The best steak is more about how you make it than its texture.
When cooking fillet steak, the goal is to get the best out of the tender-cut beef. To do this, one has to get the recipe right. We understand that it might be challenging to create and maintain the perfect recipe for your fillet steak; that’s why we made this post.
Celebrity chef James Martin shared a straightforward way to cook fillet steak like him.
Ergo, we sourced for James Martins’s fillet steak recipe, so you don’t have to whenever you want to cook fillet steak like James Martin.
Here’s how to cook fillet steak like James Martin using his recipe.
How to cook fillet steak like James Martin
To cook fillet steak like James Martin, you need the correct information. Outlined below is the correct information you need to cook fillet steak like James Martin.
Ingredients
- Two or three tablespoons of olive oil
- Two 175g fillet steaks
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 25g of unsalted butter
Utensils
- A non-stick frying pan
- A spatula
- A tablespoon
- A plate
Guide
- Let your non-stick frying pan heat over high heat, then rub both sides of the steaks with olive oil before placing them in the frying pan.
- For medium-rare, cook each side of the steak for about three minutes. Cook each side of the steak for about four or five minutes for medium well-done and about seven minutes for a well-done consistency. Flip each steak only once.
- Divide the butter into halves and add one half to the frying pan. Then use the tablespoon to spoon the melted butter on each steak. Do this for about sixty seconds.
- Place the steaks on a plate and pour the remaining steak juice from the frying pan on the steaks. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
What is the best way to cook a piece of fillet steak?
It is all about preference. If you don’t want to cook fillet steak like James Martin using the recipe above, here’s another way you can cook fillet steak.
Ingredients
- A 225g piece of fillet steak
- Olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Sea salt
- 100g of butter
- Three thyme sprigs
- Two large cloves of garlic (battered)
- A small sprig of Rosemary
Guide
- Add salt and pepper to the steak and rub it in before sprinkling some olive oil on both sides of the steak.
- Add enough olive oil into your frying pan to cover the bottom area of the pan and heat over high heat till the oil starts to smoke.
- Put in the steak and move around a little to avoid sticking. Afterward, let each side of the steak cook for about two or three minutes.
- Introduce the thyme, Rosemary, garlic, and butter into the pan. Spoon the melted mix onto each side of the steak for about two minutes. Remove the steak from the pan and place it on a plate to cool for about ten minutes.
How long should I cook fillet steak?
Steak cook time often varies depending on the thickness of your steak.
However, a 3.5cm piece of fillet steak should take:
- About 2 minutes and 15 seconds of cook time on each side to cook rare.
- Approximately 3 minutes and 15 seconds of cook time on each side to cook medium-rare.
- Roughly 4 minutes and 30 seconds of cook time on each side to turn medium well-done.
However, a 2cm thick steak should take:
- Between 4 and 6 minutes per side for a rare consistency.
- Somewhere between 6 and 8 minutes per side for a medium-rare texture.
- About 8 to 10 minutes per side to achieve a medium well-done or well-done texture.
How to cook fillet steak medium-rare
The best way to cook steak medium-rare is to know the thickness of your fillet steak and time the cooking correctly.
If you are cooking your fillet on the stove:
- A 2cm thick fillet steak should be medium-rare after about 6 minutes per side.
Generally, it is believed that a medium-rare stove-cooked fillet steak can be achieved after about 5 minutes of cook time for each side of the steak.
If you’re cooking fillet steak in the oven, about 6-7 minutes is okay to give you a medium-rare consistency.
What temperature should fillet steak be?
The inner temperature of fillet steak helps define their level of doneness. You’re not sure if your steak is medium-rare or medium well-done? The internal temperature will help you know. All you need to do is check the temperature using a meat thermometer.
Here’s a detailed table showing what the temperature of braised, roasted, grilled, or broiled fillet steak should be at differing levels of doneness.
| Level of doneness | Appropriate temperature |
| Rare | 125°F or 52°C |
| Medium-rare | 135°F or 57 °C |
| Medium | 145°F or 63 °C |
| Medium well-done | 150°F or 66 °C |
| Well-done | 160°F or 71 °C |
Always remove fillet steak from heat when the temperature is 5-10 degrees below the appropriate temperature of the texture you want. This is because in the few minutes you leave your steak to rest, the inner temperature continues to rise.
Read also: Why is smoke coming out of the oven while preheating?
How to cook fillet steak in the oven or on the stove
• How to cook fillet steak in the oven
Ingredients
- A quarter of a cup of Dijon mustard
- A 4-pound cut of fillet steak
- A teaspoon of vegetable oil
- A teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves
- A teaspoon of kosher salt
- A teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper.
Utensils
- Oven-friendly skillet
- Spatula
- Oven
Guide
- Take out the fillet from the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking so it can reach room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 500°F and ensure your oven rack is placed at the center of the oven.
- Season the fillet; rub mustard on all sides of the fillet, and add pepper, salt, and thyme.
- Pour the vegetable oil into the skillet and place over high heat. Leave till the oil begins to simmer, then add the fillet steak.
- Cook the steak for about 2 or 3 minutes on each side, then place it in the oven while it is still on the skillet. For a rare texture, oven-cook for approximately 25 minutes. Keep roasting but at close monitoring for a more-cooked texture.
• How to cook fillet steak on the stove
We outlined two ways to cook fillet steak on the stove at the beginning of this post.
If you’re a celebrity chef James Martin fan, the first recipe outlined in this post will help you cook fillet steak like James Martin. However, if you don’t know James Martin or are not a fan and could care less for his recipe, we had you in mind with the ‘best way to cook a piece of fillet steak’ section earlier in this post.
What is the difference between fillet steak and fillet mignon?
The only slight difference between fillet steak and fillet mignon is that fillet steak is chewier and stringier than fillet mignon.
Both cuts of meat are very tender, have an excellent flavor when cooked well, and come from the tenderloin of cows.
What goes with fillet steak?
Numerous side dishes pair well with fillet steak, but here’s a list of 10 in no particular order.
- Mashed potatoes.
- Mac and cheese.
- Kale salad and chickpeas.
- Corn on the cob.
- Onion rings.
- Baked sweet potato wedges.
- Sautéed asparagus.
- Green beans.
- Garden salad.
- Roasted Brussels sprouts.
Read also: What is Macrobiotics?
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