Best Marinade for Filet Mignon on Grill

From the first bite you try, no one would resist the delectable buttery taste of filet mignon. If you are a lower of grilled meat, this is one of the best ways to have it. Filet mignon is the best dish to serve at a cookout when entertaining your guests or during a special occasion that requires you to share a meal with friends and family.

To get the ‘wow’ factor in your homemade filet mignon, you need to learn the art of making the perfect recipe. Whether you plan to serve the filet mignon with a rich rice dish, a dash of red wine, or crumbled blue cheese, the trick is getting the marination process right. Here is everything you need to know about marinating your meat for filet mignon.

Understanding marinades

A marinade is more than just a combination of spices. It is the heart of the meat that gives it the unique taste you have come to love. Most of these ingredients penetrate the meat to give it the deliciousness you enjoy in your filet mignon.

What is marinating?

This can be defined as the process of soaking your meat in seasoning liquid referred to as a marinade. This is done before cooking to allow the meat to absorb more flavor and seasoning, which sometimes is not possible when cooking the meat. Most marinades are acidic as they contain citrus juice, vinegar, or enzymes. These work to enhance the natural flavor of the meat and change the surface texture. The acidic content in marinade weakens the tissues in the meat, allowing most of the flavoring to penetrate the inside parts of the meat. Be careful not to overexpose your meat to too much acid as it can cause the meat to be tough, dry, and mushy. The best marinade for filet mignon should have the perfect balance of acidity, seasoning, and oil.

Flavoring from the surface of your meat

Soaking your meat in a marinade will only expose the surface to the marinade ingredients. This is only a few millimeters at best. This technique is best for thinner cuts, slices of cube cuts. When you include ginger, honey, soy sauce in your marinade, for example, the ginger and honey will not penetrate the inside part of the meat. However, the salt in the soy sauce will penetrate beyond the surface and deeper into the meat.

The salt will draw out moisture from the meat, which is later reabsorbed into the meat while breaking down the muscle structure. The brine will help water-soluble flavors, like onion and garlic, from your marinade to be absorbed into the meat beyond the surface. Oil can also be used to transfer flavoring from chilis, herbs, and some spices from the surface of the meat.

The benefits of marinating meat

Enhancing the taste and flavor

Filet mignon is all about the delectable taste of meat. If you want to make the perfect cuts, you need to get creative with your marinade. There are thousands of ways to customize your marinade to make it ideal for your filet mignon. Most marinades require readily available ingredients in your home to add the perfect taste and flavoring to your food. You can add spice, smoke, or sweetness to the marinade, whatever you prefer. Marinating is the best way to enhance the taste of any meat.

Enhancing the texture

When you marinate, even the toughest meat will melt in your mouth. Filet mignon is the juiciest type of meat you can enjoy, thanks to the marinating process involved. If you are looking to soften your meat, marinating it will make it softer and tastier.

Locking in the moisture and tenderness

Marinating your filet mignon meat is the best way to introduce more moisture into the meat. Meat is notorious for drying up when being cooked. When you marinate your cuts before cooking them, you make them tenderer and add to the moisture. This ensures that it remains soft, even after a rigorous cooking process. Also, because marinated food is tender, it cooks faster. Exposing the meat to heat over a short period ensures not too much moisture is lost.  Marinades used the herbs, seasonings, fat, salt, and sugar to tenderize the meat of your filet mignon recipe.

How to safely marinate meat

Raw meat can contain harmful bacteria that can likely contaminate your marinade if you do not follow the right marinating guidelines. Some important precautions to take include:

Marinate in the fridge – after soaking your meat steak in the marinade, refrigerate it to prevent the growth of bacteria in the marinade. It is never advisable to allow meat to marinate at room temperature.

Never reuse marinade – once you use a batch of marinade, never be tempted to reuse it for another piece of meat. If you must, make an extra marinade batch to ensure you have enough for your marinating needs. Ensure you only use the amount you need to resist the urge to reuse it for other cuts. Never serve marinade that has been in contact with uncooked food, especially meat.

Use non-reactive materials – acid used in a marinade can react with some metals. When mixing your meat with the marinade, ensure you use non-reactive containers like plastic or glass. Avoid marinating in aluminum cookware or foil.

The best marinade for filet mignon on grill

You will need:

Balsamic vinegar – avoid using substitutes and go doe the real deal. Balsamic vinegar adds the best acidic flavoring to your steak. Consider using dark balsamic vinegar, as it is stronger than the white one.

Worcestershire sauce – this is a key ingredient for your filet mignon.

Soy sauce – the more your steak marinates, the more it absorbs the salt in soy sauce. The longer you marinate it, the less you will need to add salt to your meat.

Olive oil – avoid using extra virgin olive oil because it has a low smoke point, regular olive oil will work just fine.

Other ingredients include Djon mustard, honey, garlic, freshly ground black pepper, dried rosemary, and your pieces of filet mignon.

Method

Whisk all the ingredients (except for the steak) together until they are well blended. Pour them over your steak in a reusable plastic bag. Seal the bag and rub the marinade over the meat. Leave it to marinate.

Your steak can be left to rest in the marinade in the fridge for at least half an hour and up to 8 hours. You can marinate your filet mignon overnight to allow it to soak in the marinade goodness. Even so, avoid marinating longer than 8 hours as the acid from the vinegar will start to breakdown the protein in the steak and make the meat mushy.