There are so many variables - cooking method, cooking temperature, starting temperature of the filet, thickness of the filet, etc. - that suggesting a cooking time is almost impossible. It's probably too late for tonight, but the real answer is to use a good instant read thermometer - I use a Thermapen - and cook the filet to an internal temperature of 150º.

You grilling? Or pan frying?
What Doug said is right on....an instant read thermometer will be you best friend.
Linda C

Eileen, as velodoug mentioned, a medium well steak should be cooked to an internal temperature of about 150F, then let it sit for about 5-10 minutes, the temp will go up between 5 and 10 degrees.

I'd start a steak that's an inch thick at 4 minutes per side, check the temp. You can always cook more, but you can't go back and make it less well done after it's cooked, so I'd err on the side of checking sooner instead of later.

Happy Birthday, Margaret!

Annie

I don't know, even without carry-over 150 sounds like well-done to me. I wouldn't take it past 145 for fear of killing it.

Medium well filet mignon? I am weeping. ;)

Here is the poke test method for checking doneness.

Here is a link that might be useful: Poke test.

I have watched Chef Ramsey........and he always does the poke test. I once heard him tell a contestant, as he was angry......" Did you poke the !*@*!!#* thing" LOL Thanks for the tip Barnmom. Now I know what to look for. Diana55

I do a similar poke test: hollow of the cheek is rare, tip of the nose is medium, forehead is well done.

Speaking of weeping over what people do to good food, (but hey! it's her birthday! if she wants to put Hersheys syrup on it, good for her!) a few years back I made a magnificent batch of Osso Buco. One of my best efforts. Served it up to the assembled family. My 12 year old niece, without taking a bite of it, smothers it with ketchup....

I also do a poke test: put thumb and first finger together and poke the fleshy pad under the thumb. That's rare. Thumb and middle finger is med-rare; thumb and ring finger is medium; thumb and pinky is well done.

And a very happy birthday to your daughter.

I would *never* have the nerve to try a poke test!

Velodug  IÂve had my eye on the Thermapen for a while now (orange for me please!). Why is the dang thing so expensive?

I was going to do Filet Mignon this weekend and use the Sear-Roasting Method. I plan to use a regular digital probe thermometer  the kind you insert before putting it into the oven. That should work  right?

IÂm planning on pulling mine at 130 degrees :-)

I have a small chunk of beef filet tonight for my dinner....wish I were gutsy enough to brave the blizzard, but it's hardly worth it...it will be fried in a hot cast iron skillet.....and removed long before the center registers more than blood temperature.
I also do the poke test like eslimacs does...works well on meat under2 inches thick....but thicker I like to have a better read on what's going on in the center.
Jeri? Why would you not have the nerve?
Linda C

I'm all for developing these "feels" for doneness, but not so much a fan of trying to share your method with others. Try all the aforementioned tests on yourself. Do they all feel the same? If so, perhaps you're blessed. If not, like me, then perhaps everybody's body is different and their test only works for you if their hand, nose, forehead, whatever is built the same as yours.

I think debating temperature is a little safer than debating firmness of body parts on the day of the meal! And I'll stand by my 145 for med-well ;)

I'm so excited by this 'feel and poke your meat' thread

I just got done massaging turkey breasts for a turkey schwarma recipe the gang likes. Hey there are REASONS I don't have my kids help me cook, at times

(apologies to Eileen)

Jeri? Why would you not have the nerve?

What FoodOnAStump said! :-)

IÂm sure if one has *lots* of experience, then they can be fairly accurate  but I only cook steaks occasionally  and only rare/med rare. :-)

Not everyone likes rare or even medium rare. I don't think anyone should be chastised for what they like. It doesn't effect those that like their beef a different temp so why worry about it. My BIL and DW eat their nice beef with ketchup...I don't care..whatever they want to do is fine by me. I do cringe a bit at restaurants though! I hate bloody meat too. A bit pink in the center if fine, but if is still mooing....no thanks. Many people like it like that and that is their preference so I respect that.

As far as the question goes it does make a difference on your heat and method. Me, I use a Traeger smoker grill and on high temp do 5 minutes on one side, then flip and 5 minutes on the other side. Perfect for me....medium to medium well. Give me some horseradish sauce, a big baked 'tater with butter and sour cream and a nice salad/veggie and it's time for din-din!!!!!!

Duane

Eileen, you really did it this time, LOL, I had to have steak for supper. Mine was extremely rare, what the kids call "warm raw", I cooked a steak cut 1 1/2 inches thick 2 minutes per side and got this:

So, I still stand by my four minutes per side for a piece of meat an inch thick. As for those "poke" tests, I raise beef and have been cooking it for decades and I cannot accurately judge the doneness of a piece of beef by poking it, no matter how anyone else explains it. Give me a thermometer unless you are prepared to eat it extremely rare, like I do.

So, Eileen, how did the filet turn out? And did Margaret have a great birthday?

Annie

"Posted by dukerdawg ---for me....medium to medium well. Give me some horseradish sauce, a big baked 'tater with butter and sour cream and a nice salad/veggie and it's time for din-din!!!!!! Duane "

What?! No slices of beefsteak tomatoes?

dcarch :-)

Oh, Annie, now you've done it. I like my steak to still moo also! LOL
Although I cringe inside when a guest orders a well done steak, I never say anything about it. Doesn't stop people from making comments about my steak when I order it. Gets annoying, actually.
Lisa

Found this:

Medium Well done Steak:

Internal Temperature 155 to 165 degrees F. (68 to 74 degrees C.)
A medium well steak should have a hint of pink in the very middle of the steak. The surface should be a dark brown with good charring on the top and bottom. This steak will be very stiff but still have a little squish in the middle.

Grill this steak over a high heat for one minute per side then move to a medium heat for 5 to 6 additional minutes per side (depending on your grill).

A week or two ago I broiled a couple of Delmonico steaks for dinner. I poke test. Really didn't let them rest very long but they came out just right. We like them done just a tiny bit longer than Annie's pic. A half hour later I went for a few more bites of Angela's leftover piece. I was amazed at how much more it cooked while just resting on an uncovered plate. All the orange color had gone from the meat. I think the poke test works for scenarios where the meat goes from fire to plate with not a lot of resting time. Judging wellness via internal temp with carryover heating time has always been a challenge for me. At least with roasts that might stand while finishing up the taters and such.

Thanks for all the tips...I tried to post last night but it wouldnt let me log in! I cooked it 4 minutes on each side and it came out perfect for her...she said "Mommy this is the best dinner ever!" Everyone else loved the dinner we had a salad,Barefoots Cremed Spinache,Roasted baby red potatos crusty bread and a decadent chocolate cake....and Margaret was sooo excited because we ate in the Dining Room on China! Thanks again! My sisters steak looked just like Ann's...I couldnt even watch her eat it LOL!! But she was VERY HAPPY!

Lisa, you're right, the same people that I will quietly cook a well done steak for will always say something negative about my rare steak. I tell 'em to eat somewhere else, LOL.

My girls are used to it, they've spent their lives watching me eat bits of the raw beef while I'm cooking, but it does tend to put some others off.

Annie

Dcarch, the beefsteak tomatoes are a given! You know that! Given the choice between a steak and a homegrown heirloom tomato....tough choice but I probably would have to go with the 'mater!

Annie, most foodies will say that good beef should be served like you like it. Kind of funny that you like it like that since I hear alot about your preferences in regard to texture. That's probably why I like my beef more on the medium side...it's that texture thing. But hey, to each his own. I certainly wouldn't make a comment about your taste especially if I was getting one of those grass fed steaks from your place!

Duane

I like raw meat dishes like tartare and carpaccio, I can eat a blood red steak though I much prefer it med-rare, and I've been known to throw scraps of raw meat in my mouth while prepping.

That said, for some strange reason I have a tough time looking at blown up pictures of really rare meat, like Annie's picture above. On the other hand the same exact picture of that same steak, but taken before cooking, might have dictated tonight's dinner. Makes no sense, does it?

But Duane, it IS a texture thing, LOL. Rare beef is nicely moist and tender, well done beef is tougher and dryer....

I do prefer it warm, at least, instead of cold.

Yeah, I know, I won't eat bananas because they're mushy and I won't eat okra because it's slimy and I won't eat jello because it just feels icky, but I'll eat raw beef and runny eggs. So, I'm weird, I know that!

I do agree with you on the tomatoes, though.

Annie

jeri wrote, Velodug  IÂve had my eye on the Thermapen for a while now (orange for me please!). Why is the dang thing so expensive?

Two reasons I can think of for the price are that it comes up to temperature much faster than less expensive thermometers, and that it comes with an NFS certificate and calibration data. The former is important to me when I am checking steaks on a 600º grill. The latter is important in commercial kitchens. Most NFS certified thermometers cost a lot more than the Thermapen.

Back to the "poke test"....which isn't really a poke but more of a wiggle to test the firmness of the meat beneath.
those things about if it feels like your nose or your thumb are just "guides" for beginners. To really know, you need to feel test lots of pieces of meat and then see what the inside looks like. It's feel thing and you can cook a piece of meat to your liking anywhere without an instant read thermometer.
It's experience....sort of like feeling when the texture of bread or pastry is just right or knowing when the bechamel has cooked enough.
There was a cook book years ago called something like "Cooking by Hand" or "Hands on Cooking" and it touted knowing what a teaspoon of salt or a tablespoon looks like in your hand....how long it takes to pour a table spoon of olive oil into your pan, how to break up tomatoes by hand and how to separate an egg by hand.
I could make a pie crust with just a bag of flour and a can of lard...it would take longer than measuring because I might have to add a little more flour or fat....but I could do it.
And I could ( and have!) made breadw ith flour, yeast, salt and water....no measure, no bread pan....just the ingredients....by feel! Feel your steaks ( I almost said meat but remembered Jessica is peeking here!) and learn what "done to your liking" feels like, you'oll save lots of time over the years.....
My son is so anal that he uses an instant read to check the temp of the water for proofing yeast! He is so anal that he proofs his yeast!!
Linda c

How one likes their beef cooked is a matter of personal preference. No right, no wrong, unless you are making someone else eat beef your way. That's wrong. If I was offered a rare steak I honestly could not choke it down.

My preference is medium rare but on the rareish side not the medium side! LOL I want it red/pink but no blood and it has to be warm right trough.

Like Linda, I can judge by the touch on a steak up to about 1 1/2 inches from there I want a thermometer.

Gotta pass the Poke Test along to my DH, who is in charge of the grill all summer. He usually uses the Peek Test, which involves cutting into the piece of meat with a knife. Not a professional look, especially when he has to peek several times to get it right.

As someone who likes her meat medium, I'd rather get an underdone piece that an overdone one. You can always throw it back on the heat if it's too raw, but it is much more difficult to un-cook something.

CooksNSews  Get your DH the Thermapen Thermometer mentioned above for his Birthday or FatherÂs Day or ???. No more slicing meat to check its progress!