There’s nothing better than a steak dinner. This one will quickly become one of your favorite ways to prepare steak for an easy dinner that feels elevated. Tender filet mignon is pan seared and then topped with an easy-to-prepare velvety pan sauce with shallots, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire, and beef broth. Kick your steak night up a notch and make this Filet Mignon with Pan Sauce.

What you’ll need to make Filet Mignon with Pan Sauce

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

filet mignon
kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper
shallots
balsamic vinegar
Worcestershire
light butter
flour
beef broth

How to cook the perfect filet mignon

For starters, let me explain that we like to eat our steak medium-rare to medium. So, this method is for getting your steak to that temperature. First things first: if you don’t have a meat thermometer, please get one! I live for this one from OXO. It is the only way you can really cook meat correctly. Otherwise, you’ll be hacking away at your proteins to see if they are cooked. When you do that, you totally destroy all the work you’ve put into cooking them. The juices run out, along with the flavor and juicy texture. So please, please… don’t do that! Start by taking your filet mignon out of the fridge, unwrapping it, and setting it out on the counter. Before cooking steak, you really want it to be room temperature. If you try to cook a cold steak, it will never cook the way you want to; the inside won’t cook through, because it will still be cold from the fridge. This is a really important step. Set your steak out on the counter a solid half hour before you plan on cooking it. Right before you are ready to cook the filet mignon, season it liberally with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper (that’s all it needs!) Preheat your frying pan over medium-high heat on the stove. Spray it with olive oil spray. Once it’s fully preheated, place your steaks in. And DON’T MOVE THEM! For a medium rare to medium temperature, cook the filet for approximately 7 minutes without moving it. After 7 minutes, flip the filet to the other side and cook it for another 7 minutes.

At this point, use the meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. For a medium rare steak, the temperature should read approximately 130F. Depending on the thickness of your steak, this will take varying amounts of time. This is why the thermometer is so important in order to not under or overcook the steak. Once the steak is done to your desired temperature, place the steak on a plate to rest. Cover it with loosely-fitted tented foil.

Making the pan sauce

Start by slicing the shallots. In the same frying pan the steak was cooked in, add more olive oil spray and the shallots and sauté them for five minutes. After five minutes, the shallots will appear caramelized and broken down. Add the balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire to deglaze the pan.

Then, quickly add the light butter and the flour. Whisk everything together so that the flour coats the shallots. Cook this mixture for another minute or two.

Add the beef broth and whisk together, ensuring to break up all of the clumps of flour.

Bring the sauce to a boil and cook it for about five minutes or until it appears thick and velvety in texture.

Slice the rested filet mignon and drizzle the sauce on top.

Serving suggestions

This dish pairs perfectly with mashed potatoes and a vegetable like asparagus.