My House: Steak Night - Filet Mignon

Kansas City has tons of fun hot spots.  I love going out on the town at night, but it gets expensive.  Saturday night, in order to save some money, I decided to stay in.  As this blog is dedicated to finding the best steak deals I thought I would describe one of the most cost effective steak nights in Kansas City: grilling at home. 

One of the best deals I've found on steaks is at my local grocery, Marsh's Sun Fresh in Westport. They have a bargain bin for meat that needs to be eaten sooner rather than later (the meat's not bad, they just need to move it fast). I bought 2 choice cuts of filet mignon (aka beef tenderloin) for 10 bucks.  A filet is cut from the center of the loin of the cow and has no muscle producing a very tender piece of meat.  Marinading this cut for an hour or two significantly enhances natural flavor of the steak.

I use a little Worcestershire sauce, and a little chocolate balsamic vinegar from the Tasteful Olive in Overland Park. It adds a very subtle sweet and salty flavor that amplifies the tenderness of this cut.  Many people like to make a balsamic reduction sauce to put on top of a filet, but I find this marinade actually brings out the natural steak flavor while adding some of the balsamic flavor.

After the steak has marinaded for an hour of two I take it out of the fridge and let the steak get to room temperature. Personally I like to salt the outside of the steak first. This helps seal in the juices when you put it on the grill. I realize there is some controversy as to whether to salt the steak pre-grill, but after experimentation I found that salting before has made for better steaks. I take some kosher salt and sprinkle it on the outside of each side of the steak.  I do this one side at a time, and let the salt absorb in while the steak is getting to room temperature.  Salting one side then flipping it 30 minutes later and salt the other is a good rule of thumb.  

While waiting for my steak to get to room temperature I pulled out a nice bottle of Eugina Tempranillo and poured myself a glass.  It's a nice Spanish dry red wine, with some spice and cherry hints to it. As my wonderful Uncle Alan once told me, the most important drink with your meal is the one you have while cooking!

This is my BBQ pit, and I can actually call this a BBQ pit because there is a smoker there! *Note: BBQ involves smoking wood to create amazing flavors, grilling does not.  Tell your friends on the coasts (and here in town if they make this mistake) they are insulting our culture when they say "I'm having a bar-b-que" yet fire up a grill for burgers and brats.* Generally I prefer to grill on charcoal, but I have a difficult time lighting charcoal when I'm alone, it's just a little too wasteful (and costly).  Tonight I had to settle for the inferior flavor of the propane grill.

Once the grill was plenty hot I put the steak on.  You may notice a difference between this picture and the last steak pictured.  I decided to be decadent and wrap the steak in bacon.  Before I put the steak on the grill I put a little bit of olive oil, then kosher salt and some coarse black pepper on the side I planned on placing on the grill first. Once the already-coated side was on the grill I added a bit of olive oil, kosher salt and coarse pepper to side other side.  I like to leave the grill very hot.  This is a fairly thick cut of beef so it takes a bit more time than a normal steak would to cook.  Usually I leave it on the original side for 6 minutes, giving the steak a quarter turn halfway through. Then I flip it and do the same on the other side. However, I was watching a show tonight and left it 8 and 8 so this one was a bit more cooked than I normally enjoy.

 

To accompany my steak I had a nice wheat dinner roll and a leafy green salad.  The salad was a spring mix with red peppers, mozzarella cheese, and Ott's original dressing. Ott's is a type of French dressing with some horseradish added into it. It is sweet with a little spicy kick to it, but not too spicy.  It is very well balanced. If you've never had it I'd highly recommend trying it, it's my favorite dressing.
  

As I mentioned, the steak was a little more done than I would like, but it was still quite excellent, as you can see.  I just like a little bit more pink in the middle, but this was within the acceptable range.  Normally at this point I'd give you a breakdown of how everything was, but it was all awesome.  One of the benefits of a Kansas City steak night at home is you make everything the way you like it.  All in all this was an excellent Saturday night in. I had a great steak. I had good wine. I have a steak left over for tomorrow. Plus, I spent less then I would have even at a very cheap steak night at a local pub.

Here is a picture of what I did with my night: steak, sides, Netflix ("Eureka" mini-marathon) and some wine to wash it down with.  I had an Old Fashioned and a cigar to top this all off and then went to bed. Steak night at home will always be one of my favorite Kansas City Steak Nights!