Have you ever noticed how crowded restaurants are on Valentine’s Day? Every table is a two-top, the menus are often fixed, and the staff frantically busy. After several misfires over the last few years, I’ve given up with going out that night, and instead focus on lovely dishes we can make at home. Here is a classic date night meal—filet mignon in a red wine reduction.
Filet mignon is a steak cut from the tenderloin, a missile shaped muscle which lays beneath the ribs, right along the backbone. The tenderloin muscle is called “tenderloin” because it is just that, tender. It doesn’t get the exercise that would make it tough, like a shank or shoulder. It is also relatively lean.
To prepare filet mignon, either you are going to buy the steaks already prepped, or you have a large beef tenderloin, from which you cut the steaks. If you are cutting steaks from a whole tenderloin, first decide if you are going to keep the chain muscle or not. The chain muscle is a smaller muscle that runs along the tenderloin. To make a classic filet mignon medallion shape, most people trim way this piece, but it is still part of the tenderloin cut and tastes great, although not quite as tender as the rest of the tenderloin, so keep it if you want. The steak we have prepared here includes the chain. (Here’s an excellent tutorial from Fine Cooking about trimming the chain and silver skin.)
Here’s a whole beef tenderloin, and where the chain muscle is attached to it.
Trim away the ends of the tenderloin and any silver skin. The thicker end of the tenderloin is best for filet mignon medallions. As you get closer to the thin end, that part can be folded and tied for a roast.
Think about how well done you would like your steaks and how thick they are. If you have a thick steak and you like your steak rare, or medium rare, you’re in luck, this will be easy. If you have a thick steak (2 inches or more) and you want your steak medium or medium well, then you may want to butterfly it first. If the chain muscle is still attached, you can make a lovely heart shape with the steak.
Here’s an example of butterflying a thick filet mignon into a heart shape. Romantic!
Either cut will work with the following recipe—medallions with or without the chain, or heart-shaped butterflied.
Filet Mignon with Red Wine Sauce Recipe
As with any recipe that calls for a substantial amount of wine, use a wine that you enjoy drinking. The sauce in this recipe is just a concentrated version of the wine with some butter and pan juices. So, if you don't like the wine to start, it will not make a good sauce. Pick a wine you like.
Ingredients
- 2-4 filet mignon steaks, 1 to 2 inches thick*
- Salt
- Canola or grape seed oil
- 3-4 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 2 cups full bodied red wine (we used a favorite Zinfandel)
- Black pepper to taste
*If you have thicker steaks, you can butterfly them and cook on the stovetop as directed here, or you can sear them on the stovetop and finish them in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes or more, until the center of the steaks are done to your liking.
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