Recipe: Filet mignon ideas for Dan and Compound Butters (6)

Hi Dan - aren't you a brave and dedicated man to grill in Boise in the winter!! I remember my father standing outside under the golf umbrella grilling our Sunday steaks - he would only eat them grilled! ;o)

Filet is such a tender piece of meat that it doesn't need marinating to promote tenderness. However, it has so little fat that it is lacking the big "steak flavor" we tend to think of, and generally needs something to boost the flavor. That is why there are so many recipes for filet cooked in a pan and then topped with a sauce (often made in the same pan while the meat rests).

Grilling is a great way to cook filet mignon, though. I would like to recommend that you don't marinate it in Italian dressing (why use that for such a nice piece of meat?! LOL!). Instead you might want to consider grilling it with only a brush of olive oil and lots of salt and pepper, then topping with a Compound Butter, which is a mixture of butter and herbs or other flavorings.

Compound butters are perfect for your grilled filets. You make them ahead of time, put them in the freezer to firm up, and place slices on top of the just-grilled steaks. It melts in, flavoring the meat.

There are many recipes for compound butter, of course. I've posted a few really easy ones that would be great with your steak (since you are serving them tomorrow, you probably can't go shopping for lots of ingredients). Also posted an easy method of making the "log-o-butter". I hope this helps - enjoy your steaks!

BTW, I'm partial to blue cheese butter on steaks, esp. with chives added!

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Method to form the perfect Compound Butter "Log":

Lay a piece of heavy weight plastic wrap (like Saran Wrap) on the counter. Then mound the butter in a line down the plastic.

Now shape the butter into a cylinder. Wrap the plastic around the butter, and roll it back and forth into shape.

Twist the ends tightly. This really forms a perfect cylinder shape. Now, freeze it and cutoff in medallions as needed.

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For all these butters, soften butter to room temperature, then mix the additional ingredients - make into a log about 1-1/2 inches across using above method. Slice into 1/2-inch slices and place on top of grilled meat.

Horseradish - Chive Butter

1 cup Butter,softened
1/4 cup Fresh of frozen chives; chopped
2 TBL Prepared horseradish

Mustard Butter

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 TBL Parsley, finely minced
2 TBL Dijon mustard
dash garlic powder

Chili Compound Butter

1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
dash Tabasco sauce
salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Lemon-Thyme Butter

4 TBL unsalted butter, room temperature
5 chives, minced
1/2 shallot, minced
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
About 1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Basil Butter

1 stick soft butter
3 TBL prepared basil pesto sauce
1 tsp. lemon juice

Blue Cheese Butter

1 stick softened butter
2 ounces (1/2 cup) crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 garlic clove, very finely minced