Smoked Beef Fillet – Reverse Seared

Smoked beef fillet is the ultimate melt-in-your-mouth cut of beef - especially when cooked using a reverse sear method!

What is a reverse sear method you might ask? Simply put, you start cooking the steak via indirect heat, slowly and evenly and once it almost at the end of its cooking cycle, searing it over an extremely hot fire to give it that beautiful crusty brown finish that we all know and love so much!

At Firesmiths, we really are big fans of this technique as you get moist, evenly cooked steak that is simply delicious. By hanging the meat inside the Hero smoker & grill, its own beautiful juices continuously baste the meat, with all the excess juices dripping on the hot coals. This creates a smoky vapour that further infuses it with wonderful flavour, as well as creating further moisture to keep it tender.  

The final searing will give you a beautiful brown crust that is incredibly tasty and a steak that is juicy and tender on inside with that magical kiss of smoke. You will never cook fillet the same way – trust us.

In terms of preparation, we kept it simple as smoked fillet doesn’t need much in terms of seasoning. The meat tastes beautiful on its own with just some good old salt and pepper, but if you want to try a delicious seasoning with a fabulous complementary sauce this recipe will show you how.

 

Prep Time:  15 mins

Cook Time: 1 hours

Resting Time: 5-10 mins

Total Time: 1 hours 25mins

Ideal Internal Hero Smoker & Grill Temperature: 110 °C (when smoking), 180°C+(when searing)

Ideal Cooked Serving Temperature: 54 – 57 °C (Medium rare)

Recommend Cooking Method: Direct hanging of fillet for smoking and then finished over searing hot coals.

Course: Main Dish

Servings: 4 people

Optional: Place 2 / 3 Firesmiths Oak wood chunks within your charcoals / briquettes to impart further flavour

 

Ingredients:

 Fillet:

• 1 x 500 / 600 grams fillet
• 1 x Tbsp olive oil
• 1 x Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 x Tbsp soya sauce
• 1 x Tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 x Tsp cracked black pepper
• 3 x Garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 x Sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 1 x Fresh lemon

Coriander Chilli Sauce:

• 2 x Sprigs of fresh coriander
• 1 x Tbsp olive oil
• 1 x Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 x Tbsp red Wine
• 2 x Garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 x Tsp soya sauce
• 1 x Tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 x Tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 x Fresh orange
• 1 x Fresh lemon
• ½ x Scotch bonnet chilli

 Instructions:

1. Light your Hero smoker & grill according to instructions.
2. Preheat the Hero Smoker & grill to a medium temperature of around 110°C.
3. While waiting for the Hero smoker & grill to reach the desired temperature start getting the fillet ready by placing it on your Firesmiths Hardwood Chopping Block
4. Rub some olive oil on the fillet and thoroughly season all sides with salt, black pepper, soya sauce and balsamic vinegar.
5. Make small cuts in the fillet and stuff with chopped garlic as well as rosemary.
6. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the fillet.
7. Add the fillet to the Hero and cook for about 45min until the internal temperature is about 48°C (for a medium rare cook – taking into account the resting and searing later of the fillet will take you to full medium rare – 54-57°C). In order to measure the internal temperature of the steaks accurately use our Firesmiths instant read thermometer.
8. While the fillet cooks, start preparing the fresh coriander and chilli sauce by pouring and blending all ingredients either in a food processor cup or blender.
9. Blend for about 1-2min or until mixture is reduced to a sauce. Once done, pour into a small bowl, cover, and place inside the fridge.
10. At the 30min mark of the fillet’s cook, start heating up some coals separately in your chimney starter to get ready for the searing at the end of the cooking process.
11. At the 45min mark, remove the fillet and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
12. As the fillet rests, now is the time to get the additional hot coals you prepared earlier ready to finish the fillet with that delicious brown sear. To get a good sear you need a very high temperature fire 180°C+ so make sure you have enough hot coals to do the job.
13. Proceed to place the charcoal basket on top of the heat diffuser and add the hot coals from the chimney starter. Insert the grill grate with the coal basket on top and add the hot coals. Sear the fillet on each side for 3-5min minutes till you developed a nice crust (or until your liking).
14. Once the steaks are seared, pull them off and drizzle with the some of the coriander sauce or serve sauce on the side.
15. Pair with some smoked mielies and potatoes and get ready to feast!
16. Slice and enjoy!

Chef’s note:

• When it comes to searing the meat, the Hero Smoker & Grill was made to be able to do both direct as well as indirect heat. When the charcoal basket is placed on top of the heat diffuser (and topped with fresh hot coals – if necessary!) it will be very hot! Trust us. You can however sear over another hot fire such as a gas grill. Choice is yours but know that your Hero Smoker & Grill can do both and do them both very well!
• Reverse searing is the perfect way to cook thicker cuts of meat more evenly and ultimately making it juicier and more tender versus just grilling it on a grill. Reverse searing is not suited however for thin cuts of steaks so for those rather grill it horizontally on a grill grate over a hot fire.