Ahhhhh, the holidays. They’re officially here, which means family, friends, and FOOD!
Every Christmas, I make and bake the same menu items because everyone likes their own certain special treats. Especially my Filet Mignon. So, today I’m going to share my fantastic Filet Mignon recipe, which I’ve cooked for many, many holiday seasons. Side note: If you or one of your guests is vegetarian, I have an incredible alternative recipe. Just Ask!
Ingredients
Filet Mignon (Ask the butcher for a center cut. They’ll need to bring the whole loin out and cut two filets. No strings attached!)
A head of garlic
1/2 cup of Tamari sauce (Not soy sauce. Low sodium is fine.)
6 fresh limes (No lime juice concentrate. I’m starting to sound like a scrooge! Ha! But this recipe calls for the freshest and best ingredients. It’s the holidays after all!)
1 tbsp lemon pepper (If you prefer more, go ahead!)
1/3 cup of VERY GOOD olive oil (Watch my FaceTime Live episode about olive oils.)
1/2 tsp of salt (There’s plenty of sodium in the Tamari sauce.)
5 shallots, quartered
1 white onion
Mushrooms
Directions
Side note: It’s okay, and I actually recommend that you make this entire recipe the day before your BIG day.
- For the marinade, use a big glass measuring container. Squeeze the limes into the container; add the olive oil, Tamari sauce, lemon pepper and salt. Mix together.
- Now, get out your sharpest and smallest knife (I use Wüsthof Classic Paring Knife, 3.5”) and starting making slender slivers of the entire garlic head. Yes, that’s a lot of garlic! So, if you’re not up for all of that good garlicky taste just sliver up a few cloves. It will still taste amazing!
- With the slivers of garlic and your paring knife, make a tiny slice in the beef and slide one of those garlic slivers tightly inside. Make these slits and slide in the slivers all over your filet.
- Quarter the shallots and place them underneath the meat. Add the marinade on top of the entire strip of beef. Cover the beef tightly with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge overnight.
- On your BIG day, take the marinated mignon out of the refrigerator and let it stand to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to broil and place the grill rack one below the top of the broiler. Don’t have the beef so close to the top that it will burn. However, one or two racks down will give it enough of the direct heat that it needs to taste juicy and tender. Bonus: the top will get nice and crispy, too.
- Use a meat thermometer to your liking of how well done you like your Filet Mignon.
- As a great accompaniment to this marinated beef, slice some white (not yellow) onions and mushrooms and add to a sizzling pan of olive oil. Saute for 3-5 minutes, add a little bit of Tamari sauce and lemon pepper (And maybe more garlic? Or not. Ha!) and perfectly spoon this yummy veggie mixture over the filet. Delicious!
If you need any other great holiday recipes, Just Ask! From appetizers to desserts, I have plenty of fun and fabulous ideas to share.
