When you purchase a half or quarter cow, along with ground beef, roasts, and bones, you receive an assortment of steaks. I used to be intimidated by steaks. I could never seem to cook restaurant quality steaks at home. I’ve since learned a few tricks that help to deliver quality and consistency to the dinner plate.
Bring the steaks to room temperature before wrapping in bacon.
I find that cooking steak in a cast iron skillet in the kitchen produces more consistent results than grilling, at least where very tender steaks are concerned. In a cast iron skillet, I’ll sear the steaks on the stove top and then finish in a 450 degree oven. The only downfall to this method is smoke. I always seem to smoke up the house. Since I know this now, I pre-open windows just before searing the steaks.
Sear the bacon on all sides before flipping the steaks on end.
Expect smoke while searing.
The steaks should appear caramelized when done.
Grass fed and finished steaks lack the fat and marbling that feedlot steaks have. Because they are naturally leaner steaks, it helps to add fat while cooking. By wrapping a filet in bacon, you will not only add flavor to the steak, you’ll add fat, which helps to make the steak tender and juicy. Aside from the bacon, you’ll also want to choose a source of fat for the pan. I use ghee, but you could also use lard or butter. This is not just grease for the pan, but fat and flavor for the steaks.
You can have restaurant quality steak at home.
After bringing the steaks to room temperature, wrap each steak in bacon, securing the ends with a toothpick. In a hot pan, add your fat of choice, and then sear the steaks, roughly 3 minutes on each side. The sides should be brown and caramelized. While searing, you can spoon the ghee (or fat of choice) over the steaks to keep them moist. After searing, transfer the pan to the oven for finishing. With two inch thick steaks, 8-10 minutes in the oven should produce a medium well finish, with just a bit of pink remaining.
As always, enjoy the recipe and make it your own.
Bacon Wrapped Filet
Ingredients
– cast iron or other oven safe pan
– 2 filet mignon steaks (roughly .7 lbs each, two inches thick)
– 4 strips of bacon
– 5 tbsp ghee, lard, or butter
– sea salt
– ground pepper
Directions
1. Bring the steaks to room temperature by leaving them on the counter for roughly ten minutes. While the steaks are sitting, heat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Keep the steaks whole, or cut in half so that you have four small steaks instead of two. Wrap each steak in a piece of bacon, securing the ends with a toothpick.
3. Heat the cast iron or oven safe pan on the stovetop over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, add the cooking fat. When the fat is hot and bubbly, add the steaks, bacon side down. Roll the steaks to lightly sear the bacon on all sides, then flip the steaks on end. Sear each side of the steaks for three minutes.
4. Once the steaks are seared, place the pan in the oven. 8-10 minutes should result in medium-well steaks. Allow the steaks to rest five minutes when done, before serving.
Here on SpringForestFarm.com, Jennifer Taylor Schmidt writes beef recipes for the busy, natural homemaker. It is possible to seek optimal health with limited time and money. Join Jennifer in future posts as she explores the possibilities found in a 1/4 and a 1/2 beeve. You can also find her thoughts and personal health journey on RealFoodRealHealing.com.
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