Brazilian 'Filet Mignon'

June 2009

Brazil has to be where the elite meet to eat cheap, reheated meaty treats.

Luciana brought home a cut of meat today, called 'filet mignon.'

I looked skeptically at it, fully expecting it to be a cheap, leathery knockoff of the real thing.

Expecting failure, I chopped up an onion and thinly sliced four cloves of garlic, and two shallots, and threw them into a pan of 2TBSP of heating olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin.

Cynically, I stirred the mixture until soft. Unconvinced, I poured in 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and 1/4 cup of red wine, mixed evenly, then turned the heat to 'high'.

With an askance look, I grabbed a fork to pick up the meat. The fork plunged into the fuselage of the meat with no resistance. This gave me pause.

Undaunted, I laid the meat in the bubbling mixture for 1 minute each side. I watched with increasing interest, as the meat began to fall apart along the striations.

I placed the entire assembly into a pyrex casserole, and placed, uncovered, into the oven at medium heat.

Twenty minutes later, I pulled the dish out of the oven and poured the juices into the pan. Adding 2 TBSP of table cream, I stirred until evenly mixed, and ladled back over the meat.

No knife needed. Absolutely delicious and tender.

Price? $3.50 a pound.