Filet Mignon – Pepper Encrusted

I had a gift card to Kelly’s Butcher Shop in Troy IL. I have always gotten good steaks from there, and with it being almost 40 degrees today, I decided it was a good idea to get the grill out.

I have tried these at other steakhouses, and wanted to see if I could recreate it today. I started with two Filet Mignons that are triple wrapped in bacon. They looked fantastic, but I couldn’t help but wonder what this would be like on a NY Strip.

Of course, I chose the bigger one. My wife wanted a steak, but she can’t handle the heat from this one. To make the pepper stick to the steak, I chose to add Chipotle Tabasco.

While I allowed the Tabasco to soak in, I decided to run a bunch of peppercorns through a grinder. I did a mix of high and medium grounds to give it a dust.

I then took the steak and dipped both sides into the pepper. This gave it a really nice crust.

I put these back in the fridge while I got the grill going. I lit the chimney and prepared the Landmann for a hot fire. Of course, this isn’t a post without a booze reference, so I opened a bottle of Alamos Malbec, which is perfect with beef.

Once I got the grill as hot as I could get it, I dropped this straight on the coals. These steaks are really thick, so, they do take some time to cook. I ran these 4 minutes on each side and then rotated them 1/4 turn for another 4 minutes on each side. This put my steak at exactly 140 degrees. Add a baked potato and another glass of Malbec, and you are set.

I absolutely loved the flavor this steak had. It wasn’t nearly as spicy as I thought it would be, but you can never beat fresh ground pepper. My wife tried it and wasn’t completely against it. I am sure I will do this one again, but try bigger pepper grounds.