A fillet is the most tender of all steaks due to the muscle’s location on the beef carcass. Overcooking is your greatest risk when braaing a fillet. You braai fillets whole and only slice them afterwards or cut the fillet beforehand and braai single portions. The steaks should be cut fairly thick in order to have a nice and juicy medium rare inside while being completely seared and sealed on the outside. To achieve this, fillet steaks naturally need to be braaied on extremely high heat.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 kg piece of Fillet Steak
- Crushed Peppercorns
- Maldon Salt
Instructions
- If you prefer to slice the fillet beforehand:
- Cut the fillets into 5 cm thick slices.
- Braai over extremely hot coals for 8–10 minutes, making sure that all sides of each steak face the coals for at least 1 minute at a time.
- Remove from the fire and let the steaks rest for a few minutes until serving.
- Serve with your choice of sauce.
- If you prefer to braai the whole fillet:
- Cut the fillets into 5 cm thick slices.
- Sear it on very high heat for about 2 minutes per side (a whole fillet usually has three sides).
- Then adjust the heat down by either lifting the grid higher or scraping away some of the coals.
- Now let it braai over more gentle heat until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 57C.
- Let the meat rest for a few minutes and then carve.
- Serve with your choice of sauce.
Courtesy of Jan Braai