How to cook a filet mignon?

*austin.

Stike - sorry, seems like we're talking "past" each other (not difficult via this type of medium). 

At any rate, "sous vide" or its little cousin "hot tub" are a means of cooking, or, in the case of "hot tub" - semi-cooking the steak, such that the internal is all one constant temp.

Check - got that point. 

So let's say you "hot tub" to about 125 degrees, then do a quick sear. 

That "sear" can be done on ANY device which can produce heat high enough to get a searing temp.  It doesn't have to be done on the Egg. 

So basically, the method I just described (theoretically) bypasses the Egg as a cooking vessel. 

I guess the way I look at it is - I like using the Egg because of the smoky taste it imparts onto the food.  (yes, other charcoal cookers can do that, but that's a discussion as to *which* charcoal cooker is better, which is out of the scope of this discussion). 

So, if I use the Egg to cook things because I like the way it makes the food taste (ie, smoky), then why would I want to bypass 90% of that? 

If the Egg was never invented, folks would eventually come to a forum & say "hey, I found that if you "hot tub" your steak for X amount of time to Y internal temp, then throw on a CI griddle on the stove (or on my gasser) to finish off w/ a "sear" at the end (or beginning), it makes the BEST, most evenly "done" steak I've ever tasted!!!" 

And this would be withOUT the Egg... I dunno, just an observation...

After reading all these posts, I (think) I totally agree with HH. Allbeit a good way to get a good steak less the egg.

Stike - sorry, seems like we're talking "past" each other (not difficult via this type of medium). 

At any rate, "sous vide" or its little cousin "hot tub" are a means of cooking, or, in the case of "hot tub" - semi-cooking the steak, such that the internal is all one constant temp.

Check - got that point. 

So let's say you "hot tub" to about 125 degrees, then do a quick sear. 

That "sear" can be done on ANY device which can produce heat high enough to get a searing temp.  It doesn't have to be done on the Egg. 

So basically, the method I just described (theoretically) bypasses the Egg as a cooking vessel. 

I guess the way I look at it is - I like using the Egg because of the smoky taste it imparts onto the food.  (yes, other charcoal cookers can do that, but that's a discussion as to *which* charcoal cooker is better, which is out of the scope of this discussion). 

So, if I use the Egg to cook things because I like the way it makes the food taste (ie, smoky), then why would I want to bypass 90% of that? 

If the Egg was never invented, folks would eventually come to a forum & say "hey, I found that if you "hot tub" your steak for X amount of time to Y internal temp, then throw on a CI griddle on the stove (or on my gasser) to finish off w/ a "sear" at the end (or beginning), it makes the BEST, most evenly "done" steak I've ever tasted!!!" 

And this would be withOUT the Egg... I dunno, just an observation...

After reading all these posts, I (think) I totally agree with HH. Allbeit a good way to get a good steak less the egg.

All true. I would point out, at the risk of being accused of heresy, that of all the best steak houses in the world, none are cooked over charcoal. Most are done in ovens of 1500 degrees or so. I love my egged steaks and will cook them until I can't cook no more, but there are a lot of ways to skin a cat out there and I like using all of them. There was a time I would have never imagined eating a steak that was not grilled. then I got my egg and thought, this is it, nothing could beat it. Then I opened my restaurant and had 2 really talented chefs teach me some really cool techniques (while stealing all my beer and food . They didn't teach me Sous Vide, I found that at my favorite steakhouse in Austin and started researching it. 

cent-tex: keep in mind that when you sear a steak at a dome temp of 700+, you aren't cooking it at 700+.  you are searing it at 1200-1500 or more.

the 1500 number you hear quoted by restaurants is the heat of the infrared element.  your lump can get hotter, if you really want it to

100+ posts on how to cook a filet mignon-just goes to show how adaptable the BGE and cooking can be... a knock-off taken from the USMC-Semper Gumby, "Always Flexible". >-

My single experience with SV is that yes, it did a nice, pretty rib eye, but the fat did not really render down because @ 90 seconds a side, or whatever I did at the time, it just was not long enough to induce melting.  

allsid; try dry aged. it's not an issue of fat, but water in the fat.

I will give the dry age a shot (again).  I guess thats the fun part about all this, try & try again.  It seems like when I am finally comfortable swearing off a dish or a technique that actually means I am about ready to try again.  

What do you put the meat that is sealed into to hold them at a set temp, say 140, for hours?  A crockpot or is there a specific cooker of some kind?

I use a Sous Vide Supreme Demi (
http://www.sousvidesupreme.com/en-us/sousvidesupreme_vs_demi.htm ) and a food saver to vac-seal the food. You can use a crock pot or any other method to reliably hold temp over a few hours. You can use zip lock bags with all the air sucked out safely up to 170 degrees. Dark meat poultry is about the only thing done above that temp so you can play around with most everything else without having to buy equip (if you don't already have a food saver).