Filet Mignon Steaks with Homemade Bearnaise Sauce (Gluten-Free) for New Year’s Eve

Today I am delighted to share one of my favorite meals with you, Filet Mignon steaks with Homemade Béarnaise Sauce. Luscious and indulgent, it is the perfect meal for special occasions like the holidays!

While we are enjoying a day with our families, my mind is on this week’s celebration of the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025! Happy early New Year! 

When I think of New Year’s Eve, I always remember my mother’s Midnight Suppers. This fillet mignon with béarnaise sauce would have been the perfect main course. My mom and dad would invite their friends to come to our house around 9pm, mom would have appetizers to go with the wine and champagne, everyone would toast the New Year at midnight and then sit down to enjoy dinner together. 

Earlier in the day my mom and I would set the table with the fancy china, silver, and crystal wine glasses. We rarely used the fancy table settings so it was always a treat to see what my mother would come up with for decorations – usually leaning to silver, white, and gold, with fresh greens from the yard for fragrance and color. All the pieces that have been passed down through our family, each with a story and memory of past celebrations. Her tables were always festive and beautiful. 

Béarnaise sauce was my father’s absolute favorite accompaniment for steaks. He grew up poor and when he finally was making money,  he loved steak and ordered it often when he ate out. And if the restaurant offered it, he always had béarnaise sauce with it. Over the years we tried to make it ourselves, but it never came out as smooth and silky as the restaurant versions. After multiple failures we resorted to packaged sauce mixes that gave us better results but never quite the flavor we were looking for.

I had pretty much given up hope when I went to a cooking class with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt during the promotion of his award-winning cookbook, The Food Lab. That evening he taught us how to properly cook eggs and served them with a hollandaise sauce he whipped up in a few minutes. While that, in and of itself, isn’t that big of a deal, the way he did both was remarkable and dare I say, ground breaking.

If you haven’t gotten Kenji’s book, you really should. As a chemist who went to MIT he took his knowledge and clinical curiosity and switched to working in restaurant kitchens learning the ropes. He applies science to his passion for cooking, improving the techniques that are commonly taught in kitchens around the globe. While I am certain many classically trained chefs would dismiss his ideas, they are perfect for home cooks and culinary students, helping us make meals that turn out perfectly every time!

Béarnaise and hollandaise sauces are emulsions, blends of liquids and fats that do not want to be combined and part of the Master Sauces from France. They are notorious for breaking and causing cooks to pull their hair out. But if you use Kenji’s technique, they are stable and virtually foolproof.

The trick is two-fold … add hot butter to the vinegar and egg yolk mixture (instead of the other way around) while using an immersion blender to mix everything together (instead of whisking by hand). This results in a thick and creamy sauce that stays smooth and blended, even when held in a covered pot in a warm place for up to an hour! But do not let the sauce cool and try to reheat it – it won’t work. Even with Kenji’s technique, it is still an emulsion and they will always be finicky.

Béarnaise is an herb version of the classic French hollandaise sauce. Usually served over roasted beef or steaks, I love it so much I can eat it by the spoonful! Try it over roasted vegetables, grilled salmon, halibut or shrimp, omelets and eggs Benedict, or baked potatoes. Rich and decadent, a little goes a long way, so add a tablespoon or two to your foods for a luscious treat.

Today is another edition of Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a progressive dinner party where each course is held at a different home. This month’s theme is a New Year’s Eve Extravaganza. All of today’s recipes from the team are jaw-dropping beauties, ideal for any special occasion, holiday dinners, and the perfect way to ring in the New Year! Make sure you check out the links below the recipe.

Enjoy this recipe for Filet Mignon with Homemade Béarnaise Sauce and may your holidays and 2025 be delicious and bright!

If you try this recipe, let me know! Please leave a star rating in the recipe card, comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it @theheritagecook on Instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day and I love hearing from you!

 

Ingredients needed for Filet Mignon Steak with Homemade Béarnaise Sauce:

• Filet mignon steaks
• Olive oil
• White wine vinegar and dry white wine
• Tarragon, chervil or parsley
• Shallot
• Whole peppercorns
• Egg yolks
• Unsalted butter

 

PRO Tip:

To make this easier and less time consuming at the last minute, make the reduction ahead of time and rewarm before using. Then you can whip the yolks and butter together fairly quickly while your steaks are resting, having everything finish at just the right time!

 

How to make Filet Mignon with Homemade Béarnaise Sauce:

1. Sear the steaks on all sides and edges, then transfer to the preheated oven and roast about 10 minutes or until the center registers 120°F to 125°F on an instant read thermometer
2. Set steaks aside to rest while you make the Béarnaise sauce; simmer the vinegar, wine, herb stems, shallots and black peppercorns; cook until reduced to about 1-1/2 tbsp
3. Strain liquid into a small bowl through a fine wire strainer, pressing on the solids with a spoon to extract all the liquid
4. In a tall, straight-sided cup that just fits the head of your immersion blender, combine the vinegar reduction, egg yolks, and pinch of salt
5. Melt the butter and transfer to a 1-cup liquid measuring cup
6. With the blender running in the cup with the egg yolks and vinegar reduction, slowly pour the hot butter into the cup, moving the blender up and down as needed; the sauce will be thick and creamy
7. Season to taste with salt and whisk in the chopped tarragon and chervil or parsley. Serve immediately along with the steaks

 

PRO Tip:

Make the Béarnaise sauce vinegar reduction earlier in the day, then you can quickly make the sauce while the steaks are resting.

 

PRO Tip:

If you wind up with extra leftover Béarnaise sauce, you can use it like you would a compound butter, to add flavor to all kinds of recipes. It would also make a terrific sandwich spread with cold sliced roast beef!

 

Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):

• Ovenproof skillet
• Instant read thermometer
• Chef’s knife
• Small saucepan
• Immersion blender
• 1 cup liquid measuring cup

 

Gluten-Free Tips:

These recipes are naturally gluten-free!

* The major gluten-free organizations have declared that distilled alcohols are gluten free. But some distillers may use caramel coloring or flavorings which sometimes contain gluten. For some very sensitive people this may cause issues. Wine is also considered safe. For some very sensitive people wine may cause issues. In a few rare cases, wine makers may use barrels that have minute amounts of gluten in the caulk. If you have issues with wine, look for a winery that uses only stainless steel containers to age their wines.

You will get the best and most consistent results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking.

All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.

 

The following recipes are part of our monthly progressive dinner party, Progressive Eats. See the links below for more inspiration and great recipes!

New Year’s Eve Extravaganza!

Cocktails

Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail from That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Fancy Free Cocktail from The Food Hunter’s Guide

Appetizer

Baked Brie with Cabernet Cranberry Cherry Sauce from The Redhead Baker

Bread

Champagne Yeast Brioche from Pastry Chef Online

First Course

Lobster and Crab Chowder from The Wimpy Vegetarian

Main Course

Filet Mignon Steaks with Homemade Bearnaise Sauce from The Heritage Cook (you are here)

Side Dish

Puff Pastry Potato Roses from Mother Would Know

Desserts

Yuzu Cheesecake from Spice Roots

Chocolate Orange Stout Cake with Orange Frosting from Creative Culinary

 

  

 

Create a New Tradition Today!

 

Welcome! The suggestions here are not intended as dietary advice or as a substitute for consulting a dietician, physician, or other medical professional. Please see the Disclaimers/Privacy Policy page for additional details. Unauthorized use, distribution, and/or duplication of proprietary material from The Heritage Cook without prior approval is prohibited. If you have any questions or would like permission, please contact me. We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. This page may contain affiliate links. This post was first shared in Dec 2016. The article was updated in 2024.