Reverse-Seared Filet Mignon with Bearnaise Sauce, Frites, and Green Beans
This was the first time I’ve ever done a reverse sear on a steak, and it’s definitely worth it! You start the steaks on a rack on a foil-lined pan in the oven on low heat (275 degrees) and let it come up to about 95 degrees internally, about 15 minutes. Then, while the steaks are cooking, your cast iron skillet is on the bottom rack of your oven getting hot! When the steaks are ready, get your skillet out, add a tablespoon of oil and get it HOT on high heat on the stove, then sear the steaks for about 2 minutes per side (don’t forget your edges). They cook very evenly, they have a great crust, wow! Perfect medium to medium rare. There is no gray steak in this house; that is blasphemy!
The whole impetus for this meal was that I wanted to try to make Bernaise sauce. Having an array of sauces in your skill set is very important. A good sauce makes everything seem more “finished”. I was nervous about this one, because French sauces are notorious for “breaking” meaning they separate and become oily. I read through Julia’s (a.k.a. the queen) recipe. To me, her recipes are a little hard to figure out sometimes as they were written before more modern equipment came along. I compared it to the one from the New York Times and they were very similar, so I went with the NYT version since it was a little simpler sounding. This. Sauce. Was. Perfect. I was very proud of myself on this one. My sauce didn’t break, it was nicely flavored, it was fantastic with the steak. SCORE! And, there was a little left over and apparently you can re-warm it over the water bath again. I have some asparagus in the fridge, and some pork chops in the freezer, so it might have to make a reappearance later in the week!
We topped this meal off with some baked frites (French fries). They’re not as good as frying them, but pretty close. After I pulled the steaks out of the skillet to rest, I sauteed some green beans in the pan juices. YUM! I’m not sure I’ve preached about letting your meat rest before you cut into it. This is a MUST. You should always let meat rest for about 10 minutes or so before you cut into it! You have to let the juices redistribute themselves, or they just run out and the meat dries out. Yuck. Patience is for sure the key here.
Now that I have another sauce in my repertoire, I’m feeling pretty accomplished! Ooh la la!
Bon Appetit! ~ Jen
