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Filet Mignon with Pepper Sauce & Salt & Vinegar Hasselback Potatoes
This is the making of a very special meal to impress your loved ones on any day of the year. A beautifully cooked, tender filet with a rich pepper sauce and crispy salt & vinegar hasselback potatoes on the side.
Top Tip: Start the potatoes early, they take a long time to crisp up, but you can get a bunch done while they are cooking – like preparing the rest of your meal, sorting out a desert or setting the table.
The filet is a delicate cut of meet, one that can dry up very quickly and overcook on the grill or over a flame, so we recommend a beautiful pan sear, followed by finishing time in the oven, like in this recipe. The secret to a beautiful piece of filet mignon is to cook it in a pan that can then be placed in the oven (like a cast iron skillet or a copper pan) – so basically something without plastic handles that can be placed in the oven to finish the cooking process in a hot oven.
The reason for this double action cooking approach? The oven provides an indirect heat that is great for finishing off the meat without overcooking, while the pan sear gives the meat that beautiful caramelized grilled appearance and locks in all the flavor too.
We can’t stress this enough – REST YOUR STEAKS! Resting your steak is so important, and as a rule of thumb we recommend resting steaks for the same amount of time they cooked for. So in this case we are talking about 11 minutes rest time. This does sound like a lot but trust us. Resting ensures a few things – it allows the juices to distribute evenly after the cooking period (so you’re less likely to get juices on the plate). It also continues to cook the meat slightly and also lets it cool down to a more reasonable eating temperature – or closer to it.
Romantic Filet Mignon with Pepper Sauce & Salt & Vinegar Hasselback Potatoes
Jacky @ Butcher Block
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Dinner
Servings
4
Prep Time
25 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour 25 minutes
Looking for a shortcut to an epic meal to impress! Look no further than this fail proof Filet Mignon that is cooked to perfection every time. Served alongside deliciously crispy Hasselback potatoes with a mild salt & vinegar flavor all served with a beautiful and light pepper sauce.
Heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (fan assisted) or 200 degrees without fan.
Prepare the potatoes:
If you’re using very large potatoes cut them in half lengthways. Stick a skewer through the centre of each potato and cut slices up to the skewer all along the potato on both sides – the slices should be around 5mm each.
Mix the water, vinegar, garlic and salt together and bring to the boil. Add the potatoes and cook for about 10-15 minutes or until quite soft. Remove from the water and drain the potatoes well in a colander.
Lay them in an oven dish and drizzle with olive oil, making sure to get into all the gaps / slices. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
Bake in the oven for approx. 1 hour or until crispy and golden. Keep an eye on the potatoes in case they need flipping or a quick extra brush of olive oil.
While the potatoes are cooking start making the sauce:
Heat the butter in a small saucepan, add the shallot and garlic and fry until the onions are translucent and releasing a delicious flavor.
Add the peppercorns and thyme, allowing the pepper to cook and awaken the herbs. Pour in the cream to finish the sauce and allow to cook for a minute or two on low heat, don’t let the sauce boil over.
You can keep the sauce aside and reheat it just before serving.
When your potatoes are about 50 minutes into cooking you can start with your meat:
Heat your cast iron skillet pan to high heat with olive oil. Add butter just before your meat and cook one side of the meat over the high heat for 2 minutes. Don’t lift or flip over the meat for the whole two minutes. Once done, flip over and cook the other side for 2 minutes exactly – and the same thing, don’t flip over or lift the meat. Once the two minutes on each side are done you can roll the meat on it’s sides to char the edges if you like two – this is nice when you are dealing with a tall filet.
Transfer your steaks in their pan to the oven and allow to cook in there for 7 minutes (for medium).
Remove the skillet pan from the oven, and remove the filets from the skillet. Set them onto a plate or board and cover gently with a piece of foil. Leave meat to stand for the equivalent time it has cooked for, in this case 11 minutes.
Your potatoes should be ready at this point. Remove them from the oven and remove gently from the skewers.
Transfer your filet to a plate, with 2 potatoes on the side and pour over the heated sauce. VOILA!
