New Mexican Filet Mignon Oscar

Steak Oscar, at its basic form, is a fancy name for Surf and Turf. It’s a steak (typically Filet Mignon), topped with a shell fish and served in a sauce. That leaves the creative field wide open, doesn’t it?

As many of you know, we love all things spicy in our house. Mexican, Cajun, and especially New Mexican. New Mexican is not the same as Mexican, although they share the same roots. New Mexican Cuisine has a heavy Pueblo influence infused with the flavors of Spain. Yes, Mexican Cuisine is also influenced by the Spanish, but the native flavors of Mexico are different, resulting is a different flavor. Visit the cantinas of New Mexico and you will see what I mean. Sure, there are tacos and enchiladas, but the flavors are different. Chili in New Mexico is a sauce made from red and green peppers, not the meat and bean concoction of Texas.

Another thing that plays into New Mexican Cuisine is New Mexico itself. The climate and altitude of New Mexico impact the peppers much like grapes grown in certain regions develop differently for distinctive wines. New Mexico is hot, dry and at a very high altitude. All these conditions come together to create a flavor that is unique to the area. Hatch Chilies can only be found in the Hatch Valley of New Mexico. To capitalize on the growing conditions of New Mexico, peppers have been developed that are hotter, with flavors unlike other peppers of the same family. It’s the soil, the sun and the high altitude that gives New Mexican Cuisine its unique flavors.

New Mexican Filet Mignon Oscar
Shrimp
8 large Shrimp
1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon Cumin
1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/8 teaspoon Spanish Smoked Paprika
1 tablespoon Jalapeno Olive Oil
1 Lime, juiced

Peel, clean, and devein shrimp. Remove tails if desired. Place shrimp in a re-sealable plastic bag, set aside.

In a small bowl, combine onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika and Jalapeno olive oil. Pour over the shrimp. Shake bag, working the seasoned oil into the shrimp to coat. Refrigerated and let the flavors develop.

While the shrimp develop, make the Chipotle Sauce

Chipotle Sauce
1/2 White Onion, cut into slivers
4 Garlic Cloves, sliced
1/4 cup Cilantro
1/2 tablespoon Ancho Chili Pepper
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
12 Tomatillos
1 (4 ox) can Chipotle Chilies in Adobo Sauce
1/2 cup Beef Stock or more

Cut onion in half from root to tip. Reserve half for another purpose. Peel remaining half, cut into slivers and break apart. Peel garlic, cut into slivers. Season the onion and garlic slivers with the Ancho Chili seasoning. Toss to coat, set aside.

Heat oil in a skillet. Add onion mixture and fry until the onions begin to soften and brown. While the onion mixture is frying, peel Tomatillos and place in boiling water to blanch, about 2 minutes. Remove Tomatillos from the water using a slotted spoon. Add to the skillet with the onion mixture. Continue to cook until everything is tender and a little golden, about 8 minutes.

Remove from heat, pour mixture into a blender. Add Chipotle Peppers, adobo sauce cilantro and beef stock; blend until smooth.

Transfer sauce to a saucepan. Let simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. If sauce becomes too thick, add a little more beef stock. Hold at room temperature until ready to use.

Filet Mignon
4 (5 oz) Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon Steaks
Kosher Salt to taste
1 tablespoon Butter
1-1/2 tablespoons Olive Oil
4 (4-inch) Corn Tortillas
4 slices Pepper Jack Cheese

Remove steaks from the refrigerator. Season with salt; set aside on the counter for 30 minutes.

While the steaks come to temperature, heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until smoking, about 20 minutes. Once the skillet is hot, add a little butter and oil. Allow the butter an oil to heat, about 2 minutes, swirling the pan.
Without overcrowding the pan, place steaks in the skillet to sear well, including the bacon-wrapped sides. Hold filets bacon-sides down, and sear for about 3 minutes, rolling as necessary to crisp the bacon. Lay steaks flat, continue to sear another 3 minutes per side, turning once. Remove steaks from skillet and keep warm.

To the now empty skillet; add about half of the sauce. Return filets to skillet, coat with the sauce. Gently heat for about 6 minutes over low heat, turning once.

While the steaks simmer in the sauce, finish the shrimp. In a sauté pan over medium heat, cook shrimp about 3 minutes per side, until pink. Remove from heat, squeeze lime juice over shrimp. Skewer 2 shrimp on each of 4 cocktail skewers. Keep warm.

To Assemble:
Generously ladle remaining chipotle sauce onto individual plates, set aside.

Place tortillas on a rimmed baking sheet. Place steaks on each tortilla. Top each steak with a slice of pepper jack cheese. Pop under the broiler just long enough for the cheese to melt. Remove from oven, place individually for serving. Top each steak with skewered shrimp.

Place tortilla with steak on top of the sauce of each plate. If desired, drizzle with any remaining sauce left in the pan and garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve and enjoy.

If desired, steak can be served “naked” – skip the cheese, lade on the sauce and serve as is with shrimp on the side.

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