How to Cook Filet Mignon: Grill or Cast Iron
A filet is tender and lean, and the second of those is the problem. There is very little fat to carry flavor or forgive a mistake, so the method is about supplying both from outside.
A filet comes from the tenderloin, which does almost no work. That is where the tenderness comes from and it is also why there is so little fat in it.
Cast iron, which suits it best
- Dry, salted, out of the refrigerator a good half hour.
- Hot pan, oil not butter, sear the two faces hard.
- Then stand it on its edge and roll it, searing the sides. A filet is tall, and the sides are a third of its surface.
- Heat down, butter and thyme in, baste for a minute.
- Pull five degrees under and rest.
“If you've ever had a steak or a burger that kind of has a bland gray color to it, what's happened is you've got water on the surface. And that water, you know, boils at 212 degrees. It won't let the meat, it won't let that searing, maillard reaction that you need at 350, 400, it won't let it happen. And you effectively end up boiling or steaming the meat instead of grilling and searing it.”
Gray Shipley
Grill, if that is what you have
It works, with one caution. A filet has no fat cap to protect it and very little marbling to render, so it goes from perfect to dry faster than any other steak on a grill. Two zones, sear and move, and use a thermometer rather than time.
Why butter is not optional here
On a ribeye, butter-basting is a refinement. On a filet it is doing the job the steak cannot do for itself. Fat carries flavor, and this cut has almost none of its own. Baste it, or wrap it, or serve it with something rich beside it.
Bacon, and whether to bother
The traditional bacon wrap exists for exactly this reason: it adds fat and it protects the sides. It also stops the sides browning. If you wrap it, sear the faces first and accept softer edges. If you want crust all round, skip the bacon and baste instead.
“I think the easiest thing to do is to overcook it. And we've conditioned people to be fearful of foodborne illness, but clean, well-prepared meat that's raised responsibly, processed, handled responsibly, you know, that's not as much of a concern.”
Gray Shipley
This is the cut where that matters most. A filet taken to well done has given up its only real advantage.
“Not as long as I should. Really should go eight to ten minutes. I sometimes barely give it five.”
Gray Shipley
Dry-aged filet mignon. Very tender, very lean, and the one that needs the most help from fat and heat.
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The same cut without the dry aging, when tenderness is the point and the occasion is ordinary.
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Our signature dry-aged ribeye. Heavily marbled, thick, and forgiving of a minute either way.
View ProductThe basting technique is in how to butter-baste a steak, and the cut comparison in ribeye vs strip vs filet.
- Cook to a Safe Minimum Internal Temperature, FoodSafety.gov
Food-safety temperatures and storage times on this page are cited to the agencies above rather than to us.
Written at Shipley Farms in Vilas, North Carolina: a family cattle farm raising and dry-aging beef in the Appalachian Mountains, now in its fifth generation. No shortcuts since 1872.
Every quote on this page is Gray Shipley talking, the man who runs this farm. We sat down with him, turned on a recorder, and left his words alone.
Nobody knows this beef better than we do. On food safety we leave it to FoodSafety.gov, and we have linked their page above. Reviewed 3 October 2026.
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