I saw Filet Mignon Chili on a restaurant menu once and knew I to try it at home. Filet mignon is a splurge, but a little goes a long way in a big pot of chili and makes this classic comfort dish extra special.
This chili features juicy bites of filet, creamy white beans, and a variety of hot, and not so hot, fresh chili peppers.
You can make it with or without a bottle of beer. I like my chili chunky, and I like to see what’s in it, so I don’t cook everything into oblivion. It’s about a 30 minute process from start to finish. Chili powders actually lose potency and degrade over long cooking times, so I think for the brightest flavor you need to keep the cooking short.
Masa harina, or Mexican tortilla flour, is used to thicken the chili
It’s also used to make the biscuits. Masa Harina is different from corn meal or corn flour in that it’s the dried form of ground hominy, specially treated with lime. The biscuits are to-die-for tender and delicious. Masa harina lends an authentic and beautifully subtle corn flavor to things, it’s one of my favorite flours.
You can ladle your chili over a split biscuit, or eat them warm on the side with butter. Either way they really complement the chili. The masa harina gives them a tender moist crumb.
Be sure to use a good, fresh chili powder.
More mouthwatering chili recipes on the blog ~
Filet Mignon Chili with Masa Biscuits
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb filet mignon, cut into small bite sized pieces
- olive oil
- 1 Spanish onion, chopped
- 2 hot peppers, such as jalapeno or Serrano, sliced, seeds and all
- 2 mild peppers, such as poblano, or cubanelle, seeded and chopped
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 26 oz canned tomatoes
- 1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
- 1 bottle of beer, or you can use water
- 1 heaping tsp cumin
- 3 heaping tsp chili powder, I used a combination of regular, Ancho and Chipotle
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 15 oz can of white beans
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 Tbsp masa harina
- sour cream for garnish
Masa Harina Biscuits
- 1 cup 5 ounces masa harina
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 2 cups 10 ounces flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 12 Tbsp 1 and 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter cut in pieces
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a heavy stew pot with olive oil. Heat the oil and then brown the meat for a couple of minutes until browned on all sides. Remove to a bowl.
- Add a little more oil to the pan and saute the onions and peppers for a few minutes. Then add the garlic and saute for a minute more.
- Add in the tomatoes, tomato sauce and beer. Stir to combine. Add the meat back into the pan.
- Stir in the spices and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Add in the beans, and check the seasonings. Let the chili cool and then refrigerate until you are ready. It will benefit from the resting time.
- When ready to serve, bring the chili up to a simmer, and taste. It might need more salt or even more chili powder.
- Mix the water and masa harina together and pour about half into the chili while you are stirring. It will thicken immediately. Add the rest if you want a thicker consistency.
- Serve with sour cream and biscuits.
- To make the biscuits, preheat the oven to 450F
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk the masa harina, buttermilk and honey together in a large bowl and set aside.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of a processor along with the butter pieces and pulse about 10 times until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
- Add the buttermilk mixture and pulse just enough to bring the dough together.
- Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 10 times until the dough is workable. Add in extra flour if it’s too wet.
- Pat into a 9 inch round and cut out about 8 biscuits with a 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 inch biscuit cutter.
- Bake for 5 minutes, until they just start to rise, and then turn down the heat to 400, and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, until golden.
- Cool on a rack.
Don’t forget to pin this Filet Mignon Chili!
more chili love…
 Slow Cooked Hatch Pepper Chili
Looks like yummy comfort food. Thanks for sharing!
This is so interesting. I’ve never seen chilli look so good!
Sue, do you think I could do a vegetarian version of this? The flavors sound amazing. Maybe I could bump up the beans in it. I always add beer to my chili too. I haven’t had it in forever. Those biscuits look so airy!
I totally think you could Stephanie ~ go for it!
My husband would go crazy for a chili made with filet mignon. I totally agree that since there isn’t a ton of meat in the dish, it’s better to upgrade the beef and make it a star. Your masa harina biscuits sound extraordinary. I am so hungry and now I am officially craving biscuits. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and commenting today. Blowing glass is very hard work but she enjoyed it immensely.
This chili sounds fantastic. I remember those biscuits and have the recipe saved to play with soon!
The chili looks perfect. I could eat that even though it’s going to be over 100 degrees here in Virginia today! A dollop of sour cream to make me think it’s been cooled off 🙂 The biscuits are another incredible creation. I want to come to your house and eat … soon!
So at the risk of sounding stupid … what game?
What a great chili. I love the masa biscuits. I have never worked with masa flour, but I will pick some up at the store next time.
What a treat! the chili sounds soul warming and the biscuits look delicious. Really lovely spices – cumin in particular!
Mary x
I’ll only eat filet steak, we have a variation of the every Friday and Saturday night with home made tortillas- shambolic
What a delicious supper, I know my husband and sons would devour it, and I love the corn biscuits, something we don’t bake here in England. I must give them a try, but finding authentic corn flour might be tricky, I’ll have to look out for it.