Go to your local butcher and ask him to cut the filet from the tenderloin. This ensures both a fresher cut and the ability to specify how thick you want your filet to be. Oh, and you get to support your local butcher instead of a supermarket conglomerate. What if you have a thin cut of filet mignon? Don’t fret, but adjust your cooking accordingly. Instead of slow-cooking your filet, you’ll need to sear it over extremely high heat for a short period of time to get a crispy outside and a juicy, medium-rare inside.
Salt brings moisture out to the surface of the steak. Wouldn’t that be bad news for a moist, juicy steak? you ask. It is, if you don’t salt far enough in advance. For the first 30 minutes of salting, moisture comes out to the surface of the steak, accumulating in small puddles. At this point, cooking the steak would be ill-advised. After 30 minutes, some of the moisture drawn out by the salt seeps back into the meat. The process is called osmosis, and it also makes for more tender meat. [4] X Research source The longer you leave your steaks out after 40 minutes, the more of the salty water travels back into the steak, flavoring and tenderizing it.
Salt brings moisture out to the surface of the steak. Wouldn’t that be bad news for a moist, juicy steak? you ask. It is, if you don’t salt far enough in advance. For the first 30 minutes of salting, moisture comes out to the surface of the steak, accumulating in small puddles. At this point, cooking the steak would be ill-advised. After 30 minutes, some of the moisture drawn out by the salt seeps back into the meat. The process is called osmosis, and it also makes for more tender meat. [4] X Research source The longer you leave your steaks out after 40 minutes, the more of the salty water travels back into the steak, flavoring and tenderizing it.
That’s because charcoal is a really solid heat source. It burns hot — much hotter than gas — and burns steadily. If you know how to master charcoal, it gives you a better final product. Briquettes are fine, but they’re nothing special. Many of them have unwanted additives that give off a faint aroma, so if used, they should be white all over before you start grilling. [6] X Research source Lump charcoal burns hotter, is easier to adjust the temperature, and is all-natural.
The high heat camp is straightforward: Cook the filet for 2-5 minutes per side over high heat, searing it to seal in the juices. While this method can certainly produce a fine filet mignon, the “searing to seal in the juices” idea has been debunked. [7] X Research source In fact, the temperature to which you cook the meat is the most important factor in keeping meat juicy. Placing it over high heat will accelerate the loss of juices. The low heat camp uses this fact — the hotter the temperature, the more juices lost — to champion a different approach. Instead of searing first, the meat is cooked over indirect, “cool” heat until it’s just below its ideal temperature. It’s then seared to develop a crust and depth of flavor.
The high heat camp is straightforward: Cook the filet for 2-5 minutes per side over high heat, searing it to seal in the juices. While this method can certainly produce a fine filet mignon, the “searing to seal in the juices” idea has been debunked. [7] X Research source In fact, the temperature to which you cook the meat is the most important factor in keeping meat juicy. Placing it over high heat will accelerate the loss of juices. The low heat camp uses this fact — the hotter the temperature, the more juices lost — to champion a different approach. Instead of searing first, the meat is cooked over indirect, “cool” heat until it’s just below its ideal temperature. It’s then seared to develop a crust and depth of flavor.
The high heat camp is straightforward: Cook the filet for 2-5 minutes per side over high heat, searing it to seal in the juices. While this method can certainly produce a fine filet mignon, the “searing to seal in the juices” idea has been debunked. [7] X Research source In fact, the temperature to which you cook the meat is the most important factor in keeping meat juicy. Placing it over high heat will accelerate the loss of juices. The low heat camp uses this fact — the hotter the temperature, the more juices lost — to champion a different approach. Instead of searing first, the meat is cooked over indirect, “cool” heat until it’s just below its ideal temperature. It’s then seared to develop a crust and depth of flavor.
120° F (48. 8° C) = Rare 130° F (54. 4° C) = Medium rare 140° F (60° C) = Medium 150° F (65. 5° C) = Medium well 160° F (71. 1° C) = Well done
When a steak is cooked, its muscles tighten up on the outside. This pushes all the juices to the inside of the meat, where the muscles aren’t as tight because they’re not as hot. If you cut into the center of your filet immediately after cooking, the juices accumulated there will simply run out, leaving you with a drier steak. If you let your filet rest, however, the muscles begin to relax and the juices move from the center of the steak back out, dispersing more evenly. You’ll hold on to 7% more weight in juices by waiting an extra 10 minutes after cooking has finished. [11] X Research source
