Cast Iron Filet Mignon

The tradition, Steak Monday, continued today after taking a few weeks away from it (whether it being away from home or cooking it on Sunday). Usually I broil my steak since it's extremely quick and easy, not to mention it taste delicious.

The one mishap I've seen with broiling did not occur to me personally but to a friend. It was move-out day for our Junior year at UConn and Timmy, his father, and I were just about ready leave the apartment for the last time. Our friend, let's call him Billy Goat, decided he would cook in our apartment even though he lived in the same building; he went on to broil his steak. After several minutes, I hear a sound of a pop coming from the kitchen and turn to see a whole bunch of smoke coming from that direction. Billy Goat runs to the oven to check up on what's happening and as he opened the door slightly, the sight of fire appeared. The fire increased in size and was visible from the top of the stove.

So, we all (not including the worried Billy Goat) laughed our hearts out (including Timmy's and his father's uniquely rambunctious laughter) until the smoke detector went off, which is of course connected to the UConn Fire Department. Billy Goat is freaking out because his father was a firefighter himself. After a quick response from the firefighters, multiple industrial fans, several minutes of Billy Goat apologizing to them and the rest of residents of the evacuated building, we were let into the steak-infused apartment. The steak was on the counter and Billy Goat said it was perfectly cooked and rested...  While Billy Goat enjoyed his steak, our last roommate walks into the apartment shaking his head in disapproval (probably because he was staying in the apartment for another month).

The lesson here? Broiled steak is great even after a grease fire!

Well and that grease fires are real. You could always leave the oven door open a couple inches to prevent a fire.

So enough of that story, I bought a cast iron skillet today! I am ready to expand my cooking skills. I was excited to cook my filet mignon using it after reading that it was the ONLY way to cook steak. But it turns out, there are maintenance steps that need to be taken including seasoning (cover skillet in oil and put it in the oven for a hour at 350 degrees).

After that was taken care of, I was ready to cook my filets! I heat up the skillet and place the filets on there. Instantly, my tiny apartment was filled with smoke! Luckily I disconnected my smoke detector and it's not connected to the fire department. I open the door to let the frozen air in since the vent on the microwave doesn't do anything. After searing it for about 1.5 minutes on each side, I place butter and thyme onto the filets, and into the preheated oven it went. After several minutes in the oven and resting time, I devoured 16 oz of delectable filet mignon with vegetables. (Imagine perfectly cooked filet mignon here.) It was one of the best meals I have ever had.

So how do you cook your steak?
(One other way I have cooked steak was an idea from my doppelgänger, boiling the steak in a plastic bag then searing it)