Bacon-Wrapped Filet Mignon (With Crispy Bacon)

When you want to treat yourself, make this Bacon-Wrapped Filet Mignon. I’ve got tips for you that will get that bacon crispy, and the steak so tender too!

What Is Filet Mignon?

Filet mignon is a very tender cut of steak that comes from a beef tenderloin. It’s often the most expensive choice of steak at the store, but you can save money by cutting your own filet mignon steaks if you’d like. Some stores also carry steaks that are already wrapped in bacon, but keep in mind my tips as you may want to trim the bacon on those before getting started.

For Pre-Wrapped Filet Mignon

If you’ve bought your filet mignon already wrapped in bacon, you can cook it as advised below, but you can skip over the wrapping part. I do have one important piece of advice for you though, about the width of the bacon around the steak.

When I’m cutting my own steaks to wrap in bacon, I make sure that the steaks are cut slightly taller/thicker than the width of the bacon wrapped around it. This is so that the bacon doesn’t touch the pan while the top and bottom of the steak is being cooked. If it was touching there, it would burn.

If you’ve bought your steaks already wrapped, you don’t have control over the height of the steak. But, you do still have a bit of control over the width of the bacon. Place your steak on a cutting board. Stoop down and look at it dead-on. If any bacon is sticking up above the flat plane of the steak, you should either push it down, or trim it off using sharp, clean kitchen scissors. Then, flip the steak over and check the other side as well. Once you know that the steak is now above the bacon on both sides, you’re ready to get cooking!

What Kind Of Bacon Should I Use?

Thin-sliced bacon worked perfectly, and I wouldn’t recommend any other kind for this recipe. Otherwise the steak will overcook before the thick-cut piece of bacon will render and crisp up. Save that thick-cut bacon for another use and stick to the thin cut here.

If you have regular-thickness bacon, don’t worry though. Just stretch it a bit to make it thinner before you wrap it around the steak.

How To Wrap Steaks With Bacon

Only about 1/2 or 3/4 of a piece of bacon is needed for each filet. There should be as little overlap of bacon as possible to ensure the bacon becomes crisp. A pair of kitchen scissors is the easiest way to cut the bacon to size. Wrap the strip of bacon around the filet, secure it with a toothpick, then cut away the excess (and save for other recipes).

Toothpicks are used initially just to hold the bacon in place until ready to cook. This is an important step if working with cold ingredients and/or if dry-brining the steaks in the fridge.

The toothpick isn’t needed when cooking though, as long as the overlap-side-down is seared first, and so it should be removed right before cooking. Here’s why…

Can I Leave The Toothpick In While Cooking?

How To Cook Bacon-Wrapped Filet Mignon

For my bacon-wrapped filet mignon recipe, I found it best to cook them completely on the stovetop. Some recipes have you sear on the stovetop and then finish in the oven. But, because the filets would only been in the oven for a short time, and because it’s difficult to control what happens in the oven, I liked it better staying on the stove. That really allowed me to monitor the crispiness of the bacon, and the temperature of the steak closely.

If you are using a cast iron pan, you may want to render some fat out of your trimmed bits of bacon left from doing the wrapping before getting started. Just put those bacon pieces in there and cook them up. Remove the bacon (snack time!) and spread the fat around so you can cook your steak in there. For my nonstick skillet, it didn’t end up being necessary though.

The bacon is seared first, all around, until very crispy. Start with the section that overlaps, where the toothpick was to seal it together. Remove the toothpick and then sear where it was. The continue cooking all around the sides of the steak, letting it sear each section of bacon for about 30 seconds. After that, you cook the top and bottom of the steak to achieve your desired level of doneness – 4 minutes each side for rare, 6 minutes each side for medium, or 8 minutes each side for well done. Right before removing the steaks from the pan, the bacon is crisped up one last time for a few seconds. After resting for 6 or so minutes, the steaks can be served.

The bacon will be perfectly rendered, crisp, and cooked through. The longer the steaks rest, however, the less crispy the bacon becomes, but it’s still thin and cooked through with a good sear on it. With this recipe, the bacon does not end up rubbery at all, even after a 30-minute rest time.