Food You Can Eat: Grilled Filet Mignon with Maitre D’Hotel Style Sauce

Grilled Filet Mignon with Maitre D’Hotel Style Sauce

First things first:  I think I mentioned a few weeks back that after watching one of the Stanley Tucci “Searching for Italy” episodes I purchased a copy of “Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well” by Pelligrino Artusi.  This book is over 100 years old and is still in print, which is pretty impressive for something so prone to fashionable shifts as a cookbook.  Anyway, there was one particular recipe for a sauce in here that I spotted and thought would be great with steak.  So, when we got filet mignon in our most recent Butcher Box, I had my excuse to make it.

A caveat before we get started:  This cookbook uses almost no measurements and certainly doesn’t get into the specifics of preparation.  Artusi wrote it for people who were already comfortable in the kitchen, rather than as a textbook for aspiring chefs, so I’ll be doing the same thing here.

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 Filet Mignon

Seasoning of Choice

Parsley

Butter

Lemon Juice

Salt

Pepper

Filet mignon is one of those types of steak which, if not prepared properly, can go from excellent to total shit in short order.  So, please, for the love of God, just trust me.  First, you’re going to want to make sure the filets are at room temperature before you grill them, so set them out about an hour ahead and season them with whatever you like.  I use the Central Street Old World Seasoning from The Spice House because it is perfect for steak and because I am lazy.  This seasoning time allows the salt in the mix to pull liquid out of the meat and then eventually get reabsorbed back into the meat, bringing the seasoning with it.  If your seasoning doesn’t contain salt, then you can season them at any point—timing isn’t really a factor.

Roughly 10-15 minutes before you’re ready to cook the filets, pre-heat your grill to 500 degrees by turning one of your burners on full blast and keep the cover down.  Don’t turn on all your burners because you need a “cool” side of the grill to finish the steaks.

While your grill is pre-heating, you can prepare the Matre D’Hotel Style Sauce—which Artusi describes as follows:

“What a pompous title for a trifling little thing!” 

Show me the lie.

Anyway, start with chopping some fresh parsley—I used about a cup…maybe a cup and a half.  Then—and this is Artusi speaking—“to remove the acidity wrap it (as someone has suggested) in the corner of a napkin and wring gently in cold water.”  Does this actually remove the acidity from the parsley?  Who the hell knows.  I did it anyway. 

Throw the parsley in a small saucepan with some butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper over medium heat until everything comes together.

Turn off the heat as soon as the butter has melted.  You don’t want it to scorch or turn brown, but you can leave the pan on the burner to stay warm—just keep an eye on it.

By this time your grill should be ready.  Place your filets over direct heat and grill for 2-4 minutes per side with the cover down.  Two minutes will get you to rare.  Four minutes will get you to medium rare.  Any more than that will bring the wrath of the gods upon you for desecrating such a delicate work of art.

After both sides have been marked over the direct heat, transfer the filets over to the “cool” side of the grill and close the cover again.  Leave them over indirect heat for another five minutes to allow the heat to penetrate into the filets without actually cooking them beyond their rare/medium rare state.

After the five minutes have elapsed, remove the filets from the grill and let them rest under aluminum foil for another five minutes to allow the cooking process to complete and to allow the juices to reabsorb back into the meat.

After the filets have rested, place each in the saucepan, coat them with the sauce, and plate them for serving.

Serve with a generous helping of arrogance and self-important smugness.