Grilling
The Signature Ribeye
A thick 16 oz ribeye cooked the Fallow way: low heat first, a hard sear last, pulled at medium, and finished under a coin of garlic, rosemary and thyme butter.
1 hr · Medium
Grilling · · By Ashley
The Pitmaster’s Reverse-Seared Bacon-Wrapped Filet Mignon
Filet is the most tender steak there is, and the leanest. Bacon and cherry smoke give it back the flavor fat would have carried.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 10 min
- Total
- 1 hr 20 min
- Serves
- 2
- Level
- Medium
Where the time goes
1 hr 20 min, mostly waiting
- Hands-on
- Hands-off
- 01Hands-onSeason and wrap10 min
- 02Hands-offDry brine in the fridge · optional, for a better crust1 to 2 hr
- 03Hands-offHeat the smoker15 min
- 04Hands-offSmoke at 225°F · to medium-rare45 min to 1 hr
- 05Hands-onSear and baste4 min
- 06Hands-offRest5 to 7 min
The story
Filet mignon is incredibly tender, but because it is so lean it lacks the heavy marbling that carries flavor. Wrapping it in thick-cut bacon solves that beautifully, and reverse-searing over cherry wood chips fills the meat with a sweet, subtle fruitwood smoke.
Smoking it low and slow first brings the inside up to temperature evenly from edge to edge, so there is no gray, overcooked ring. A screaming-hot cast iron sear at the end renders the bacon crisp and builds a deep crust.
Top it with my Smoked Burgundy-Style Baby Bellas for a backyard steakhouse dinner. A spoonful of Citrus-Kissed Chimichurri on the side doesn’t hurt either.
Ingredients
Serves 2
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If you haven't got it
- olive oil — melted beef tallow
Method
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Season and wrap
Pat the filets completely dry with a paper towel and season every side generously with salt and pepper. Wrap one strip of bacon tightly around the edge of each filet and pin the ends with a wooden toothpick.
For an even better crust, leave the seasoned steaks uncovered on a rack in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours to dry the surface.
Fire up the smoker
Heat your smoker or grill for indirect cooking to 225°F / 107°C and add the cherry wood chips to the coals, smoker box or chip tray.
You want a clean, thin blue smoke rolling, not a heavy white cloud.
The slow smoke
Set the filets on the indirect side of the grate and push a digital probe into the thickest part of one. Close the lid and smoke at 225°F until it reaches your pull temperature: 115 to 120°F for medium-rare, which takes about 45 to 60 minutes, or 125 to 130°F for medium.
The temperature climbs about another 10°F / 5°C during the sear and rest, so pull it early.
The screaming-hot sear
As the steaks near their pull temperature, heat a heavy cast iron skillet over high heat until it just starts to smoke, then add the oil or tallow. Move the steaks straight from the smoker into the pan and sear 60 to 90 seconds per side without moving them, for a deep mahogany crust.
The garlic butter baste
In the last 30 seconds, drop the butter, garlic and herb sprigs into the pan. Tilt it and spoon the foaming garlic butter over the tops of the steaks again and again. Then use tongs to roll the edges in the pan for a moment to crisp the bacon band.
Rest and serve
Move the steaks to a warm plate or board, pull out the toothpicks, and rest them for 5 to 7 minutes so the juices settle back into the meat. Top with the smoked baby bellas and serve.
Things worth knowing
- A probe thermometer is the whole trick here. Filet is too lean to forgive a guess.
Ingredients · 1 hr 20 min · Serves 2
- 2 center-cutfilet mignon steaks
- 2 stripsthick-cut bacon
- 1 tbspolive oil
- coarse kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 tbspunsalted butter
- 2 clovesgarlic
- 2 sprigsfresh thyme or rosemary
- cherry wood chips
Keep cooking
More grilling- Grilling
Smoked Burgundy-Style Baby Bellas
Whole baby bellas smoked in a cast iron skillet with red wine, butter, garlic and onion, then reduced to a glossy mahogany glaze. The ultimate ribeye steak topper.
1 hr 35 min · Easy
- Grilling
Oberon-Brined Smoked Chicken
A whole chicken brined in Bell's Oberon and fresh thyme, then smoked low and slow over fruitwood until the skin goes mahogany.
7 hr 15 min · Medium
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