Filet Mignon - Thermapen read

EggPower

So, I ordered a Thermapen while lurking on the boards the last week. Came today, so I stopped on the way home from work to pick up a couple filets to try out tonight. I was aiming for medium rare and ended up with both medium well. O.o After totally messing up the pen read, I read more of the instructions which suggest taking a read with the probe in the side. I was going in from the top. These were two 8 oz. and uniform in size filets. Large Egg set at 375 and pre-heated for about 30 minutes. Used direct heat with grate. Any suggestions on how to use Thermapen better? Greatly appreciated.

U_tarded

one big thing to remember is carry over temp.  at 375 you will get about 5-8 degrees carry over so you want to pull that much under if you are aiming for a 130-135 finish temp pull about 125 it will help greatly.  the higher heat you cook at the higher the carry over so say you are at 600 degrees you are gonna get more of a 10-12 degree carryover, so you have to pull quicker, these are just subtle nuances but you will get used to it.  

flemster

For pieces like steak etc I pull at a thermapen read (I poke top, side in multiple places) about 115F for rare.  It creeps up a bit while it is resting and I find just before I want to serve it I will throw it on my CI grill on the spider for a last sear if it is still < 130 IT (my goal temp is @ 130 at the table)

EggPower

It seems like I had a pretty big range on reads which was surprising to me with uniform looking pieces. It definitely cooked faster on the egg than what I'm used to. Thanks for the responses!

MrCookingNurse

watch it as it goes in.. should start out high, go down some in the middle, and then come back up as your coming out the back

EggPower

Thanks MrCookingNurse.

I think I just need a bit of practice with taking temps. I'm guessing probing the side will be much easier. 

Chubbs

EggPower said:

Thanks MrCookingNurse.

I think I just need a bit of practice with taking temps. I'm guessing probing the side will be much easier. 

I always probe the top and never had problems. I usually only use the tip though. I think it reads differently if you burry half the probe in the meat. Just my experience at least

Tixunau

I just had some yesterday.I also probe the top of it. 

I find that it is a little more tricky with filet mignon as the meat is very tender and can cook very fast.

SoCal_Griller

I have noticed that when cooking direct the top of the meat is cooler than the bottom/middle, especially after flipping the meat.  This makes sense since the bottom is always closer to the heat source.  This used to throw me off and I would over cook.  I always test from the top, but next time i'll try it from the side.

EggPower

Yeah, I had different reads and wasn't really sure where the middle was. For filets, it's like probing butter, so it's difficult to find the right spot. It seems the side would be easier. 

fishlessman

this chart works well with a thermapen, since you cooked it like a roast i would use the temps for a beef roast.

http://reluctantgourmet.com/tips-guides/tips-facts/item/1118-meat-doneness-chart