Cast Iron Skillet Filet Steaks with Cowboy Butter
Pan seared in a cast iron skillet, then oven finished with a delicious herb butter.
Cowboy Butter is a name that is simply marketing. There is nothing historical about it and it wasn't out on the range during the cattle drives of the 19th Century. It's roots, however, are in classical French cooking with compound butters, called beurres composés, that have been around for centuries. The most famous is Beurre Maître d'Hôtel with butter, parsley, and lemon, and served on a steak. Food historians cannot pinpoint its precise origin, but with confidence they can say it was associated with Paris hotels and restaurants since the mid-1800s. By the time Escoffier published Le Guide Culinaire in 1903, compound butters generally, and Beurre Maître d'Hôtel specifically, were well established.
Sometime in the 2000s when food bloggers rose to prominence, everyone was looking for an edge in creativity and the term Cowboy Butter emerged. But it is a modern internet-era creation, not historical cowboy fare and because it is no canonical origin, there is no standard recipe that defines it. That said, modern versions of Cowboy Butter generally will add lemon for brightness, mustard to make it sharper, herbs for freshness and various kinds of spices and peppers for boldness and heat. With a nod to the Allrecipes website, this compound butter works perfectly on a pan seared cut of beef tenderloin.
Cast Iron Skillet Filet Steaks with Cowboy Butter
Pan seared in a cast iron skillet, then oven finished with a delicious herb butter.
Ingredients
- 4 USDA Prime or Certified Angus Filet Mignon, about 6 oz each
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4-6 twigs fresh thyme
- 1/2 small shallot, finely minced
- fine sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1-2 tbsp Kitchen Tapestry Cowboy Butter per filet
- 2 sticks butter, room temperature
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp dried chives
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 4 tsp garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried lemon peel
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 tsp smoked salt (like, San Francisco Salt Company Cherry Wood)
- 1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp Spanish (or smoked) paprika
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients together with a handheld cake mixer.
- Wrap into a Saran Wrap in a log shape or place in a 1 cup storage contained with a lid.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
- In a cast iron skillet on the stove over high heat, heat the olive oil and butter, then toss in the thyme twigs and shallots.
- Place the steaks into hot oil. Brown the steaks on both sides, about 2 minutes per side over medium high heat.
- Put the cast iron skillet and the steaks in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until the steaks are medium-rare to medium.
- Remove the steaks from the oven onto a platter, top with 1-2 tbsp of Cowboy Butter on each filet and then cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest for five minutes while the butter partially melts before serving.
