Grilled Steak (Petit Fillet)
Pricey cut
Petit Fillet is a pricey cut of meat, but a tender and delicious one, particularly after it has been on the grill for just the right amount of time.
Pictured here is a single fillet cut in half so that it will fit into the pan with the marinade. A handsome picture, is it not?
This amount of meat can serve six, maybe eight, people, depending on how many vegetables are served with the meat. And how meat-hungry the people are. Grilled tomatoes and corn are perfect on the plate with this.
The marinade:
- EVOO (Click here for EVOO)
- soy sauce
- vegetable stock or broth
- smashed garlic
- red wine
- fresh ginger
- coarse ground salt and black pepper
The amounts of these ingredients varies, as they say, with taste. I like a fair amount of garlic. Actually, this fillet had already been packed with small pieces of garlic and was sold that way. So only the olive oil and the other ingredients were needed.
Soy sauce should be only a splash. EVOO, stock and wine should be in amounts that will result in a small bowl of sauce which can be ladled over the meat when it is finished -- to add special heightening of the flavor of the meat itself. Experiment for yourself, knowing that it is difficult to go wrong.
Showing where we're headed
Starting out on the grill
Preheat the grill.
After the grill is good and hot, use tongs to plop the fillets on the grill. Put the marinade pan on the top shelf. Close grill.
Couldn't be simpler.
What about that marinade?
Even if we like our steak very rare, the marinade needs to be removed from the grill much sooner than the meat. Otherwise, of course, it will evaporate. Just listen for the sizzling sound -- once it has sizzled enough to blend the ingredients, remove it from the grill.
Couldn't be simpler.
As for the steak, five minutes or more per side, depending on DDD -- desired degree of doneness.
Medium rare
This was about five minutes per side.
How cold the meat was when it was put on the fire is of course another factor in how long it stays on the fire. This fillet was taken from the refrigerator and put in the marinade about an hour before grilling.
The aroma is terrific.
Cutting board
The juices produced in the slicing of the fillet are an essential ingredient in the marinade -- or rather the sauce that the marinade now becomes.
A cutting board like this which has little channels down which the juices can flow is a very handy way to deal with this. Much handier than trying to slice the meat in the metal grilling pan.
Grilled corn
The corn was grilled on the same grill, just before the steak. We just shucked the ears and put them naked right on the grill. Simple as pie.
This is better treated in Grilling Tomatoes and Corn, but here we can say that it is simply a matter of turning the ears frequently enough that they brown and crisp rather than burn. As soon as they start to show some pleasing color, turn them over.
At any rate, grilled vegetables of almost any type many wonderful accompaniments to grilled petit fillet.
Closer
Parting facts
Fillet can also be spelled filet, as the French do. As in Filet Mignon (and in France "filet mignon" on a menu usually refers to pork). The term is just as frequently used with fish, and can be used with meats such as chicken and pork as well. In beef, this all comes from the tenderloin which is roughly tubular in shape, though it has a small end and a larger end. The tenderloin can be cut in a variety of ways and is cut is a variety of ways throughout the world. It is, of course, called "tenderloin" because it is the tenderest of the cuts of beef, and the most flavorful. It is also the most expensive, but worth the price now and then, especially on special occasions.
Real meal
Real Meal. Unlike fancy food mags, where images are hyped and food itself is secondary, all pix shown here are from a real meal, prepared and eaten by me and my friends. No throwing anything away till perfection is achieved. This is the real deal --- a Real Meal.