Somewhere along the food heritage line, steak became the poster child for decadent dinners. And there’s no steak seemingly more decadent than the petite filet mignon.
Maybe it’s how it’s spelled with that sneaky, silent ‘g’ that shows off it’s Frenchie, linguistic ways. Maybe it’s because when you say “filet mignon” it simply rolls off the tongue and you sound so upscale. “Minnnnn-yon.” Or maybe it’s because it’s such a dang expensive cut of meat. Because doesn’t expensive mean it’s the best? Maybe if you’re a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills, but when it comes to especially flavorful food, hardly ever. As things will happen over time, the filet mignon went from rock star status to a C-list contender on Dancing With the Stars, even getting lambasted by some of America’s top chefs. No flavor because it’s so low in fat. Overrated after becoming overexposed on nearly every American menu for years. And far too often, way overcooked for such a lean meat. Why oh why do people cook their meat well done? But when this tender filet is cooked just right at a medium rare temperature, and a pat of fat is added to the ingredient list, suddenly we have a whole new ball game.
My husband is the king of cooking steak. I say cooking steak, not necessarily grilling steak. Grilled steaks are great, but steaks cooked on the stove and finished in the oven are world’s apart better.
Butter is the secret to this tender and flavorful combo. You could flavor your butter with herbs, onions or garlic, but our favorite is mushrooms. Because steak and mushrooms means true love.
And when the butter melds with the pan-grilled meat, suddenly you have a succulent sauce all of its own, and for very minimal cooking effort.
The only hard part about this recipe is resisting the urge to put 4-5 more pats of porcini butter on the lean steak. But then again, why deny yourself?
Because it’s a part of the cow that doesn’t do any work, like walking or moving, filet mignon doesn’t have the same amount of connective tissue that other cuts of beef have, resulting in a more tender bite. But on the flip side that means it doesn’t have any fat so doesn’t possess the marbling other cuts have, so it has less flavor. This cut should ALWAYS be cooked medium rare. Remember, the cooking time will continue once you pull it from the oven, so pull it at about 135-140°F to ensure a proper internal temp once it’s rested.
To add flavor, you can wrap a piece of bacon around the outside of the beef and tack with a toothpick while cooking. But I think that usually ends up in just a stringy piece of bacon on the outside. I prefer just the compound butter. And always be generous with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper as much of it will flake off during cooking.
Adding herbs and garlic cloves while cooking the steak after searing adds a huge amount of flavor. Hearty rosemary would be pretty tasty substitution for my favorite thyme. But avoid more tender leaves like basil or tarragon that will disappear in the searing heat.
Cast iron skillets are the way to go with a steak like this. The heat gives a great sear and creates a terrific crust and browns the butter perfectly for drizzling.
We use this cooking technique for all of our steaks, not just the fancy cut of filet. If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Fliet Mignon with Porcini Mushroom Butter
Ingredients
- 2 1½ ” thick Filet Mignon steaks , about 5-6 ounces each, at room temperature
- 1-2 cloves of garlic , peeled and thinly sliced
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Porcini butter , recipe below
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475°F.
- Season the steaks generously with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Season more than you think you’ll need as much of it comes off during the cooking process.
- Heat a cast iron pan on the stovetop over high heat. Melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the steaks and cook each side of the steaks including the top, bottom and sides for about 4 minutes on each side or until browned.
- Remove from heat and add the garlic slices and thyme and cook in the oven until the internal temperature reaches 140-145°F for medium rare.
- Meanwhile, remove the Porcini Butter Compound from the refrigerator and slice into ½ inch pats.
- Remove from the oven, spoon cooked juices over the steak and serve with a pat of Porcini butter over the Filets and garlic. Garnish with more fresh thyme if desired.
Porcini Compound Butter
Ingredients
- ½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms , divided
- ½ cup 1 stick salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Place about 10 whole porcini mushrooms in small bowl. Cover with enough boiling water just to top mushrooms. Cover and set aside 5-10 minutes or until mushrooms have reconstituted and are soft. Drain mushrooms (save mushroom water for soups or gravy), squeeze out excess water. Thinly slice mushrooms and set aside.
- Place remaining porcini mushrooms in clean coffee grinder and grind to fine powder to make 2 tablespoons.
- Place butter in food processor fitted with metal blade. Add 2 tablespoons porcini powder, half of sliced porcini mushrooms, and salt to butter. Blend until well mixed and butter is smooth.
- Using rubber spatula, scrape butter onto sheet of plastic wrap. Roll into log shape. Place reserved porcini slices on top of butter and wrap tightly. Twist ends of plastic closed. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until just firm enough to slice.
Usually I’m a ribeye steak lover, however recently I opted for filet instead. So good. No idea why it gets such a bad press. I’m loving that you are not afraid to use butter, especially here with the porcini. Pinned.
This looks amazing! However, I only see two recipes for the butter, but no actual recipe for the filet. Any seasonings on the filet? How long in the oven and what temp?
Hope you can help – I am so eager to make this!
I’m chilling my butter as I type this. I don’t see any directions as to when to add the butter to the steak or at what point to put it in the oven and what temp, other than another who commented about 475’. Hope you can answer soon. Thanks.
I made this last night for my husband’s 62nd Birthday. (No, I’m not trying to kill him!) it was as amazing as it looks. I checked the reviews before I made it but no one who commented had actually made it. So i csmw back to give my wholehearted recommendation. This was lush, easy to make with my husband’s family standing around socializing and absolutely decadent.
I struggled to find dried porcini and it seems there really is no substitute. I ended up believeor not finding a large container of mixed mushrooms with porcini at Costco! Then I had to go online to figure which mushrooms were the porcini. In the future, I would order them in advance from Amazon.
I’m now a FoidieCrush believer.
What is the approx time in the oven at 475?
Well, I just used your recipe, but had to sub the porcini shrooms with shi-takia
and it was a fantastic hit with my dinner company. Thanks. I kept the temp at 135 for med rare. Nice.
That is one great looking steak. And I bet it tastes the same. O I want one now. :)
If I have fresh mushrooms. Would you purée them for the butter? Or just cut very small? Thank you it looks amazing!
You could just chop them finely and I would then sauté them in butter to bring out the flavor, then add to the chilled butter. However, they won’t lend the same rich intense mushroom flavor so you’ll need to use more to taste.
“140-145 degrees F for medium rare”? ARE YOU NUTS? Yeah, I know — it’s what the USDA and other oh-so-cautious sources recommend, but the truth is that’s well done, brown and dry throughout. If you want your steak medium rare, take it off the grill when a good instant-read thermometer registers 120 in the middle of the meat (no more than 125), put it on a plate, cover it with foil or another plate, and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing or serving. Subtract 5 degrees for rare, add 5 for medium. If you prefer your steaks more than medium, order chicken.
Helpful hint, just made this. If you don’t have a coffee grinder I put the mushrooms in my Ninja dry and then added water – worked perfect.
Disregard I read the directions wrong.
WOW. I consider myself a pretty talented cook and know how to make a good steak in the oven. But when I made yours for dinner last night with the porcini butter, I received the best reviews EVER from my fiancée. This was seriously delicious!! Great job!
Kayti! That is the best compliment. Thank you and SO thrilled you both loved it. I’ll share this on Facebook. If you got a pic of it, I’d love to see it on Instagram or Facebook, just tag it @foodiecrush or #foodiecrusheats! Thank you!
You have officially gotten me into full alert steak craving mode! Thank you for the great recipe and for including my Big Sexy Steaks in your link love.
This recipe looks and sounds delicious! I’m wondering how it could be adapted for a sous vide style of cooking. I have this recipe here for sous vide filet mignon (http://bit.ly/1Bfiletmignonrecipe). So, I’m hoping if it goes well I can try to experimenting with your seasoning!
It’s taken me a few tries to finally learn how to make a filet to be perfectly cooked. O.M.G. This porcini butter really is genius, and I can’t wait to make this! I just happen to have them in my pantry. Awesome, and thanks.
Looks awesome — the porcini compound butter is intriguing. Looking forward to trying it.
I’m curious about one thing, though: your temps look about 10 degrees too high to me, compared to what I see elsewhere for medium rare.
Made this for dinner tonight for the my husband and I. It came out so delicious. This was my first steak ever and your recipe was so easy to understand and simply amazing. Thank you so much!
Oh heavens. It’s beautiful!
Well I know what’s coming up for the next date night. I don’t know of many men who would complain about that showing up on the dinner table!
Dani
I’ve never seen anyone make beef look so good – I’m obsessed with that top photo. Just gorgeous!
Wow, I don’t even have words for this. Well, maybe I do…perfection. Total perfection. I’d be a happy girl with this.
That is hands down the most beautiful steak I’ve ever looked at and wanted to make out with.
Hands down.
My oh my!!!! Magical!
Now this is exactly how we like to cook our steaks! Love the porcini compound butter! This is too good not to share – onto my FB page this goes! xox
Oh yessss! Love me a great big steak!
I am so having steak for dinner tonight!
These photos are stunning!! Best steak I have ever seen and that butter sound amazing!
We just sat in awe of that first photo! My boyfriend wants this for dinner asap!!!
You had me at porcini mushroom butter, sounds just like heaven!
I always grill my steak or filet mignon with butter by using a skillet to start it off and then finishing it off with charred grill marks straight on the BBQ. Love the addition of mushrooms…yumm!
Over the weekend I just had a horseradish crusted filet and it was the perfect medium rare!!! It made me think that it is time to take a break from all the kale and almonds and just have a good, buttery steak!!!! This looks phenomenal! It belongs in an episode of Mad Men at a supper club or something!
Okay, so I have pretty happily given up red meat for about a month now…but I am still drooling over these pictures. May have to find a really good, sustainably and humanely raised steak and go to town this weekend :) Thanks for sharing!
OMG this is stealing my heart away!! Pinned!
I love everything about everything that is happening on that plate. And the pictures… I have no words.
I LOVE the porcini butter with the filet– it looks crazy good!
That is seriously the yummiest picture of a steak I have ever seen!! Amazing. And that butter!!
That is one nice looking piece of steak and the porcini butter is a great idea!
Thanks Kevin, I think the butter would be great on just about anything. Maybe even ice cream, it’s that good. :)
The filet is awesome and that porcini butter is drool-worthy!
Ohhh, caviar topped devilled eggs. Drool. This steak, double drool. Heidi I think you’re the only one that can take a photo of a steak and make it look so good. Is it wrong that I want to lick the screen. :)
Licking the screen is totally acceptable in many cultures. :) Go for it! And thanks!
This steak definitely speaks to my soul! Simply gorgeous, Heidi!
Steak…it’s been far too long since I’ve savored you. This looks mighty yum!
It’s a good thing I have a father-in-law for a butcher. He hooks us up at all the right times.
Have a beautiful Wednesday!
Oh how I wish I had a butcher in the family. That would be seriously incredible.
I have such fond memories of my grandma cooking filet for my grandpa’s bday. I always wondered her secret…until I walked in on her making it and saw a GIANT pat of butter on top. Now PORCINI butter? That is one twist that has to be irresistible (and I have a feeling gma would approve too ;-) )
Your grandma totally had the right idea. The butter adds so much flavor, and then with the garlic and herbs, it’s a win win all the way around.
Oh my gosh I am craving steak now! This steak looks awesome!
I beg to differ with the bad press, I think filet done right is awesome. This filet looks awesome and adding porcini butter? That’s send you to the moon stuff right there. Yum!
Yep, the poor filet has a bad rep, maybe we can right the ship with more yummy recipes.
Even with all the bad press the filet has copped, I still always secretly loved it! And this looks like heaven. Perfect date night fodder.