Filet mignon cooked to perfection
Filet mignon is a fine meat: let's not ruin it by cooking it wrong! A unique and valuable cut of meat, not to be ruined by the wrong cooking! From cutting to cooking, here's how to cook filet mignon. Filet: this word defines the most tender and valuable cut of beef, so unique that, unlike all the other parts, it is called the same way in all regions of the world. The fillet occupies the vault of the animal's lumbosacral region. It runs parallel to the rib, under the lumbar vertebrae and near the kidneys. It is more or less shaped like a thin cone, the base of which is in direct contact with the rump. It is a set of muscles subjected to very little effort and this explains why they give such tender meat. Unfortunately, it is very small in size: it represents, in fact, just 2.5% of all the meat that can be obtained from a bovine and can weigh, at most, around four kilos. Once the grease that covers it and the waste parts has been cleaned, the useful portion reaches, more or less, the weight of three kilos. This explains the high cost of this delicious meat.
Cutting the meat
The filet mignon, therefore, is a single piece but, given its elongated shape that is shrinking, it is usually divided into three parts: the head, the thickest part, the heart, the middle part, and the tail, the thinnest, which is located under the ribs. Of the three, the head is the least fine, being somewhat intersected by tendons and connective tissue; It can be used for steaks, or cleaned and finely chopped with a knife: it is used to prepare steaks tartare or even, sliced, for a carpaccio. From the central part, the heart, of regular shape, you can obtain the Chateaubriand, large slices weighing about 400 grams each, which are cooked briefly, like steaks, for 2 people. From the tail, which gradually becomes thinner, you can cut (as well as from the heart) round slices, the tournedos, or even smaller filets called filets mignon (you need two or three for a portion). Also from the third part you can cut slices for carpaccio and pieces to be chopped by hand, with a knife, for raw meat tartare.
Preparation
One of the reasons that make filet mignon such a popular and appreciated meat is that the preparations that use it require a few minutes of cooking and very little processing and addition of herbs and aromas. Its cooking juices, in fact, are almost always sufficient to bring the processing to a successful conclusion. The filet mignon is so tender and tasty that it can even be eaten raw or simply seared. The longer you cook it, the less tender and juicy it becomes.
The frying pan
The important thing, however, is to remember that the first impact with the pan is decisive for the final result. The pan, in fact, preferably iron, must be very hot as well as the fat (butter or oil). At the time of browning, in fact, the crust is formed that prevents the humours from dispersing (red meat contains little moisture), retaining them inside to give the preparation juiciness and flavor. A certain loss of moisture, however, is always there, so much so that the thickness of a well-cooked steak is less than that of the same while still raw.
Cooking
A filet mignon weighing 150/200 g requires a cooking time ranging from 2 to 5 or 6 minutes per side (the French say 1 to 4 minutes), depending on whether you want it rare or well cooked. Of course, the time increases if the piece is larger.
How can you tell if the filet mignon is cooked to the right point?
There are various ways to find out how far the meat has been cooked: one of these, empirical, but still effective, consists of pricking it with a skewer: if it is still rare, a drop will come out, but as the cooking progresses, the color of the liquid that comes out becomes lighter and lighter. It should be noted that this test must be done in moderation, so that the pricking does not cause the juices of the meat to leak out.
The temperature
Very rare (blue, rare): to cook a filet mignon (3 cm thick) you need 2′ per side. By pricking it with a skewer, dark red blood comes out. Temperature measured in the center, 45 °C. Rare (saignant, medium-rare): to cook the same slice of filet mignon at this point, you need 3′ 30" per side; It is punctured with a skewer, it emits bright red blood. Center temperature, 50 °C. Medium or half (au point, medium): 4′ 30" per side is needed for this degree of doneness. Prick the center of the fillet with a skewer, a pink-colored juice comes out. Center temperature, about 60 °C. Well cooked (bien cuit, well done): to reach this degree of doneness you need 5′ 30" per side. Pricking the center of the slice, the juice that comes out is clear pink. The temperature in the middle is about 70 °C.
"Parrying" and "harnessing" the filet mignon
Parrying, in culinary jargon, means cleaning the meat of skins, ligaments and fatty parts. The cord that runs along the piece must be removed from the fillet, cutting the skin that holds it together with a sharp knife and then pulling it to itself. Then cut off the remaining skin as well. The tournedos, whose weight is around 150 g, are 2 to 3 cm high: because they cook regularly, it is advisable to tie them with one or two turns of white kitchen string so that they do not spread or deform during cooking. Wrapping them with a few slices of lard or bacon also serves to retain the juices of the meat during cooking, which will thus remain even softer and tastier. The meat should stay on the grill or in a pan for a very short time.
Filet mignon is a fine meat: let's not ruin it by cooking it wrong! A unique and valuable cut of meat, not to be ruined by the wrong cooking! From cutting to cooking, here's how to cook filet mignon. Filet: this word defines the most tender and valuable cut of beef, so unique that, unlike all the other parts, it is called the same way in all regions of the world. The fillet occupies the vault of the animal's lumbosacral region. It runs parallel to the rib, under the lumbar vertebrae and near the kidneys. It is more or less shaped like a thin cone, the base of which is in direct contact with the rump. It is a set of muscles subjected to very little effort and this explains why they give such tender meat. Unfortunately, it is very small in size: it represents, in fact, just 2.5% of all the meat that can be obtained from a bovine and can weigh, at most, around four kilos. Once the grease that covers it and the waste parts has been cleaned, the useful portion reaches, more or less, the weight of three kilos. This explains the high cost of this delicious meat.
Cutting the meat
The filet mignon, therefore, is a single piece but, given its elongated shape that is shrinking, it is usually divided into three parts: the head, the thickest part, the heart, the middle part, and the tail, the thinnest, which is located under the ribs. Of the three, the head is the least fine, being somewhat intersected by tendons and connective tissue; It can be used for steaks, or cleaned and finely chopped with a knife: it is used to prepare steaks tartare or even, sliced, for a carpaccio. From the central part, the heart, of regular shape, you can obtain the Chateaubriand, large slices weighing about 400 grams each, which are cooked briefly, like steaks, for 2 people. From the tail, which gradually becomes thinner, you can cut (as well as from the heart) round slices, the tournedos, or even smaller filets called filets mignon (you need two or three for a portion). Also from the third part you can cut slices for carpaccio and pieces to be chopped by hand, with a knife, for raw meat tartare.
Preparation
One of the reasons that make filet mignon such a popular and appreciated meat is that the preparations that use it require a few minutes of cooking and very little processing and addition of herbs and aromas. Its cooking juices, in fact, are almost always sufficient to bring the processing to a successful conclusion. The filet mignon is so tender and tasty that it can even be eaten raw or simply seared. The longer you cook it, the less tender and juicy it becomes.
The frying pan
The important thing, however, is to remember that the first impact with the pan is decisive for the final result. The pan, in fact, preferably iron, must be very hot as well as the fat (butter or oil). At the time of browning, in fact, the crust is formed that prevents the humours from dispersing (red meat contains little moisture), retaining them inside to give the preparation juiciness and flavor. A certain loss of moisture, however, is always there, so much so that the thickness of a well-cooked steak is less than that of the same while still raw.
Cooking
A filet mignon weighing 150/200 g requires a cooking time ranging from 2 to 5 or 6 minutes per side (the French say 1 to 4 minutes), depending on whether you want it rare or well cooked. Of course, the time increases if the piece is larger.
How can you tell if the filet mignon is cooked to the right point?
There are various ways to find out how far the meat has been cooked: one of these, empirical, but still effective, consists of pricking it with a skewer: if it is still rare, a drop will come out, but as the cooking progresses, the color of the liquid that comes out becomes lighter and lighter. It should be noted that this test must be done in moderation, so that the pricking does not cause the juices of the meat to leak out.
The temperature
Very rare (blue, rare): to cook a filet mignon (3 cm thick) you need 2′ per side. By pricking it with a skewer, dark red blood comes out. Temperature measured in the center, 45 °C. Rare (saignant, medium-rare): to cook the same slice of filet mignon at this point, you need 3′ 30" per side; It is punctured with a skewer, it emits bright red blood. Center temperature, 50 °C. Medium or half (au point, medium): 4′ 30" per side is needed for this degree of doneness. Prick the center of the fillet with a skewer, a pink-colored juice comes out. Center temperature, about 60 °C. Well cooked (bien cuit, well done): to reach this degree of doneness you need 5′ 30" per side. Pricking the center of the slice, the juice that comes out is clear pink. The temperature in the middle is about 70 °C.
"Parrying" and "harnessing" the filet mignon
Parrying, in culinary jargon, means cleaning the meat of skins, ligaments and fatty parts. The cord that runs along the piece must be removed from the fillet, cutting the skin that holds it together with a sharp knife and then pulling it to itself. Then cut off the remaining skin as well. The tournedos, whose weight is around 150 g, are 2 to 3 cm high: because they cook regularly, it is advisable to tie them with one or two turns of white kitchen string so that they do not spread or deform during cooking. Wrapping them with a few slices of lard or bacon also serves to retain the juices of the meat during cooking, which will thus remain even softer and tastier. The meat should stay on the grill or in a pan for a very short time.
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