This Pan Seared Filet Mignon recipe has the perfect pan-seared peppercorn crust, garlic, herbs, and butter for an amazing steak night at home.
Cooking filet mignon to buttery perfection isn’t as difficult as you might think. This easy recipe will make the perfect pan-seared filet mignon regardless of your skill level. All you need is a cast-iron skillet, fresh steaks, herbs, butter, and garlic. This is a great dish to make if you are celebrating a special occasion.
The tender cut combined with the bite from the peppercorn and the rich umami powder is an amazing flavor combination for a romantic steak night at home.
Filet mignon is the most tender cut of beef. It comes from the tenderloin, an underused muscle on the cow that is coveted for its fork tenderness. Altho it is the most tender cut, it has a mild beef flavor due to its minimal marbling and is often served with sauces or compound butter to enhance the meal. Save a few pennies by buying a whole tenderloin and trimming it home, which we explain here. If you want a rare treat with a little more flavor than a filet, give the coveted teres major steak a try with this recipe.
For this recipe, we are cooking the filets hot and fast in by searing them for a great crust in a scorching hot pan with butter and garlic before finishing them to a perfect medium rare internal temp baked in the oven. The oven finish allows us to control an even heat to cook the steaks through, without burning the edges. When it comes to cooking filet mignon, pan searing is our go-to method for juicy steaks, bone-in veal chops, crispy chicken thighs, and even flavorful pork chops.
Prep the steaks
Using a mortar and pestle, grind the peppercorns until they are coarse.
Next, season the filet mignon steaks with kosher salt and let them rest and room temperature for 45 minutes.
When you’re ready to cook; season steaks with the Ooomami mushroom powder and press them into the peppercorns on all sides—including the sides of the steak to coat the steaks.
Preheat and cook
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Then preheat an oven-safe skillet over medium heat. We love cast iron skillets and recommend them as the best pan for this as they hold an even heat and are naturally nonstick, and we find the sear we get on our meat is perfect using them. You can use another oven safe pan, but we recommend cast iron.
Toss a little butter in the pan and swirl to coat the pan. The moment the butter is done frothing, it’s time to put the steaks on.
Place steaks into the pan and cook untouched for 2-3 minutes. By not touching the steaks, you’re allowing a good crust to form. You can pull or tear the meat if you try to maneuver the steaks too soon.
Flip the steaks and add the remaining butter, smashed garlic cloves, and rosemary to the top of the steak and carefully transfer the cast iron skillet to the preheated oven.
Cook the steaks for 4-5 minutes for medium rare or until they reach an internal temperature of 125 degrees F. Always use an instant-read thermometer to make sure the meat has cooked through.
For this recipe, we added a few mushrooms to the pan to cook with the steaks for serving. This step is totally optional.
Remove from the pan and rest on a clean cutting board with the remaining butter on top. As the steaks rest, they will rise another 5 degrees.
Serve hot, and enjoy your cast iron filet mignon. They will have a perfect crust and pink fork tender inside. We highly recommend pairing this steak with herbaceous compound butter, red wine pan sauce, or peppercorn sauce for steaks for added flavor.
Refrigerator: The best way to store leftovers is to ensure the leftover filet mignon is cooled to room temperature. Then place in an airtight container or double-wrapped in plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Freezer: You can also store it in a freezer-safe container for up to three to four months, but we do not recommend it. For best results, cooked filets should be enjoyed immediately.
Reheating: There are a few ways you can reheat filet mignon. We suggest preheating the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and wrapping the steak in foil with a bit of butter. Then when ready, place it on the rack in the foil, and let it cook for roughly 15 minutes until heated through.
To get the perfect Maillard reaction, the crust that forms when the meat hits the pan, you want to let the filets sit untouched for 2 to 3 minutes on a preheated pan. We only use a little butter in our pan to start, but a dry pan also works for this.
If you’re trying to figure out how to pan-cook filet mignon, recipes will vary, but this recipe will give you the perfect sear for a steak that is about 1 1/2″ thick and 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide. You only need to cook this tender steak for 2-3 minutes before getting an oven finish to continue to cook through to your desired temperature.
