is a popular choice for special occasions and fine dining due to its tenderness and luxurious reputation. This high demand further contributes to its cost!
If you would like to save this recipe for later, please pin one of these images to your boards in Pinterest. Let me know in comments if you have any questions or have any feedback about this recipe:). Thank you so much for reading my blog!!
Additional Dinner Recipes
I don’t always cook fancy dinners like this one, but I thought since you’re looking at a meat recipe you might enjoy these other recipes from my blog. Feel free to check them out:).
- Ground Beef with Peppers Dinner in a Skillet
- Cabbage and Ground Beef
- Braised Beef Shanks in Dutch Oven
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