How to Cook Bistro Steak
Love Filet Mignon, but craving a more robust, beefier flavor? Our bacon-wrapped Bistro steak is a specialty cut that comes from another incredibly tender cut in the chuck — the Shoulder Tender. Also called a Bistro Filet, Shoulder Filet and Beef Bistro steak, this is a butcher's favorite, as the lean Bistro steak cut is terrific when grilled, pan-seared, broiled in the oven, or even cooked with a specialty method like sous vide. Select a Bistro steak cut that is served rare to medium to ensure every bite is tender — ideal for the true steak lover. Wrapped within its succulent bacon jacket, irresistible Bistro steak makes an impressive presentation that is sure to “wow” dinner guests time and time again. The cooking instructions and charts below will tell you everything you need to know about the best way to cook Bistro steak; just be sure to use a meat thermometer for optimum results.
How to Grill Bistro Steak
A tender, juicy grilled Bistro steak that is cooked to perfection makes an excellent meal for those who enjoy their steak with the unique flavor of bacon. There are two main methods for grilling Bistro steak:
- Charcoal Grilling
- Gas Grilling
Regardless of which method you choose, be sure your meat is completely thawed before placing your Bistro cut steak on the grill. Once thawed, remove your steak from the refrigerator approximately 30–40 minutes before cooking to allow the steak to come to room temperature. Lastly, season your steak as desired. The best grilled Bistro steaks are seasoned to taste with Kansas City Steak Original Steak Seasoning.
How to Cook Bistro Steak on a Charcoal Grill
Push most of the hot coals to one side of your grill; leave a single layer of ash-covered coals on the other side. Place steaks over the hottest part of the grill, and sear both sides for 1–2 minutes. Then move your steaks to the medium-heat side of your grill and continue to grill to the desired doneness using the times listed in the Cooking Times Chart below. Turn about 1 minute prior to the halfway point.
How to Cook Bistro Steak on a Gas Grill
Preheat your grill on high. Sear both sides for 1–2 minutes, then reduce to medium heat and continue to grill for the times listed in the Cooking Times Chart below. Turn about 1 minute prior to the halfway point.
- For the perfect medium-rare Bistro steak, grill for 7–8 minutes for a 1-inch steak, and 9–11 minutes for a 1½ inch steak, turning about 1 minute before the halfway point. A meat thermometer should read 130°F.
- Rest your Bistro steak for 5 minutes before serving, covering lightly with foil. The temperature of the meat will continue to rise about 5°F during this time (this is called "carryover cooking"). The final temperature will read 135°F.
- Resting Bistro steak is important because the heat of cooking pulls the juices in the meat toward the surface; if you slice into it immediately after cooking, those flavorful juices will end up on your plate, not in your steak. Allowing your steak to rest will give the juices time to sink back in and throughout the meat, keeping it moist and flavorful.
- To check the degree of doneness, use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature of your Bistro steak cut to ensure it is cooked to the perfect level of doneness, from rare to medium-well.
- Prior to serving, add a Kansas City Steak Finishing Butter for an additional flavor boost.
How to Cook Bistro Steak on the Stove
Choose your favorite Bistro steak recipe and pan-sear your meat on the stove to achieve a rich golden-brown color and outstanding flavor.
Be sure your steak is completely thawed before cooking. We recommend thawing in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Once thawed, remove your steak from the refrigerator for 30–40 minutes before cooking to bring it to room temperature. Season your steak as desired; we recommend a generous serving of our Kansas City Steak Original Steak Seasoning.
For a pan-seared Bistro steak cooked to medium-rare, follow these steps for best results:
- Preheat a heavy non-stick skillet over medium heat until hot, for about 5 minutes. A very hot pan delivers the best seared Bistro steak.
- Place your bacon-wrapped Bistro steaks in the hot skillet (do not overcrowd). Do not add oil or water. Do not cover.
- For the perfect medium-rare Bistro steak on the stove, sear in a skillet for 7–8 minutes for a 1-inch steak, and 9–11 minutes for a 1½ inch steak, turning about 1 minute before the halfway point. A meat thermometer should read 130°F.
- Rest your Bistro steak for 5 minutes before serving, covering lightly with foil. The temperature of the meat will continue to rise for as much as 5°F during this time (this is called "carryover cooking"). The final temperature will read 135°F.
- Resting Bistro steak is important because the heat of cooking pulls the juices in the meat toward the surface; if you slice into it immediately after cooking, those flavorful juices will end up on your plate, not in your steak. Allowing your steak to rest will give the juices time to sink back in and throughout the meat, keeping it moist and flavorful.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of your Bistro steak to ensure it is cooked to the perfect level of doneness, from rare to medium-well.
Similar to using a non-stick skillet, Bistro steak in a cast iron skillet provides that deep brown crust and superb finish we all know and love. Follow the same set of directions as you would if cooking Bistro steak on the stove in a non-stick skillet. For more information, visit our How to Cook Steak in a Cast Iron Skillet page.
How to Cook Bistro Steak in the Oven
Determining how to cook a Bistro steak in the oven doesn’t take much, and it delivers similar results to a grill or stove. Just as in both of those methods, be sure your Bistro steak is completely thawed before cooking. We recommend thawing in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. Once thawed, remove your steak from the refrigerator approximately 30–40 minutes before cooking to allow the steak to come to room temperature. Lastly, season your steak as desired. We recommend using our Kansas City Steak Original Steak Seasoning. For more information, visit our How to Cook Steak in the Oven page.
Set your oven to “broil” and preheat for 10 minutes.
Once you have seasoned your steaks to taste, begin cooking your bacon-wrapped Bistro steak in the oven to your desired cook time:
- Place your Bistro steak in the oven to broil on the rack of a broiler pan, and position the broiler pan in the oven so that the surface of the steak is 3–4 inches from the heat. Broil to desired doneness, according to the Measuring Doneness and Cooking Times Chart listed below.
- For the perfect medium-rare Bistro steak (recommended) broil in the oven for 9–12 minutes for a 1-inch steak, and 14–16 minutes for a 1½ inch steak, turning about 1 minute before the halfway point. A meat thermometer should read 130°F.
- After removing from the oven, rest your Bistro steak for 5 minutes before serving, covering lightly with foil. The temperature of the meat will continue to rise for as much as 5°F during this time (this is called "carryover cooking"). The final temperature will read 135°F.
- Resting Bistro steak is important because the heat of cooking pulls the juices in the meat toward the surface; if you slice into it immediately after cooking, those flavorful juices will end up on your plate, not in your steak. Allowing your steak to rest will give the juices time to sink back in and throughout the meat, keeping it moist and flavorful.
- To check the degree of doneness, use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature of your Bistro steak.
Specialty Bistro Steak Cooking
Interested in trying out a unique method for your cooking your Bistro steak? Draw out the tenderness and juiciness of your Bistro steak cut with a specialty cooking method, such as using a sous vide machine or a smoker. With each method, your steak should be completely thawed in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. Remove the Bistro steak from the refrigerator 30–40 minutes before cooking to bring it to room temperature. Season your steaks to your liking; we recommend using our Kansas City Steak Original Steak Seasoning.
Using the sous vide method for your Bistro steak removes the guesswork from cooking. Instead, it delivers perfectly prepared steaks that are cooked to the exact degree of doneness, every time. This is because the sous vide method for Bistro steak uses a low-heat, long-time cooking process which allows for evenly cooked steaks from end to end and guarantees every bite is as tender and juicy as the first.
Note: Steaks cooked under 130°F should not be cooked longer than 2½ hours at a time due to food safety concerns.
Here are the steps to follow when using the sous vide method:
Prepare It
- Preheat your water bath: Fill your sous vide container up with warm water and set the sous vide device to the appropriate temperature for desired doneness. The sous vide device should be set as follows:
- Rare: 122°F
- Medium-Rare: 129°F
- Medium: 135°F
- Medium-Well: 145°F
- Repackage your steaks into sous vide heat-stable bags. We recommend seasoning your steaks with Kansas City Steaks Original Steak Seasoning for an enhanced flavor, prior to cooking in the sous vide. Another option is to add fresh herbs and a Kansas City Steaks Finishing Butter, along with your raw steak, into the heat-stable vacuum seal bag before sealing
Cook It
- Make sure the water bath has fully reached the desired temperature for cooking before adding in the steak.
- Place the packaged steak in the water bath and allow it to cook for the recommended amount of time, based on your desired degree of doneness.
- Rare: 45 minutes (1-inch steak) and 1–2½ hours (1½ inch steak)
- Medium-Rare: 45 minutes (1-inch steak) and 1–4 hours (1½ inch steak)
- Medium: 45 minutes (1-inch steak) and 1–2½ hours (1½ inch steak)
- Medium-Well: 45 minutes (1-inch steak) and 1–3½ hours (1½ inch steak)
- Once your steaks are finished cooking, remove them from the sous vide and take the steaks out of the packaging.
- Preheat a skillet over high heat for about 5 minutes (this can be done on a grill or in your kitchen). A hot skillet delivers the best sear.
- Lightly coat the bottom of your skillet with high smoke point oil such as avocado oil, canola oil, or grapeseed oil. Place your steaks on the skillet and sear for approximately 2 minutes on each side. Sear until the steaks reach the final desired internal temperature, according to the Measuring Doneness Chart below.
- The sear will give your steaks the rich golden-brown color and enhanced flavor that is typically associated with grilled steaks.
- Serve immediately. Unlike other methods of cooking steak, the low-heat and long-time cooking technique used in sous vide does not draw the juices of the meat to the surface so additional resting time is not needed.
- We recommend adding an additional savory flavor by topping your steak with a Kansas City Steak Finishing Butter.
Bistro steak is tender and flavorful, perfect for enhancing those qualities by preparing it in a smoker. Smoking time varies greatly depending on the cut of meat, thickness of the cut, quality of smoker, smoke and smoke retention, wind, etc. It is best to use a meat thermometer and base doneness off internal temperature.
Note: Steaks cooked under 130°F should not be cooked longer than 2½ hours at a time due to food safety concerns.
To begin, fire up your smoker and preheat it to 225°F.
- Place your well-seasoned steak onto the grates of your smoker, close the lid, and smoke the meat until the steaks reach about 10°F below the desired internal doneness temperature (see recommendations, on our Measuring Doneness Chart below.)
- You can check for smoking doneness by internal temperature. Temperatures are as follows:
- Rare: 115°F
- Medium-Rare: 125°F
- Medium: 135°F
- Medium-Well: 145°F
- Next, preheat a skillet over high heat (this can be done on a grill or in your kitchen). Once hot, lightly coat the bottom of your skillet with a high smoke point oil such as avocado oil, canola oil, or grapeseed oil.
- Place the steaks in the skillet and sear them for approximately 2 minutes on each side. Cook until the steaks reach approximately 5°F less than your final desired internal temperature.
- Remove steaks from the skillet and allow them to rest for 5–10 minutes, covering lightly with foil. The temperature of the meat will continue to rise about 5°F during this time (this is called "carryover cooking").
- Resting steak is important because the heat of cooking pulls the juices in the meat toward the surface; if you slice into it immediately after cooking, those flavorful juices will end up on your plate, not in your steak. Allowing your steak to rest will give the juices time to sink back in and throughout the meat, keeping it moist and flavorful.
- To check the final degree of doneness, use a meat thermometer.
- Prior to serving, expand upon the delicious taste by topping with Kansas City Steak Finishing Butters for full flavor.
Cooking Times for Bistro Steak
Select a cooking method for your Bistro Steak and follow the recommended cooking times for the best results. For perfect doneness, we recommend you use a meat thermometer and use the Measuring Doneness Chart, below.
Measuring Doneness for Bistro Steak
Remove when your steaks are 5°F less than the temperatures listed.
The centers will continue to warm as they rest.
Bistro Steak Recipes
Looking for a specific recipe, marinade, seasoning or rub for Bistro Steak? Check out our most popular Steak Recipes below or click Steak Recipes to view our recipe library.