Knowing how to braai (grill) a whole fillet Mignon is really important since it is a pretty expensive cut to mess up!  In my opinion this is possibly the best braai or cook-out/bbq cut of meat to do for a large party that appreciate really good food and do not wants to have it with ketchup, steak sauce or any other kind of flavor “ruin-er”..!

Important to note is that a tenderloin fillet, when cooked, dries out quickly – so when cooking a whole fillet I strongly recommend keep it rare to medium/rare. Overcooking is your greatest risk when grilling a whole fillet. The best flame grilled fillet will have a caramelized and crusty outside with a rare (pink/red) inside.  It’s expensive but worth it for a great meal. For example, a large quality 6 lb fillet can be bought for $100-$150. Assuming about 1/3 to 1/2 lb per person, the 6 lb fillet should feed about 10-15 people, not bad for $150!

Ingredients:

• 6 lb whole beef fillet (smaller is also fine but avoid a very thin fillet as you really want the outside crusty and inside rare/medium). It is fine buying a fillet with one side thiner as this caters to anyone who likes theirs a bit more well done.
• You can use any combination of spices that you like.  I recommend coarse kosher salt, paprika, cayenne pepper (South African equivalent is peri-peri – if you can get it), fresh ground pepper, garlic salt, onion powder.
• Olive oil
• Hickory (or other smoking wood pieces or chips). Mesquite can be used but I find that the mesquite smoke flavor is slightly stronger so use less.

Instruction:

1. Cover and let the fillet sit out for 1-3 hours prior to cooking to bring it to room temperature. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel. Remove any membrane (silver skin) if there is any on the fillet.
2. Coat the fillet with olive oil prior to cooking and add spices.  In general, use more spices than you think necessary since, when you carve the fillet, each slice will only have a small part of the outside (unless it is the end piece but that generally gets eaten by the cook during cooking, necessary quality testing..!).
3. Start by having a very hot fire, preferably with hardwood charcoal lump pieces (I avoid briquettes due to the resin they are made with that can adversely flavor to the meat). You should not be able to hold your hand over the grill for more than a couple of seconds.  Sear all sides of the outside of the fillet on the very hot part of the fire.
4. Use a quality meat thermometer to measure the inside of the fillet. Cook until the thermometer shows about 5 degrees Fahrenheit less than your desired final temperature (usually 20-30 min depending on the size of the fillet and heat of fire).  Rare is 125-130 degrees and medium/rare is 135-140 degrees. I recommend starting rare (medium/rare at most) then quickly browning individual pieces on the grill to individual liking. Be very careful not to overcook, the expensive filler can always be cooked more but not less!
5. You can either let the fillet stand for 15-20 minutes (tent aluminum foil over it to keep warm) or cut and serve directly from the fire. I like a combination, when ready move the filet to a side of the fire where there are no coals, leave lid off and tent foil over the filet to let it settle, then slice directly on the grill (you can use the metal grills as a guide for the knife).

Here is an alternative recipe for Braaied Marinaded Beef Fillet

This recipe is adapted from the great South African cook book “Braai The Beloved Country” by Jean Nel.

Ingredients:

• Beef Filet – size of your choice
• Rosemary sprigs
• Some fresh marjoram/oregano leaves (note – these herbs are something like cousins but can be used interchangeably. My vote is for Oregano..
• Balsamic vinegar
• Wholegrain mustard
• Coarse sea or Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper (make sure to freshly grind, don’t use store ground stuff)
• Soaked cooking / cotton string

Directions:

Make sure you have a good hot fire, preferably with some nice hardwood to add flavor (natural hardwood charcoal fine as a base but please don’t use briquettes as they will ruin the taste of this expensive cut of meat!). Heat the grill and scrape clean then lightly oil the grilling surface (e.g. using an olive oil spray or oil dampened cloth / paper towel).

Coat the tenderloin filet with the wholegrain mustard, apply ground pepper, salt and wrap with the wet string. Feed the fresh sprigs of Rosemary and marjoram/oregano under the string on both sides. Sear both sides on high heat then place on medium heat to continue cooking. Splash balsamic vinegar over cooking meat once on either side (not too much – most will burn off leaving a nice subtle taste).

Follow the same instructions as above to measure the internal temperature being careful not to overcook! Let the filet cool for about 5 minutes and serve sliced to liking.