I was so happy to see that one of the local grocery stores in Tucson has Beef Tenderloin on sale this week.  We went to the store and bought 2 – one to cook for Christmas and one to freeze! 

Beef Tenderloin or when you cut it into steak portions it is know as fillet mignon is the best cut of meat – when cooked right, it can be fork tender.  When serving a crowd; figure a 1/2# per person.  At our house, we figure a 1# as we don’t eat this wonderful cut of meat very often   And if you are going to spluge on the tenderloin…you might as well make some Bearnasie sauce to drizzle over the top!

Usually beef tenderloin is sold whole in the bag.  When you go the meat department always ask the butcher to remove the silverskin and the tail.  The tail is the tougher part; but good if ground into ground beef or sliced into thin strips for beef stroganoff.   Most butchers will do this free of charge for you!  Also ask the butcher to “tie” the roast for you.  Then all you have to do is season and roast it!

Lets get started…

BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH BEARNAISE SAUCE: (recipe adapted from Tyler Florence)

1 large beef tenderloin (about 3 pounds)

Extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

Assorted fresh herbs such as; thyme, sage and rosemary

3 cloves of garlic – minced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Drizzle the tenderloin with olive oil.  Season well with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.  Rub on the garlic and sprinkle with assorted fresh herbs.  Allow the tenderloin to come to room temperature before cooking.  Place the tenderloin in a large skillet over medium high heat and sear tenderloin on all sides (you may need to add some additional olive oil)  Place the tenderloin on a roasting rack and place in oven.  Roast for 15-17 minutes.  At this point, a meat thermometer should read 135 degrees (thickest part of tenderloin) for medium rare, for medium roast an additional 3 minutes – Keep in mind that when you remove the tenderloin from oven and “tent” a piece of aluminum foil over it – the temperature will rise 5 degrees.  Let set for 10 minutes then slice into 1/2 inch pieces with the bearnaise sauce overtop.

BEARNAISE SAUCE:   (Bearnaise sauce is a classic french accompiant to grilled meat or fish.)

1/2 cup champagne vinegar

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 shallots minced

3 T. fresh tarragon leaves

3 egg yolks

1 stick unsalted real butter, melted

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

To make the reduction for the bearnaise sauce, combine the vinegar, wine shallot and half of the tarragon in a small saucepan and place over medium high heat.  Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool.  Blend egg yolks and bearnaise reduction together in a blender on low speed until combined.  With the blender running on medium speed, add one third of the butter in a slow steady stream.  Once the mixture emulsifies (it will become thick and satiny), turn the blender speed up to high and add the remaining butter.  Add the remaining rarragon and season with salt and pepper.  Pulse in the blender, transfer to a dish and hold in a warm spot until ready to serve.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 23rd, 2011 at 10:57 am and is filed under Beef, Christmas, How to, Main Dish, Marinades, Rubs & Sauces. Tags for this post: bearnaise sauce, beef tenderloin, fancy dinners. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.