Happy Holidays Everyone! I do hope you are enjoying this lovely spring long weekend. I am very fortunate because we decided to close the studio on Friday AND Monday, so it’s extra lovely for me.
We’re just finishing off our Paul and T weekend and this is the last new recipe I’m posting of that series. I’d like to begin the way I’ve ALWAYS began my posts about the Paul and T weekends: We’ve survived another Paul and T weekend (see here or here or here or here to name a few). And I say it with a heart full of love and gratitude that they visit us…but there is only so much eating and drinking one can take. We’re dieting for the next three weeks ;-)!
I had never made beef tenderloin before I saw this recipe in Epicurious a few years ago; now it’s my ‘go to’ recipe for tenderloin. I was intrigued by the recipe because the first instruction was this: “Sprinkle entire surface of beef tenderloin with coarse kosher salt. Place beef on rack set over large rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate uncovered at least 24 hours and up to 36 hours.” Really? Could that be true? It goes against everything I think the salt will do, like dry it out completely! If it wasn’t for the 173 comments, I probably would have passed right by, because I don’t know about your parts of the world, but beef tenderloin could cost as much as $60 to feed 6 people, and I’m not about to wreck a $60 piece of meat! But this recipe is A M A Z I N G! Really. And I think it would be even more amazing using some of the flavoured salts that Kristy (from Eat, Play, Love; our family food adventures) won in January during my first give away. Sadly I didn’t have any on hand but a quick trip to Longo’s this past weekend, I now have a lovely selection that I will definitely try the next time (the espresso salt or the Wild Porcini or the Black Truffle or the Aged Balsamic would be amazing for this recipe).
This was our first dinner together on Thursday night. We almost couldn’t stop eating it (that’s why the photo looks a little lame…I had to wait for the next day and this was all that was left!)
Roast Beef Tenderloin with Port Sauce
Beef Ingredients:
- 1 4- to 5-pound trimmed whole beef tenderloin, tail end tucked under, tied every 3 inches
- 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt (or infused salt as above)
Sauce Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, divided
- 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
- 3 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
- 1 fresh rosemary sprig
- 1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
- 1 cup ruby or tawny Port
- 1 cup Homemade Beef Stock or Low Sodium Beef Stock
Roasting Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns, coarsely cracked in mortar with pestle or in resealable plastic bag with mallet
Directions for beef:
- Sprinkle entire surface of beef tenderloin with coarse kosher salt.
- Place beef on rack set over large rimmed baking sheet. and refrigerate uncovered at least 24 hours and up to 36 hours.
Directions for sauce:
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shallots; sauté until soft, 3 minutes.
- Add Cognac, rosemary, and 1 teaspoon cracked pepper and cook until liquid evaporates, 1 minute.
- Add Port; bring to simmer. Add all of beef stock. Boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes.
- Strain into medium saucepan, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids in strainer.
Note: The sauce can be made 24 to 36 hours ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and chill.
Directions for roasting:
- Let beef stand at room temperature 1 hour before roasting.
- Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425°F.
- Rub beef all over with oil; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cracked peppercorns, pressing to adhere. Return beef to rack on baking sheet and roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 125°F for medium-rare (135°F to 140°F in thinnest part), about 30 minutes.
- Remove roast from oven and let rest 15 minutes.
Note: Several comments suggest that you sear the beef, but I did not do that and it was still incredibly succulent and tender.
Plating:
- Bring sauce to boil; whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
- Cut off string from roast. Cut roast crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices; arrange on platter. Serve with sauce and the celeriac and cauliflower mash.
This looks company-worthy for sure. Perfection. With this cold weather, I’ve been eating a lot more meat. Or at lest thinking about eating it! Great recipe.
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Thank you kindly Ruth, it’s a go to recipe for sure. I’ve served it to everyone I know do now I have to find another one!
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[…] Best Beef Tenderloin Ever […]
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[…] decided to go nontraditional and have a beef tenderloin for lunch. This recipe is my favourite way to serve this special cut of […]
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Yum!! Your beef tenderloin looks fantastic Eva! I’m bookmarking this recipe aside for a special occasion!
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It sure is a special occasion dinner, Amber, but well worth it. Even thinking about it is making my mouth water.
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This is a must make, I am sold because there no need to sear the meat and it still comes out great.
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It really is the best tenderloin I’ve ever had, thanks Norma.
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Make it a ruby port in the sauce for me and a second helping! 🙂 Hope you had a great Easter Eva!
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I tried getting ruby port but was unsuccessful, is the taste significantly different?
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Oh yes. Ruby’s typically express dark fruit characteristic similar to red wines, while tawny ports have caramel, nutty, orange etc characteristics. Hence usually rubys are better paired with red meats. 🙂
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I know where to go for anything about booze! You know what you’re talking about! Thanks!
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Always at your service Eva! 🙂
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Thanks Jed!
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I love beef tenderloin because of the low fat quotient and it’s tenderness. I’ve copied this one under my Recipes to try and I can’t wait! What a wonderful time feasting with friends.. I’m in a food coma from Easter Sunday!!
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Hi Smidge, we don’t eat beef all that often so when we do, we like it to have a real bang for the buck; this recipe does it every time.
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Eva, if you say that this is the BEST beef tenderloin ever, then it must be good. I am definitely going to make this next time I host a fancy dinner party. Thanks for sharing this one Eva!
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I cannot believe I haven’t made this for you guys yet. I’m on the hunt for a tenderloin sale…
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Well guess what I’ll be using some of those salts on?! I’m making this to thank my in-laws for watching the kids for a us a few weekends ago (we got to enjoy a little grown-up getaway). I was trying to come up with something good, but our tastes are so different. This will be perfect!!!! And I’ve used a ton of the lime salt and some of the Chardonnay salt. Both are fabulous! Thank you again. 🙂
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I’ve tried the lime salt too and love it, Kristy! I have yet to open the Chardonnay. I love how easy this dish is. You can prep everything in advance and just pop the meat in the oven. 30 minutes later, you’re done. 10 minutes to rest and you’re serving a five star restaurant quality dinner. Hope it goes as well for you.
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Aw, yummy – I don’t have tenderloin much… it seems to be difficult to find here. There are the “tournedos” steaks which is the tenderloin cut up into steaks, but the French don’t seem to do whole tenderloin much… from what I can see.
Question though – why keep the beef uncovered? I like keep thing covered up in the fridge as much as possible otherwise the product ends up infused with “fridge smell”.
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Not too sure about that, Charles. I usually do cover it for the same reason, I should have mentioned it — I’ll add a note now.
You know those ridiculous shower caps you get in hotel rooms? I usually collect them and use them to cover bowls. They are very handy.
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I THINK the surface of the roast is left to dry and form a crusty layer so that when you bake it you get a crunchy outside and, in some way, it may also keep the moisture inside the roast itself. I don’t know for sure though … it’s just a vague memory I seem to have from cooking shows.
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It seems like a reasonable answer, Maria but my roast is never hard on the outside!
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What a wonderful meal you served your friends, Eva! Few meals can compare with a tenderloin cooked to perfection and yours certainly does look the part. I would love to try a mash of cauliflower and celeriac, especially if there’s a little of your port sauce on the plate. Such a feast!
Hope your Easter is a happy one!
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Thanks John. We bloggers do have one thing in common, we certainly love feeding people! And serving food to people who appreciate it like our friends makes the experience all that more richer. Hope you had a happy Easter too!
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Cognac and port? Yep, sounds perfect to me. Happy Easter.
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And to you too Greg. The cognac rounds out the sauce quite nicely while the port is the back bone of it. Hope you give it a try, I think this one is right up your alley.
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Yum! I love a good tenderloin dish! Yours looks great with the port sauce. Happy Easter!
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Thanks Yudith, happy easter to you too!
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Looks very tender and it pairs so well with port sauce.
Happy Easter!
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Thank you kindly Angie, the port sauce was wonderful with it. Just the right amount of sweetness.
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I rarely have beef but greatly appreciate a medium-rare melt in your mouth steak whenever I can get it. This looks delicious.
Happy YEaster.
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We’re the same, Maria, plus the cost of one of these roasts, we really can’t afford to unless it’s on sale. Metro sometimes has a good sale and they sell reasonable sized roasts. Happy yEaster to you too! he he he he!
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I’ve bought the 2 or rarely 3 bone standing rib roast but usually end up overcooking it so it’s tougher that I’d like. I have to learn to bring the meat to room temperature before I put it into the oven. 😦
I’d love make one, one of these days, with some Yorkshire puddings and gravy after being inspired again by Charles’ recent post. I usually end up buying a can of beef gravy to with it.
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Maria, you should get some beef bones and just roast them up with some onions, carrots and celery. The oven roasted bones make excellent gravy and to thicken, just use the veg you roasted them with (it’s cheap too). I find the canned stuff has way too much sodium.
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If I were going to slather salt on something, I think it would need to be espresso salt or black truffle salt. Those flavors are wonderful to think about.
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I liked the sound of the espresso salt the best too, Sharyn!
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Oh, yeah — porcini salt sounds amazing, too, though — I hit the button before I realized I had left it out.
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Tenderloin and port…now that is a fine match, and this sounds really delicious, Eva. And like Cecilia, I’m intrigued by the celeriac and cauliflower mash…it sounds terrific, though I’ve never cooked with celeriac and only tasted it a few times. May have to give it a go…I love finding new veggie ideas!
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Thank you Betsy, I really enjoy the celery mash and without guilt. I like something to drown in gravy, just like the next guy or gal, so this is something I don’t feel bad about eating.
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This sounds perfect and I have grass fed tenderloin in my freezer. I am fascinated by your celeriac and cauliflower mash though. I have huge celeriac in the garden, do i just dig up the root?. I am going to have to do some research, i use the leaves every day but have not ventured further yet! Morning Eva! c
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I believe that is exactly what you do, Cecilia, not that I’ve ever done it myself. I love this combo because it has enough body like mashed potatoes without the starch or carbs. I was just over at your blog and your photos are lovely.
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Eva, wow this does sound amazing. I really have to try this now! 😮
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Thank you kindly, Lorraine. I hope you enjoy it; do let me know how it turns out.
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Eva, last night when you were eating your beef tenderloin with port wine sauce, I was eating beef tenderloin cut into steaks, barbecued, then served with a Paris butter! I bought a whole eye fillet and asked the butcher (the one that calls me Cherie) to cut it into thick steaks and we took them down to the Beach Club (Carl is a member) last night, invited the neighbours and had a great night. But I would love to try your recipe. You have done a great job of selling it to me. I’ll add this to my ‘to-do’ list. xx
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Hi Charlie! That’s quite the coincidence! I’ve not thought about cutting it into steaks before; I bet it was so tender. It’s so nice that you have the beach do close by. Lake Ontario is about a 20 minute walk from our house, but the beach is not so nice. And there isn’t really anywhere I would want to entertain. It looks like your temperatures are still summery (or shall I say finally summery), so you must have had an incredible time. What a wonderful way to spend a weekend. I really do wish we were neighbours, Cherie!
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