"Pat DiPersia" > wrote in message >...
>
> *snip*
>
> However, no matter what I do, I can never get a really good taste with
> steaks, especially filet. I understand that filet (By most opinions) has
> the least flavor and you need to season it. But I've had filets at
> restaurants that are out of this world; I just want to know what they do.
> Does it marinate for days? Or is it the secret sauce they use?
>
>*snip*
>
> Any suggestions?

If you can get your hands on some dry-aged filet, you won't need to
put a thing on it. A dry-aged chateubriand is one of the most insanely
orgasmically deliriously delectible foods there is. But that's just my
opinion

From Cook's Illustrated:
"Every butcher knows that aging meat (a fancy term for letting meat
sit in a very cold refrigerator) makes it more tender and more
flavorful. Even the English in the Middle Ages (not a group of folks
known for their haute cuisine) hung their meat for a long time to
improve its flavor until it literally dropped from the hook.

How does aging work? Two processes are responsible. In one, called
proteolysis, an enzyme turns stiff muscle fibers into tender meat. The
other process is simply dehydration. In dry aging, a roast can lose up
to 25 percent of its original weight. Less water means more
concentrated flavor.

Although a few high-end butchers and restaurants dry-age their meat,
today most meat is wet-aged, or vacuum-sealed in plastic. Wet-aged
beef is tender, but it does not lose any moisture (or weight) as it
ages, making wet aging a much more economical process than dry aging.
However, wet-aged beef is not as flavorful as dry-aged beef, something
we've noticed in repeated tastings in the test kitchen over the years.
(Dry-aged beef has nutty, buttery notes that just aren't present in
wet-aged beef.) By letting a wet-aged roast from the supermarket age
in the refrigerator for just a short period, we found we could
approximate the dehydrating effects of dry aging at home, with an eye
to improving the flavor rather than the texture of the meat."

If you can't obtain or afford dry-aged beef, there are a few other
options. First, if you can get an "unpeeled" tenderloin (if you live
in NY by any chance, when I lived there I picked them up at Bryant &
Cooper), just throw it on the grill with a little salt and pepper. It
will be ragged and unattractive, but really well-lubricated and
flavorful.

Also, Cook's Illustrated did an article on aging prime rib at home.
For safety reasons, they caution against aging it for over a week in
home conditions. The best aged beef I've had was aged for about 6
weeks, but that was under controlled onditions. From Cook's
Illustrated: "When you get the roast home, pat it dry and place it on
a wire rack set over a cake pan or plate lined with paper towels. Set
the racked roast in the refrigerator and let it age until you are
ready to roast it, up to seven days. (Aging begins to have a dramatic
effect on the roast after three or four days, but we also detected
some improvement in flavor and texture after just one day of aging.)
Before roasting, shave off any exterior meat that has completely
dehydrated. Between the trimming and dehydration, count on a 7-pound
roast losing a pound or so during a week's aging."

Lastly, I can't imagine marinating a filet, but you can make a great
sauce. Page 9 of http://www.bernssteakhouse.com/admin...ad/bshmenu.pdf
gives some great inspiration.

HTH,
Erica