Filet mignon with stilton butter is prepared by Eric Vellend on February 10, 2016.Jennifer Roberts/The Globe and Mail
This recipe is adapted from The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, the magnum opus from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, the managing culinary director of seriouseats.com.
Servings: 4
Ready Time: 2 hours
Stilton butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 oz Stilton or other blue cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp minced shallot
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Pinch kosher salt
Filet mignon
2 lbs centre-cut beef tenderloin roast
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Finely chopped chives
Method
In a small bowl, mash the butter, Stilton, shallot, Worcestershire sauce and salt until homogeneous. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the counter. With wet hands, form the butter into a rough log and transfer to the lower quarter of the wrap. Roll up the butter and twist the ends to form a uniform log. Refrigerate until hard.
Remove the wrap. Using a wet knife, slice four 1/2-inch-thick disks and let them sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before the steaks are ready.
Preheat the oven to 275 F. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Place on a wire rack set on a baking tray. Bake on the middle rack until the instant read thermometer inserted into the centre registers 100 F (for medium-rare), about 45 to 50 minutes.
Transfer the beef to a cutting board. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut into four even steaks. Pat dry with a paper towel. If steaks are very thick, lightly flatten with hands. (Or leave as is if you like your steak on the rare side of medium-rare.) Season cut sides with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy-duty non-stick fry pan or cast-iron skillet over high heat until the butter is browned. Cook the steaks until nicely browned, about 1 minute a side. Turn the steaks onto their sides and rotate occasionally until lightly seared, about 1 minute. Transfer the steaks to a serving platter. Top each steak with a pat of butter. Tent with foil for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately.