Fillet of Beef

Show: Barefoot ContessaEpisode: Elegant and Easy

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (23)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(23)

Cook Time:
25 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
8 to 10 servings

Times:

Prep: 5 min
Inactive Prep: 20 min
Cook: 25 min
Total:: 50 min

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Ingredients

1 (4 to 5 pound) fillet of beef, trimmed and tied
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Place the beef on a sheet pan and pat the outside dry with a paper towel. Spread the butter on with your hands. Sprinkle evenly with the salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for exactly 22 minutes for rare and 25 minutes for medium-rare.

Remove the beef from the oven, cover it tightly with aluminum foil, and allow it to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Remove the strings and slice the fillet thickly.

Note: Be sure your oven is very clean or the high temperature will cause it to smoke.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Fillet of Beef
George Ft. Lauderdale, FL 12-26-2009
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My first Ina Garten recipe failure
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

The other reviewers are right. This recipe will smoke you out of your house. Ina Garten is my FoodTV favorite and this is my... first disappointment. I read the warnings about smoke and didn't think it would happent to me. I cleaned the oven prior to cooking the fillet. We had to open all the windows and set an exhaust fan in the window. We were a bit embarrassed in front of our Chirstmas dinner guests. When the 22 minutes of smoke were up I was disappointed to see the the meat was undercooked. My oven is not a slow oven. It required an additional 10 minutes to bring the meat to the correct doneness. I would suggest keeping the recipe in-check by also using a meat thermometer. I don't think I would try this again. If I do, I might add some water to the bottom of the pan to keep the drippings from smoking. By the way, the fillet itself was very good. Read more
recipe Fillet of Beef
Karen Roanoke, VA 10-08-2009
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Why FN recipes don't always work for us
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I love Ina's recipes & tried to modify this one in my oven with a smaller fillet of beef which I wrapped/tied myself, also... got the smoky results reported by so many others (still, the beef was fab!). My take is that consumers are dealing with residential ovens & our beloved chefs on FNC have industrial gourmet ovens w/ventilation systems we don't usually have available, so I've learned that unless I want a complete kitchen/oven cleanup there are just some recipes I can't try to duplicate play/by/play. Lesson learned. Karen Roanoke, VARead more
recipe Fillet of Beef
Jerlyn Boulder, CO 04-05-2009
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Easy and Impressive Fillet
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

We too were smoked out despite a clean oven. I think the butter burning on the pan is the culprit. Next time I will omit the... butter (maybe I'll try olive oil). Despite the smoky house, the beef was a huge hit. Because I had some guests who preferred rare and others that preferred medium, I did not tie up the meat to a uniform size. My fillet was close to 5 pounds and I found that it needed 10 more minutes to reach medium at the thin end and rare at the thicker end. Delicious!Read more
recipe Fillet of Beef
Trang San Ramon, CA 03-01-2009
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My all time favorite!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I have made this recipe many times. Everyone that has eaten it, loves it and asks for the recipe. I love the gorgonzola... sauce that compliment it! The roasted cherry tomatoes recipe is also delicious with this dish. The oven does smoke but it is worth it. A trick; I leave the fillet out (not cold from the refrigerator), this helps the meat to cook more evenly (medium-rare) and not raw (cold in the middle).Read more
recipe Fillet of Beef
Elaine Miami, FL 12-30-2008
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Easy peasy
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Served this for Christmas day dinner along with bernaise sauce. So delicious. Also, served roasted root vegetables. I... prepared a porcini mushroom risotto starter. Would recommend. A bit expensive, but so easy to prepare, especially when you have big number of guests and you want to spend time with them!Read more
recipe Fillet of Beef
Maria Peoria, AZ 12-26-2008
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Most smoke ever
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Suzanne, I ran into the same problem ...... I made this for this year's Christmas Eve dinner in our brand new house. We had... our guests enjoying appetizers in our back yard while I roasted the filet of beef at 500 degrees (also in our new oven). I opened the oven door and YIKES!! My husband ran in the house because he saw the smoke filled kitchen and thought the house was on fire. Needless to say, we opened the sliding glass doors and windows (Thank God we live in AZ but it was cold out). The beef was fabulous but my new oven is a disaster. Just like Suzanne, it is filled with BLACK gunk. I've self-cleaned it once and must do it again. Could this be done in an outside barbeque grill on a pan?? I'm going to check out the Joy of Cooking method for next time.Read more