Grass-fed Beef Question: Filet Mignon?

[welldone]

We just purchased and picked up our first grass-fed beef quarter! We had the most delicious hamburgers last night.

Sooo, how do I cook grass-fed filet mignon?

I'm not so experienced with cooking beef. Moving beyond ground beef is risky and new for me. The farmer recommended cooking it slowly, but beyond that, I'm not sure.

[*Jessica*]

Originally Posted by http://www.parablefarm.com/index.html

Cooking Grass Finished Meats

Meat from grass-fed animals starts out just as tender as other meat, but it can become tough if you cook it the same way you cook meat from grain-fed animals. The reason grass based meat requires a special cooking technique is that it is so very lean. Fat serves as an insulator. When meat has little fat, heat is conducted more quickly and can toughen the protein.

To keep grass based meat tender, you need to cook it more slowly. If you're broiling a grass based steak, for example, place it father away from the heating element or coals and cook it for a longer period of time. Turn it frequently, but don't cook it too long! Even the most tender cut of meat will become dry and tough if you overdo it.

The farm where we will be buying ours from gives the above advice. I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for, or if you wanted more specific instructions? We haven't picked ours up yet, so I don't have any experiences to pass on.

[AJP]

I cook grassfed steaks in the classic hot and fast style, a.k.a. seared, and they always are good even if they're lean. I use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, get it rocket-engine hot (I heat it empty on the high power burner for about 5 min., don't do this with anything except cast iron), while I'm waiting for it to heat I generously salt both sides of the steak. When the pan is ready (a drop of water will leap around and quickly evaporate), drop in the steak, and depending on the thickness of the steak I cook it for 1 1/2 to 2 min on each side. This leaves it rare to medium rare in the middle, which is how I like it. If you want it more thoroughly cooked, don't use quite as hot a pan and lengthen the cooking time a bit. IMO, the best way to ruin a steak is to over-cook it, though. Tougher cuts, like chuck or round, definitely need slow cooking, but it's been my experience with grassfed steaks from the tender cuts (which would include filet mignon, as well as rib eye and t-bone) that the low and slow isn't necessary, but maybe that's because I like them seared to a good crust on the outside and practically raw inside. If I was trying to cook them to be more done, maybe the low and slow would work better.

[CluckyInAZ]

: there is nothing better than seared pastured steak! That is the way it is done in this house!

[pampered_mom]

Depending on your personal preferences - Bacon? Isn't filet mignon the one that can be seen wrapped in bacon in many places?

[NoTiGG]

My favorite way to cook meat is low and slow... in the oven. You can sear the outside with oil to keep juices in, or use a clay pot and soak the pot first with water.... like at 165-175 degrees

[Sharondio]

Oh man. Now I'm craving filet.

The foodie way is what is described above. Filets and other tender cuts are cooked fast with high heat to crust the outside, but leave the inside rare. I prefer mine medium-rare. If you like them cooked a bit more, you can sear them on the outside as described above and then transfer them to the oven to cook more of the center.

Slow cooking would be criminal on a cut of meat like that.

[Past_VNE]

Originally Posted by AJP

...get it rocket-engine hot...

What kind of stove do you have? Mine definitely won't get to 1200 degrees C!

[AJP]

Originally Posted by Past_VNE

What kind of stove do you have? Mine definitely won't get to 1200 degrees C!

Har har. Okay, it doesn't exactly glow red, but I do have a high power burner on my stove, so it gets pretty darn hot. (I could use my hubby's kiln in his workshop, that would get it glowing red hot - actually could probably melt it - but then the meat would be charcoal or maybe ash.)

[Leilalu]

I'm not that good at cooking meat or steaks yet, I definitely need more practice.
but I have made a few roastsin my crockpot(on with a mole sauce) and they turned out good. Grassfed too. The slow cooker is good for me because it usually takes me a bit of time to prepare food and get everyone seated to eat it.
I am throwing a sirloin in my slow cooker with pomegranate glaze I got at Trader joes, this afternoon. We will see how it turns out

If i were you I would throw some bacon around it and use a crockpot. But that is an eneducated(meat wise) thought.

[NoTiGG]

Originally Posted by Sharondio

Oh man. Now I'm craving filet.


Slow cooking would be criminal on a cut of meat like that.

Not really. If you slow cook meat properly it will be more tender. You dont need to cook it extremely high to "seal in the juices" . most restaurants try to cook meat high temperature at first to sear the outsides, then they drop the temperature down to cook it through some. You dont need that high of temperatures to seal the outsides if you use some kind of oil. And you dont need to seal the outsides if you cook it in a clay pot. Cooking meat at a lower temperature results in much more tender and better meat than high temperature cooking , and its better for your health as well because there are no carcinogens formed from the high temperatures.

[Metasequoia]

Originally Posted by NoTiGG

<snip> Cooking meat at a lower temperature results in much more tender and better meat than high temperature cooking , and its better for your health as well because there are no carcinogens formed from the high temperatures.

As I was reading this thread, I had the same thoughts, about carcinogens from cooking at high temps & blackening.

[pampered_mom]

I think the key to the low temp cooking is lenght of time. Obviously you'll want to cook it until it's "done", but steaks (unlike roasts and the tougher cuts of meat) do not get more tender the longer they're cooked as anyone who has had an overcooked steak can attest - shoe leather.

Otherwise, yes, I would agree that cooking at lower temperatures with grassfed beef is a better idea as is not cooking it until it is well done.

[ChristieB]

I have another related question. I just cooked my first steaks from our first quarter cow last night. I cooked the "sirloin tip" steaks. I couldn't find anything in my cookbooks about sirloin tips. So, I just did the searing method. They were tasty but a bit chewy, so I'm thinking thinking they need to be marinaded first.

Anyway, cooking them up brought up a question for me. How, when you're meat is frozen, do you sear it without so many juices coming out that the meat ends up simmering? I thawed the meat first, but you know how frozen meat gives up a lot of juices when it thaws.

So, what do you all do?

Christie

[AJP]

I let the thawed steak sit on a plate long enough for the free liquid to drain out.

[ChristieB]

Do you pat it dry after letting it sit?

Christie

[AJP]

Originally Posted by ChristieB

Do you pat it dry after letting it sit?

Christie

No, I don't, but maybe you should try doing that if you're getting too much liquid coming out in the pan.

[welldone]

Wow, thanks for all the tips. I feel totally overwhelmed, and scared to ruin the filet mignon, but now I at least have some idea of how the rest of y'all do it!

Question: if I were to sear the outsides, then bake for a while, how long would I bake it? In what sort of dish? What temperature? Am I thinking too hard?

(I paid good money for this beef, and good money is scarce around here. I'm hoping I'll get lucky and cook it right the first time!)

Originally Posted by NoTIGG

You dont need that high of temperatures to seal the outsides if you use some kind of oil.

Does this just mean simmering in some sort of oil in a cast iron skillet, perhaps?

Last question: do you experienced beef cookers tend to cook steaks from frozen, or thawed? I never thought to ask.

[NoTiGG]

Well the length of time can vary depending on the cut of meat and temperature you use. For instance I usually use between 170-180 and for a steak 2 inches thick it might take a little over an hour. You should check up on it though and test it by pressing your finger into the side. It should not feel squishy (like raw) but firmer with some give to it.... Not to firm or it will be overdone. As it cooks it gets firmer and firmer and you will learn to tell when its done just by pushing your finger into the side. Which is better than poking a hole in it with a fork and letting all the juice leak out :P

To seal the sides in oil, just make sure you get the pan hot enough..... and make sure there is sufficient oil and just drop the steak in and slide it around a little, even up against the edges some to seal in the sides if youc an. The outside should turn a different color... like "browning the meat"

Make sure that you pat the steak dry before you do so it will seal properly. It should not be moist before.

ALso when you ask cooking from frozen... im assuming your asking if we cook it while its still frozen? No, you never want to do that....... In fact you want to defrost it as slowly as possible. The best way is to prepare the night before hand and let it defrost in the refrigerator.

Originally Posted by welldone

Wow, thanks for all the tips. I feel totally overwhelmed, and scared to ruin the filet mignon, but now I at least have some idea of how the rest of y'all do it!

Question: if I were to sear the outsides, then bake for a while, how long would I bake it? In what sort of dish? What temperature? Am I thinking too hard?

(I paid good money for this beef, and good money is scarce around here. I'm hoping I'll get lucky and cook it right the first time!)


Does this just mean simmering in some sort of oil in a cast iron skillet, perhaps?

Last question: do you experienced beef cookers tend to cook steaks from frozen, or thawed? I never thought to ask.