Pan Seared Oven Roasted Filet Mignon

Cook your filet mignon the way top steakhouses do for absolute best results. Pan sear and finish in the oven, and you will have the best filet mignon you have ever tasted. And it is so simple to do.

This is my go-to method for this cut of the beef tenderloin. An extremely dependable 30 minutes including resting time.

Start with a hot pan and sear both sides to get that tasty Maillard reaction then finish by transferring to a hot oven to finish to the final internal temperature you want.

My Rating:
An easy 5. I have done this over and over and could survive on it.

Pro Tips: Recipe Notes for Pan Seared Oven Roasted Filet Mignon

How to pick a filet mignon.

Start with quality filets. It is all about quality here more than almost any other cut of beef. Prime is the top 2%; you can buy it for $35 per pound which I have done at the best meat shops.

Next, just under Prime, is Choice. About half the beef sold in the USA is Choice, and this is what you should usually buy. It will be about $10-15 per pound. Select is next but just say no. If you see a beef tenderloin that does not have one of these three ratings, it is guaranteed to be bad.

You can buy whole beef tenderloins and trim it yourself, and if I'm having company and need 6-8 filets, this is what I do.

I tend to be at Sam's Club early in the day on my way home from work (today I was there at 7:30 AM), and they almost ways have some filets marked down. I think of that as aged beef.  So about 8 oz 1 1/2 inch thick cuts are a great start.

How to Season a Filet Mignon.

Just salt and pepper will do. That is enough. I like some garlic and recommend a light coat with 7:2:2 seasoning All Purpose Seasoning – 7:2:1 and 7:2:2

I don't use any other seasoning and definitely no marinade or sauce. I like butter, so I use butter as an option in the recipe. You can also top with a pat of butter for serving. My wife loves her Blue Cheese and Garlic Compound Butter.

How to Cook A Perfect Filet Mignon

The real secret to cooking the perfect filet mignon is to initially pan sear to get some Maillard reaction (tasty browning) followed by finishing in a 400-425 degree oven to the final temperature you want. It is that simple. Really.

I love to use a cast iron pan for this. It does not have to be cast iron. Any oven-safe pan that can move from stovetop to oven will work you don’t have that, sear in a stove top pan and move to a different oven safe pan to finish. If using the later technique, I would preheat the oven pan with the oven, so the filet goes in a hot pan.

When is it done?

I'm more of a medium rare gy but here are the recommendations. Remove the meat from the oven 3-4 degrees less than your final desired temperature. Lightly tent with foil for about 5 minutes. The temperature will rise, and the moisture will absorb into the cells for more tenderness.

Other Filet Recipes You May Like

How to Grill a Filet Mignon on a Gas Grill

Garlic Filet Mignon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees convection (or 425 regular ovens). Start with 1 1/2 thick filets about 8 oz each and trimmed well. Remove any silver skin.

Season all sides to taste. Just kosher salt and pepper will be fine. I use my 7:2:2 (see my post on making 7:2:2).

In an oven safe pan (I love my 10-inch cast iron) over medium-high heat melt 1 tablespoon of butter or use oil. Some prefer an oil at this point due to the lower smoke point of butter, but I have never had a problem. When hot, sear both sides of the filets for 2-3 minutes. Sear, flip, sear and final flip before going to the oven.

Transfer to your preheated oven. Cook to about your desired done temperature. (see chart). Remove from oven a few degrees early. For me, medium-rare is always about 12-15  minutes to get an internal temp of about 145.  Also, time can vary some due to the exact temperature of the meat to start, the exact temperature of the oven, the pan used, and the thickness of the meat. Rare may be as little as 5 minutes so beware if you want rare. DO NOT COOK BY TIME ALONE, YOU MUST CHECK INTERNAL TEMPERATURE. Times are provided to help planning only.

Remove from pan and tent lightly with foil on a plate and let rest for 3-5 minutes before cutting. It needs to absorb fluids internally, and the temperature will rise a few more degrees during the rest.

Do you want more recipes from 101 Cooking for Two? Sign up for the newsletter and get all posts delivered straight to your inbox!

Pin Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Saved Recipes Go to Saved Recipes

4.37 from 267 votes

Pan Seared Oven Roasted Filet Mignon

Cook your filet mignon the way top steakhouses do for absolute best filet mignon ever. Pan sear and finish in the oven. And it is so simple to do.

Prep Time2 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time27 mins

Author: Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

Servings/Adjust Amount: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 2 Filet Mignon - about 1 1/2 inch thick and about 8 oz
• 1 tablespoon oil - or butter
• salt and pepper - to taste or 7:2:2

US Customary - Convert to Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees convection (or 425 regular ovens). Start with 1 1/2 thick filets about 8 oz each and trimmed well. Remove any silver skin.
• Season all sides to taste. Just kosher salt and pepper will be fine. I use my 7:2:2 (see my post on making 7:2:2).
• In an oven safe pan (I love my 10-inch cast iron) over medium-high heat melt 1 tablespoon of butter or use oil. Some prefer an oil at this point due to the lower smoke point of butter, but I have never had a problem. When hot, sear both sides of the filets for 2-3 minutes. Sear, flip, sear and final flip before going to the oven.
• Transfer to your preheated oven. Cook to about your desired done temperature. (see chart). Remove from oven a few degrees early. For me, medium-rare is always about 12-15 minutes to get an internal temp of about 145.
• Tme can vary some due to exact temperature of the meat to start, exact temperature of the oven, the pan used, and the thickness of the meat. Rare many be as little as 5 minutes so beware if you want rare.
• DO NOT COOK BY TIME ALONE, YOU MUST CHECK INTERNAL TEMPERATURE. Times are provided to help planning only.
• Remove from pan and tent lightly with foil on a plate and let rest for 3-5 minutes before cutting. It needs to absorb fluids internally and the temperature will rise a few more degrees during the rest.

Recipe Notes

Pro Tips:

1. You may use butter or oil in the pan. Butter has a lower smoke point, but I have never had an issue.
2. Pan should be hot before starting to sear.
3. Sear each side to approximately the final color you want and do a final flip just before going in the oven.
4. There is lots of variability on the time here. The thickness of the meat, the exact starting temperature, the stovetop, and exact oven temps and the pan. All very good reasons not to go by time. Time is given as guides for time management.
5. PLEASE USE AN INSTANT READ THERMOMETER. DO NOT COOK BY TIME ALONE; YOU MUST CHECK INTERNAL TEMPERATURE. Times are provided to help planning only. You are responsible if you overcook. People keep doing this.
6. Remove from the oven a few degrees below your final desired temperature. It will rise a few degrees then tented.
7. Let rest tented for 5 minutes before serving.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

 

HAVE A QUESTION? - Look in the full post.Make it Perfect First Time and Every Time. Don't miss out, check the full post above. Almost every recipe includes easy step by step photo instructions so you can visualize yourself cooking this recipe along with helpful tips and options.

 

ADJUST THE RECIPE SIZE:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.  

Nutrition

Calories: 347 kcal | Protein: 22 g | Fat: 28 g | Saturated Fat: 9 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14 g | Cholesterol: 76 mg | Sodium: 616 mg | Potassium: 346 mg | Calcium: 40 mg | Iron: 1.4 mg

 

Nutrition is generally for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.

 

All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

Originally Published March 10, 2012