Beef Filet & Caviar Crostini

Name: Beef Filet & Caviar Crostini
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 2 Creekstone Farm’s Beef Tenderloin Steaks; Cornhusker Kitchen Spray Duck Fat; Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Garlic Salt; 1 clove garlic, crushed, peeled; 8 slices baguette; 2 tbsp unsalted butter; 2 tbsp Texas Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil; 1/4 cup creme fraiche; 1 tbsp Kozlik’s Dijon Classique; Kilo Select Sturgeon Caviar

Dec 31, 2024 • Tom Jackson

This luxurious appetizer combines the richness of seared Creekstone Farms beef tenderloin with the elegance of Kilo caviar. Start by preheating a Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill and a Lodge Steel Skillet. Coat Creekstone Farms Beef Tenderloin Steaks with duck fat and season with black garlic salt. Sear the steaks in a skillet with butter, olive oil, and garlic, basting frequently until they reach 120ºF. Rest the steaks, then toast baguette slices in the flavorful fats. Prepare a tangy dijon crème fraiche and pipe it onto the toasted baguettes. Top with slices of rested beef and finish with a dollop of caviar for an exquisite bite.

What You'll Love

The skillet does double duty. The butter, olive oil, and crushed garlic that sear the filets stay in the pan after the steaks come out — the baguette slices toast directly in those beef-infused fats. Every crostini base carries the flavor of the sear.
Pulling the filet at 120°F is the move. Carryover heat during the 5–10 minute rest brings it to 125–130°F — the perfect medium-rare for sliced tenderloin on a crostini. Any higher and the texture changes against the caviar.
The Dijon crème fraîche is the flavor bridge. Crème fraîche is tangy and rich; Kozlik's Dijon adds a sharp, vinegary mustard note that cuts through both the beef fat and the brininess of the caviar — without it, the three components (bread, beef, caviar) read as separate rather than unified.
Caviar goes on last, cold, at serving. Room-temperature or warm caviar loses its firm pop and its delicate flavor flattens. Build the crostini, add the beef, then spoon the caviar directly from refrigeration immediately before serving.

Beef Filet & Caviar Crostini

Tom Jackson

Rated 5.0 stars by 3 users

Servings

8

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Calories

200

Level up your entertaining with these Beef Filet & Caviar Crostini, a luxurious yet approachable appetizer that combines tender, perfectly seared beef with the refined flavor of sturgeon caviar. Toasted baguette slices provide the perfect base, topped with a creamy dijon crème fraiche and finished with a touch of indulgence. This simple yet sophisticated recipe is sure to impress your guests and bring a touch of elegance to any gathering.

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Ingredients

2 Creekstone Farm’s Beef Tenderloin Steaks
Cornhusker Kitchen Spray Duck Fat
Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Garlic Salt
1 clove garlic, crushed, peeled
8 slices baguette
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp Texas Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup creme fraiche
1 tbsp Kozlik’s Dijon Classique
Kilo Select Sturgeon Caviar

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Directions

Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 450ºF, with the diffuser door removed and the griddle installed over the firebox.
Place a Lodge 10” Steel Skillet on the griddle to preheat for 10 minutes.
Spray the steaks with duck fat. Season with Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Garlic Salt.
Place the butter, Texas Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and crushed garlic clove in the skillet. When the butter is melted, add the steaks and cook to sear, basting with butter occasionally with a spoon. When the first side is seared, flip and continue cooking, basting frequently. Remove the steaks from the skillet when they reach an internal temperature of 120ºF.
While the steaks rest, toast the slices of baguette in the remaining fats in the skillet.
Mix the creme fraiche and Kozlik’s Dijon Classique in a bowl, then transfer to a piping bag or zip top bag.
Chop or slice the beef after resting for 5-10 minutes.
Pipe the Dijon creme fraiche onto the toasted baguettes. Top with the beef, then add a dollop of caviar on top.

Recipe Note

Why pull the filets at 120°F instead of a higher temperature?

Beef tenderloin sliced thin for crostini is best served at true medium-rare — 125–130°F after rest. Pulling at 120°F gives you that 5–10 degree carryover window during the rest without overshooting. At 130°F+ the filet loses the silky, almost buttery texture that makes tenderloin worth the price, and that texture difference is especially noticeable against the cool, delicate caviar on top. Use an instant-read thermometer; tenderloin steaks are thin enough that a few extra degrees happen fast in a 450°F skillet environment.

What is Kilo Select Sturgeon Caviar and why does this recipe use it?

Kilo is an American caviar producer working with sustainably farmed white sturgeon. Their Select grade is a mid-tier offering — firm, lightly briny, with a clean finish that doesn't overwhelm the beef. It's the right call for this build: a more assertively flavored osetra or sevruga caviar would compete with the garlic-butter sear and the Dijon, whereas the Kilo Select complements without dominating. If Kilo isn't available, any American farmed sturgeon caviar of similar grade works. Avoid heavily processed or pasteurized caviar — the texture becomes gummy and the flavor muddies against the beef.

Why baste the filets with butter rather than just leaving them in the pan?

Active basting — tilting the pan and spooning the butter, oil, and garlic mixture over the top of the steak continuously — accelerates the surface cook without additional contact time on the heat. The hot fat carries garlic flavor directly onto the crust and keeps the surface from drying out between flips. On a 1.5–2" thick filet at 450°F, basting also helps the top surface begin to cook while the bottom sears, compressing the total cook time and keeping the center at the rare end of the target range when pulled at 120°F.

Can I use a different mustard instead of Kozlik's Dijon Classique?

Any smooth, traditional Dijon works — the key is that it's Dijon specifically, not yellow mustard or whole grain. Dijon's vinegar base and white wine content give the crème fraîche mixture its characteristic sharpness and fluidity; whole grain mustard produces a chunkier, more textured spread that pipes poorly and distributes unevenly on the crostini. Kozlik's Dijon Classique is a clean, balanced option without aggressive heat — if you substitute, choose a similar mild, smooth Dijon rather than a spiced or flavored variety.

Can I make this indoors?

Indoor cooking rating: 5 out of 5 — Perfect for indoor or outdoor cooking. A cast iron or carbon steel skillet on a high-heat stovetop burner replicates the sear identically. The basting technique, the baguette toast in the residual fats, and the crème fraîche assembly are all naturally stovetop and countertop steps. There is no grill-specific element in this recipe — the YS640s firebox environment simply provides a very stable high-heat platform for the skillet. This is one of the most naturally indoor-compatible recipes in the catalog.

Recipe Highlights

Preheat the Skillet for 10 Minutes Before Anything Goes In: Direction step 2 calls for placing the Lodge 10" steel skillet on the preheated griddle for 10 full minutes before the butter or steaks go in. A cold or warm skillet produces a gray, steamed exterior on the filet rather than an immediate sear crust. At 450°F on a preheated skillet, the butter melts and clarifies almost instantly when it hits the pan, and the steak sears on contact. Don't shortcut the preheat.
Duck Fat Spray Before the Black Garlic Salt: Spraying the steaks with Cornhusker Kitchen duck fat before seasoning creates a tacky surface that holds the Jacobsen Black Garlic Salt in place through handling and the initial sear. Duck fat's high smoke point (375°F+) means it won't burn before the crust sets in the skillet. It also adds a subtle richness to the exterior of the filet that complements the butter baste.
Toast the Baguette in the Residual Fats, Not Fresh Oil: Direction step 5 is explicit: toast the baguette slices in the remaining fats in the skillet after the steaks come out. Those fats now contain rendered beef juices, garlic, and the fond from the sear — toasting in them infuses the crostini base with a savory depth that neutral oil or fresh butter can't replicate. Don't wipe the pan or add fresh fat before the baguette goes in.
Pipe the Crème Fraîche, Don't Spread It: Direction step 6 transfers the Dijon crème fraîche mixture to a piping bag before applying to the crostini. Piping produces a controlled, consistent dollop on each baguette slice and keeps the application clean — spreading with a knife compresses and tears the toasted bread surface and produces uneven coverage. A zip-top bag with one corner snipped works as well as a formal piping bag for this quantity.