With Valentines Day just around the corner it was time to start coming up with a meal plan and to test it out ahead of time. You can do pretty much anything that you want for a Valentines Day dinner and I like to try to make it a little bit special whether by indulging on quality ingredients or even just by making a meal that takes a bit of extra effort. For some reason, while I was contemplating the menu, I kept coming back to the idea of steak and if I am going to do steak for a Valentines day dinner then it is going to be a nice cut of steak like a filet mignon.
Filet mignon is a really tender cut of beef but it can dry out really quickly if you over cook it so technique is pretty important when preparing it. One way to help keep that steak nice and juicy is to wrap it in a layer of fat. Bacon is a great source of fat and it has the added bonus of adding a bit of flavour and if you use a smoked bacon the smokiness adds another dimension to it. Cooking on the grill would be nice but with it being winter the combination of the stove top and the oven can be just as good. You want to start by quickly searing both sides of the steak at medium-high heat and this caramelizes the outside which in addition to adding flavour it helps seal in the juices. After searing the filet in the pan you finish cooking the it in the oven. Once you pull the filet out of the oven you want to make sure that you let it rest for a while so that the juices trapped inside can redistribute and this way they will not all come pouring out with the first cut. While you let your filet rest it is the perfect opportunity to make a pan sauce taking advantage of all of those caramelized bits of meat left in the pan.
Mushrooms go really well with steak and it is a combination that I find hard to resist. I like to do a simple saute of onions and mushrooms and since it takes some time to properly caramelize the mushrooms, I start cooking them before I start on the steak. The only problem with this approach is that now I have two pans to deglaze! The simple solution is to deglaze the pan that the filet mignon was cooked in and then pour the sauce into the mushrooms and deglaze that pan as well. This time I kept things simple and I simply deglazed the pan with red wine that along with a ab of butter, made an excellent sauce for the mushrooms.
Speaking of red wine, it recently occurred to me that although I like to try to eat locally I had not been paying much attention to local wines. Since then, I have been trying to pick up an Ontario or Canadian wine every once in a while and this was the perfect chance. Red wines go really well with steak and for this dinner I went with a merlot-cabernet that was made on the Niagra pennisula, which is just a short distance south of Toronto. In addition to enjoying a glass with the meal I used the red wine to deglaze the pans and to make the sauce for the mushrooms. (If you are interested in learning more about Ontario wines the Wine Country Ontario site is a good place to look.)
The flavour and texture combinations in this meal are simply amazing! When you fist bite into the filet mignon you get the saltiness and smokiness of the bacon followed by the warm, juicy, melt in your mouth tenderness of the fillet mignon itself. Combine that with just a touch of a creamy and mellow blue cheese and its like heaven in your mouth. Just be sure to try to fit some caramelized mushrooms and onions on your fork to complete the fantastic flavour combinations.
Tip: When buying your filet mignon, go for a the ones with some nice marbling as that marbling is full of flavour and it helps keep the meat nice and juicy and tender.
Double Smoked Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon with Caramelized Mushrooms topped with Blue Cheese
Salty double smoked bacon wrapped fillet mignon seared perfectly medium-rare and served on a bed of caramelized onions and mushrooms with a garnish of tangy blue cheese.
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 strips double smoked bacon
- 2 (6 ounce) 1 1/2 inch thick filet mignon, room temperature
- 1/2 cup red wine
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 handful parsley, (optional)
- 1 tablespoon blue cheese, crumbled (optional)
directions
- Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat.
- Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the mushrooms and saute until they turn golden brown and caramelize, about 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile heat the oil in an oven safe pan over medium high heat.
- Season both sides of the filet mignon with salt and pepper and wrap the bacon around holding it together with a toothpick.
- Sear both sides of the filet mignon in the pan until slightly caramelized, about 2 minutes per side.
- Transfer the pan to a preheated 375F/190C oven and cook for 4-6 minutes for medium rare., If your filets are 2 inches thick cook for a minute or two longer.
- Set the filet mignon aside to rest for 5 minutes.
- Add the wine to the pan that the filet mignon was cooked in and deglaze it.
- Transfer the wine to the pan with the mushrooms and deglaze it.
- Add the butter and simmer to reduce the sauce by half.
- Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat and mix in the parsley.
- Serve the filet mignon on the mushrooms and top it with the blue cheese.
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I'm more for cooking for Valentine's Day than going out and know that this would be a great dish. The entire combination of flavors is classic.
seriously, if you don't have a date for Valentines I am available. 🙂 Great meal. I can taste it already.
You've outdone yourself, Kevin, and that's hard to do! Delicious. My husband would love this.
Fabulous! That dish is really flavorful.
Cheers,
Rosa
Looks way too yummy!
Fabulous! That dish is really flavorful.
Cheers,
Rosa
Minus the blue cheese and this is a perfect meal.
🙂 Mandy
It was a good thing I was sitting down, because this picture really hit home. I am so hungry now.
This is definitely a meal fit for V-Day. What a beautiful piece of meat!
I rarely cook steak, but that's partly because I haven't really known how. I so appreciate your detailed instructions! and the flavor combination ideas, like the blue cheese and red wine, are just great. Thank you!
"Double Smoked Bacon Wrapped Fillet Mignon with Caramelized Mushroom"…
Oh good god. *faints*
This is a true work of art. Anything with bacon is a winner in my books. Gorgeous!
looks like the perfect valentine's meal!
Yeah….babeee…count me in!
Mmm ñami! Your fillet mignon looks terrific! And i love mushrooms!
Greetings from Chile
http://espacioculinario-tita.blogspot.com
I would love to be your valentine!! anne
And then you added the blue cheese and I knew I had to make it.
Oh seriously decidant!
E' una favolosa ricetta, ciao
Oh my gosh! My mouth is watering just looking at the photo. Thanks for sharing. Cheers!
Wow! Talk about mouthwatering!
This looks delicious
Wow. This looks and sounds so rich and delicious. My husband would love this and night of the week!
You had me at "double smoked bacon!" YUM!! Bacon and beef go so well together! THe BH would go crazy with this!!
This is definitely Valentine's Day done right!
This looks like a great dish for my hubby on valentine's day. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. Everything on your site looks so delicious, I can't wait to tried other recipe.
STeak and bacon. Life doesn't get better than that, does it? I would love to stamp your sentence about not overcooking filet to my BIL's forehead. He's one of those people who goes to a steakhouse, orders the best steak on the menu and then orders it medium well.
That looks fabulous! perfect for a Valentine's dinner!
Ufffffffff this looks awesome… I am craving my beef!
This looks like it was done in one of the finest restaurants. And I think my husband would love to have that. Actually, I'd love to have that too! 😛
Thanks for the inspiration. A dish like yours will be on our table tonight for special Valentine's Day dinner!
I've been following your blog for awhile. Your recipes always look fabulous and I love that you make the most of a small kitchen (mine is tiny, too). Tonight I made the Filet and also your recipe for the Molten Chocolate Cake. Both were exceptional! Thanks for sharing and I look forward to trying more of your recipes!
WOW! This sure beats any restaurant meal. Think I'll have to treat my hubby to this.
gosh knows i love my sandwiches, but i might say beef is where my heart is…
I cooked it yesterday evening and … oh god ! … That was so delicious and so easy to cook.
I only changed a little something : I added blue cheese (maybe 1 table spoon or a little less) in the sauce. I wasn't sure if it was a right thing to do or not but anyway, everyone enjoyed it.
This was sooooo good. It was one of the best Valentine dinners every and it was cheaper than going to a restaurant. You rock!
This looks delicious and I love the presentation.
Wow. This really looks great, I love steak and really dont know alot of good recipes to add excitement to my steak dishes. I may have to make a stop at the market on the way home and have this tonight.
Perfection
Looks very yummy!
Very tasty looking.
Just cooked this for my husband and he loved it!!
Tried this recipe, came out AMAZING!
Maybe a silly question, but should you cook the bacon before wrapping it on the filet?
Courtney: No, the bacon will cook in the oven. If you want you can pick pick it up with tongs after searing both sides and hold the bacon sides to the pan to pre cook it a bit and help make sure that it gets nice and crispy.
How long or what temp is it for well done. I just can NOT deal with med rare, bloody meat that moos at me. Every cooking show I watch cooks even roasts to med rare. Why? Surely, there has to be a trick to still have moist, not dry, steak. What's the secret??