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Filet Mignon with a Red Wine Balsamic Sauce

Name: Filet Mignon with a Red Wine Balsamic Sauce Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 8-ounce beef tenderloin steaks; 4 tablespoons butter, divided; 1 large shallot, diced; ⅔ cup dry red wine; ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar (good quality); 2 tablespoons rosemary, minced; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

posted by Liz Berg on October 22, 2019 (updated 1/23/25)

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Beef Steak or Filet Mignon with a Red Wine Balsamic Sauce: An easy, elegant entree that’s perfect for special occasions and will get rave reviews! This Filet Mignon Recipe tastes like it came from the kitchen of a five-star restaurant. It’s absolutely superb, yet you can make it at home!!

Grill or saute your steaks, then make a flavorful pan Steak Sauce that will knock your socks off!

Sliced Filet with Red Wine Balsamic Sauce on a white plate with a knife and veggies

Table of Contents hide

5 How to Cook Filet Mignon on the Stove

6 Guide to Internal Steak Temperatures

7 More Beef Recipes You’ll Love:

8 Filet Mignon with a Red Wine Balsamic Sauce Recipe

Why You Must Make

We love grilled steaks, but sometimes you need an alternative when your grill is covered with snow.
A tasty sauce with red wine, balsamic vinegar, butter, and shallots adds delicious flavor.
There were only raves for this exquisite Filet Mignon with a Red Wine Sauce; the sauce was sheer perfection.

My son, Nick, was on his senior high school retreat on Valentine’s Day, so we celebrated the following Sunday with a meal of beef tenderloin steaks, mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus. My friend, Hilary, mentioned making a red wine, balsamic sauce with shallots to serve with beef so I followed her lead. Another favorite beef recipe is this Gorgonzola Mushroom Stuffed Beef Tenderloin.

Filet Mignon with wine sauce ingredients on a sheet pan with labels.

Ingredient Notes

Kitchen Staples – Kosher Salt, Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Beef Tenderloin Steaks or Filet Mignon – Four 8-ounce steaks; Filet mignon comes from the small end of the beef tenderloin and is extremely tender and more expensive than tenderloin steaks. Both will work well.
Butter – I use salted butter.
Shallot – Look for a larger one; then peel off the outer layer and dice.
Dry Red Wine – Try to use something you’d drink. Cooking wine won’t have the same flavor as a good vintage. You don’t want to ruin your filet mignon sauce by using cheap wine.
Balsamic Vinegar – A good quality, aged balsamic will be sweet and syrupy.
Fresh Rosemary – Minced; Fresh will add a brighter flavor than dried rosemary.

Recipe Tips

Seasoning your beef with kosher salt the night before allows it to penetrate beneath the surface, making more flavorful results.
Alcohol is a terrific flavor enhancer. Adding red wine to the sauce, then reducing the sauce allows the alcohol to evaporate, leaving only its fabulous flavor.
If you want grill marks, use a grill pan to sear the markings into the beef. If you turn the filets twice on each side, it will make nice “grill” marks.
Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature of your beef frequently. If you like rare beef, you don’t want to cook it to medium or well done.
Since filets lack fat, cooking in butter is crucial to adding flavor. Olive oil will work, but butter is much tastier.
Using a well-aged balsamic vinegar makes for the tastiest sauce. My 18-year-old balsamic vinegar is sweet and syrupy. I buy it locally from Artisanos Oil & Spice Shop.

How to Make

Filets with Red Wine Balsamic Sauce step 3. — Sear filets on grill pan or in skillet.

Filets with Red Wine Balsamic Sauce step 1. — Sear filets on grill pan or in skillet.

How to Cook Filet Mignon on the Stove

When the weather isn’t cooperating, it’s still easy to cook a steak on the stove and have it delicious!! Seasoning your beef well is key, then cooking in butter and monitoring the internal temperature will ensure a perfect result.

First, season your steaks with kosher salt the night before. Sprinkle both sides generously, then park in the fridge overnight. This allows osmosis to draw the salt into the meat.
Bring your steaks out of the fridge to let them warm up for at least 30 minutes before cooking. This will allow them to cook more evenly.
Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sear both sides of the steak for 4 minutes, then remove to a platter.
Add your shallots to the pan and cook until soft, decreasing the heat if needed to prevent the shallots from browning too fast. Then deglaze the pan with the wine and vinegar and, finally, stir in the rosemary.
Check the internal temperature of the filets, then return to the pan to finish cooking, flipping at least once so they’re coated with the pan sauce. Scroll down for the internal temperatures of rare, medium-rare, medium and well-done beef.
Remove to a platter, cover with foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. You’ll love this pan seared fillet mignon!
Keep the pan sauce warm, then before serving, pour it into a pitcher and drizzle over steaks to serve.
PRO-Tip: If you want to grill your steaks and make this sauce, you’ll want to sear your steaks in your skillet first. Quickly searing in butter will add some beef flavoring to the sauce.

Overhead view of grilled fillet on a white plate with grilled vegetables.

Guide to Internal Steak Temperatures

My husband likes his steak very rare, and I’m more of a medium-rare gal. We have had many guests who prefer their steaks medium, so it’s good to have some guidelines on what internal temperatures are for what doneness of beef. Having an instant read thermometer is key!

Allow about 5-10 degrees for carryover cooking time. This is the time you let the steaks rest under foil so the juices can be reabsorbed. During this resting time, the internal temperature of your skillet filet mignon will still rise despite it being off the heat.

The filet mignon temperatures for each degree of doneness, according to Certified Angus Beef, are as follows:

For a RARE Steak (cool red center), look for an internal temperature of 125 degrees but remove from heat at 120 degrees.
For MEDIUM RARE Steak (warm red center), look for an internal temperature of 135 degrees, but remove from heat at 130 degrees.
For MEDIUM Steak (warm pink center), look for an internal temperature of 145 degrees, but remove at 140 degrees.
For MEDIUM WELL Steak (slightly pink center), look for an internal temperature of 150 degrees, but remove at 145 degrees.
For WELL DONE Steak (little to no pink center), look for an internal temperature of 160 degrees, but remove at 155 degrees.

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This recipe was first shared in May 2012. Photos and text were updated in 2024.

The Recipe: