Bacon Wrapped Fillet and Pesto topped Ribeye
Bacon Wrapped Fillet and Pesto topped Ribeye! I guess Bob doesn't get enough meat on the Isle. He was quite specific Thursday night. He wanted a filet wrapped with bacon. I kind of ebb and flow on filet. In my mind, it always needs something to go with it. Its lean body is a blank canvas for flavor. Yes, it is tender and delicious...but to me, it can sometimes be bland. So, when I saw a bone-in ribeye staring at me across the butcher counter I knew what I wanted. The irony of all of this the next night I ended up having a bone-in filet at the Pine Club! So much for consistency in desire.
The filet was straightforward prep...salt and pepper. I picked up some bacon and wrapped it. This is not terribly difficult mind you.
For the rib-eye, I wanted something a little different. While at the store, I also picked up a rather large bunch of basil. Since I had so much extra basil on hand, I decided to make pesto.
The recipe comes for the Basil from Epicurious via Bon Appetit
4 cups fresh basil leaves (from about 3 large bunches)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
It was delicious. Bob prefers his meat to the more cooked end of the spectrum, as I have talked about before. With the 650 heated to high, I seared both sides of his filet for 6 minutes a piece and then moved it over to indirect for another 12. It's a long time to cook a filet, but a necessity when you are trying to please your father in law.
The bone-in ribeye, which was also rubbed only with salt and pepper, was much easier. I gave each side also about 6 minutes, with 3 minute interval turns to have nice grill marks. Once done, I smeared the pesto across the top and plated. Unfortunately, none of the pesto shots really turned out. I can't stand the lights on the deck, so I will be working on some kind of solution here in the near future.
Tonight was basically Ribeye Friday, but on a Thursday. I'm not complaining.
