Botswana Beef Safari Style Filet Mignon Recipes

MINI BEEF WELLINGTONS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Sprinkle both sides of the filet mignon steaks with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
• In a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the filets and sear for 1 minute on each side.
• Transfer to a plate, cool, then refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Clean, stem, and finely chop the cremini mushrooms.
• Heat the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and garlic, and sauté for 1 minute.
• Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the mushroom liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms begin to brown around the edges.
• Take the skillet off the heat and stir in the sherry.
• Return the skillet to the heat, and cook until the liquid has again evaporated. Transfer to a plate and cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 425 F. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit inside a baking tray.
• Prepare the red wine sauce, and keep warm.
• Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured board to a 14-inch square. Cut into four 7-inch squares.
• Remove the seared filets from the refrigerator. Using a paper towel, gently dab them dry to remove any accumulated juices.
• Compactly press an equal amount of the mushroom duxelles on top of each filet.
• Lay a filet, mushroom-side down, on a puff pastry square. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash along the edges of the pastry square.
• Fold one side of the pastry, press down, then fold the adjacent side (like wrapping a package) and press down. Press together the other two sides to seal the pastry. Put the Wellington, with the seal-side down onto the tray. Do the same for the other three Wellingtons.
• Brush more of the egg wash over the top and sides of each Wellington.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove the tray from the oven, and let the Wellingtons rest for 5 minutes.
• Re-heat the red wine sauce. If using the Gorgonzola, stir it into the sauce, then whisk until melted and smooth.
• Spoon a little of the sauce onto each plate. Transfer a Wellington on top of the sauce. Cut the Wellington in half on the diagonal, slightly opening the two halves, and spoon a little sauce between the two halves. Serve and enjoy.

PERFECT FILET MIGNON RECIPE

Steps:

• Remove your filet mignon from the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking to bring it to room temperature. (This will ensure even cooking.)
• Mash together half of the butter (1 tablespoon, 14 g), rosemary, thyme, and garlic. (Sprinkle in a little sea salt if using unsalted butter.) Form into a log and refrigerate until the last step.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C).
• Trim any connective tissue around the edges of the beef tenderloins. Season the filets liberally with sea salt and black pepper on both sides.
• Heat the cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, until the skillet is very hot. Melt the remaining butter (1 tablespoon, 14 g) in the skillet.
• Add the filets. Sear for 2 minutes on each side, without moving them around.
• Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven. Bake to desired level of doneness. (I recommend medium rare.) For a 2 in (5 cm)thick filet, that is 5 minutes for rare, 6 minutes for medium rare, 7 minutes for medium, or 8 minutes for medium well. Use a meat thermometer to check for the right temperature - 120 degrees F (52 degrees C) for rare, 130 degrees F (54 degrees C) for medium rare, 140 degrees F (60 degrees C) for medium, and 155 degrees F (68 degrees C) for medium well. The temperature will rise by another 5 degrees F while resting (see next step).
• Remove the filets from the oven and transfer to a plate. Top each with 1/2 tablespoon (7 g) of herb butter (slice the log of herb butter into four parts and put one on each steak). Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes before cutting.

MERLOT FILET MIGNON

Steps:

• In a small skillet, cook steaks in 1 tablespoon butter and the olive oil over medium heat until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a thermometer should read 135°; medium, 140°; medium-well, 145°), 4-6 minutes on each side. Remove and keep warm., In the same skillet, add wine, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup. Add the cream, salt and remaining butter; bring to a boil. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and butter is melted, 1-2 minutes. Serve with steaks.

BOTSWANA BEEF - SAFARI STYLE FILET MIGNON

Steps:

• Combine beer, 1/2 cup oil, soy sauce, ginger, peppers, paprika, black pepper, coriander and garlic; mix well; marinate steaks in this for at least 6 hours.
• Drain steaks and pat dry. Bring to room temperature before cooking. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a large skillet until very hot (it may smoke so you may want to have ventilation). Add the steaks and cook until desired doneness, 3-5 minutes per side for medium rare (depending on thickness). You could opt to sear them and finish in the oven, but obviously, ovens are hard to find out in the bush.