These are prime filets given as a birthday gift to Bea by her brother. And, while I often feature the meals I do for guests as my biggest efforts, I decided to put in similar effort for a Friday evening meal for just the two of us. Bea has been non-stop go over the last week with her birthday party, family visiting, and partying in general that it was time for a quiet evening. Plus, we'll be headed out shortly to Carmel by the Sea to attend the wedding of our next-door neighbors. More party on the horizon!
Dinner Workings
My first idea was to do a beef stock reduction as per usual, but then I had a better idea, owing to these being such large & tender filets. I decided to do a mildly browned butter with toasted garlic & shallot, and also a bit of bacon drippings. So, I pre-heated the grill on high, then turned the burner I was cooking the steaks on to low and left the indirect one to high, covered. Five minutes on one side, brush with butter, 5 minutes on the other, brush with butter, then cooking burner to full high and about five minutes of turning and brushing every minute. Done. Click for the high-res version.
A Big Filet
I also did a salad. Simply EVOO vinaigrette with salt & finely ground pepper, a dollop of dijon mustard and enough apple cider vinegar until emulsification was achieved. Then, blue cheese crumbles. Top it off with coarsely ground pepper.
Beefsteak Tomato Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Back on the topic of cooking different cuts of meat to different levels of done, this is exactly the kind of tender filet that I like rare. It's like great Ahi tuna. This was absolutely fork tender.
Rare Filet
Bea's was about the same weight, but a bit thiner, and thus more of a medium rare, which she prefers.
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Please spread the word
Looks great bud, how do you make your EVOO vinagarett?
Man that meat looks absolutely perfect! Yum!
Looks delicious!! You inspired us to grill some steaks with brushed on butter tonight! I made a chard gratin to go with it. Recipe to come on F & T. Have fun at the wedding!
First, pour enough EVOO into a mixing bowl as you will need to dress your salad. Then, ad a proportional amount of French dijon mustard, like Maille.
http://www.maille.us/pages/home.aspx
In terms of proportion, I use about a tsp to maybe 1/2 cup EVOO, perhaps a bit more, to taste. Then salt & pepper to taste.
Whisk it all together and you'll find that the mustard & oil are separated, but the mustard is broken into small clumps and swirls. Then, add your vinegar bit by bit, and whisk in between each addition. I typically use either red wine vinegar or apple cider.
Don't overdo it, but eventually, the vinaigrette will begin to emulsify. You'll know it because it will be completely mixed and won't separate if you leave it sit.
Can't wait!
Richard,
Do you ever use ghee instead of butter?
Michael
Nutrition and Physical Regeneration
Yes, lots, but in this case you definitely want the milk solids, as that's how the butter browns.
Richard,
If you ever visit England, I insist that you come to our house for a few days and cook for us!
I LOVE meat porn. I'm braising a 4 lb. brisket from a grass-feed cow right now and it'll be done within the hour. I put about 2 pounds of onions in the pot as well and tossed some cubed sweet potatoes in there an hour before it'll be done cooking. The braising sauce is one bottle of beer, a cup of my home-made beef broth (very gelatinous), and a 1/4 cup of raw apple cider vinegar). Love the good ol' American meat and potatoes.
Thanks Richard. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Now if I could just get the reductions down, I would be a happy paleo man.
Nutrition and Physical Regeneration » Updates At Nutrition And Physical Regeneration // Jan 19, 2010 at 22:31
[...] a particular dietary program but for the sake of accuracy I should point out he also followed a low carb paleo diet while doing [...]