Saute the filet in some basil and olive oil and vinegar for a few hours minimum before. Never salt a steak ahead of time, some say do this, but you're only gonna upset the fluid balance of the meat.

Hell, good meat needs no salt at all, the salt come from any garnish or sauce you apply after cooking. I also add pepper only after, because burnt pepper can be bitter.

Grill on a flaming hot seasoned iron skillet, or cook outdoors if possible, because it's gonna smoke. And get some big metal tongs to flip that puppy. Non-stick pans are great, but you'll burn the teflon off of it, before you get it to the proper temperature for really cooking a steak.

Steak should be cooked at 1,000 degrees if you can manage it, picking it off the grill often lest it burns, but only turning it when the side is cooked (maybe 2-4 minutes depending on thickness of cut and "doneness" desired).

Beef is always best served rare to medium-rare, never well-done, keeping in mind that meat continues to cook even after it leaves the heat.

Never press down on any meat or burger, thinking that you're "sealing in" the juices. Bullshit, you're ruining it and drying it out.

After taking it off the skillet, put a pat of butter on the steak. Then always let a steak rest at least 5 minutes before cutting, to allow the meat and juices to set up. Put steak on a heated plate after five minutes to maintain warmth, then immediately serve, where then warm sauteed garlic and onion is applied.

Never put onion powder or garlic powder on meat before cooking, as it ruins the flavor and will burn. And never use it after, particularly on a good steak. Fresh garlic and onions is so easy to prepare, just never burn the garlic nor should it even brown.

Garlic cooks in hot olive oil in about five seconds. Heat the oil in a small pan, toss in the garlic, stir for five seconds, remove from heat and allow to soften off the heat.

Never cook garlic and onions together. Onions can caramelize and still have a good flavor. Garlic when it caramelizes gets bitter and awful. Add garlic to onions a few minutes after the onions are done cooking, so as not to burn the garlic in the hot onions, then toss the mix in the pan to blend.

The more you play around with good beef, the worse it gets. It's the opposite of your dick.