Let me say, this dinner takes my breath away. It is absolutely delicious and beautiful too. It’s definitely a special occasion type of meal. I’ve made it for my husband’s 30th birthday and also for a few holiday meals. It’s a great example of how quality ingredients don’t need too much fuss or a long list of ingredients. Seriously. Make this. I may have shed a tear of utter joy the first time I took a bite, it’s that good. You will not regret it. You can easily double the recipe if you’re cooking for a large group of people. I even made this with venison tenderloin one year after my brother, Valentin, shot a deer. It was delicious too.
Tie the roast with kitchen twine, about 1 1/2 inches apart. This will keep it the roast in a nice tight bundle. Sprinkle it all over with the 1 teaspoon of salt and let it stand at room temperature for about 1 hour, covered with plastic wrap.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees, while the roast is “salting”.
Pat the roast dry with a paper towel. Rub it all over with the softened 2 Tablespoons of butter. Place on a rimmed baking sheet on top of a rack.
Roast in the preheated oven for 55-70 minutes, turning it over halfway through, depending on how thick your roast is and how done you want the meat to be int he center. It should be about 135 degrees for a medium roast, or 140 degrees if you like your meat a little bit more cooked. I wouldn’t recommend cooking it more, since the meat will be dry.
While the roast is baking, make the flavored butter. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients and mash them with a fork.
Wrap it in plastic wrap, forming it into a log shape.
Place it in the freezer or the refrigerator until it’s firm. You can make this a few days or even weeks in advance.
In a large skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon of oil on medium high heat. Add the beef tenderloin and cook for 1-2 minutes per side, 4-8 minutes total, until each side is a lovely golden color.
Place the garlic herb butter on top of the hot roast, at which point it will start to melt. Let the meat rest for about 15 minutes.
- 1 beef tenderloin (center cut, 1½ – 2 lbs)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 Tablespoons oil, vegetable or canola
- 4 Tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper, each
- Tie the roast with kitchen twine, about 1½ inches apart. This will keep it the roast in a nice tight bundle.
- Sprinkle it all over with the 1 teaspoon of salt and let it stand at room temperature for about 1 hour, covered with plastic wrap.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees, while the roast is “salting”.
- Pat the roast dry with a paper towel. Rub it all over with the softened 2 Tablespoons of butter.
- Place it on a rimmed baking sheet on top of a rack.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 55-70 minutes, turning it over halfway through, depending on how thick your roast is and how done you want the meat to be int he center. It should be about 135 degrees for a medium roast.
- While the beef is roasting, make the flavored butter. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients and mash them with a fork. Wrap it in plastic wrap, forming it into a log shape. Place it in the freezer or the refrigerator until it’s firm. You can make this a few days or even weeks in advance.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon of oil on medium high heat.
- Add the beef tenderloin and cook for 1-2 minutes per side, 4-8 minutes total, until each side is a lovely golden color.
- Place the garlic herb butter on top of the hot roast, at which point it will start to melt. Let the meat rest for about 15 minutes before you cut into it.
This looks divine! I have a few questions.
1. Where do you buy kitchen twine?
2. Is there specific technique you use when you tie the roast? I never done it before.
I noticed that you don’t use those black/ nonstick pans. What do you do so your food don’t stick to the bottom?
Hi Natasha,
1. I usually buy my kitchen twine in a restaurant supply store. You can also buy it online, but ask around in your local stores that sell kitchen supplies or even grocery stores. I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to find it, since it’s a common item.
2. There are different ways to tie a roast. I’ll try to do a post to show you several examples. The easiest is to cut individual pieces of twine and tie them tightly around the roast and then cutting off the leftover twine.
3. I use both nonstick skillets and stainless steel skillets, each for different purposes. I’ll also do a post about cooking in different skillets. I use nonstick skillets when I cook delicate things like eggs or fish. Stainless steel skillets are great to use when you want the meat to have a beautiful golden brown and crispy exterior, which you wouldn’t achieve by using a nonstick pan. I wrote a little bit about cooking meat in a stainless steel skillet and how to keep it from sticking to the pan in the post Rum Glazed Pork Tenderloin. First of all, you need to make sure that the meat is dry. Use a paper towel to pat the meat dry.
Second, you need to make sure that you heat the skillet to a high temperature. You should see wisps coming up from the oil in the skillet, but not smoking, otherwise you will burn the exterior but the meat will still be raw in the center. Third, LEAVE THE MEAT ALONE, until it releases from the skillet by itself. Gently try to lift the meat with your tongs; if it’s still not done, it will stick to the skillet. It will release beautifully when it’s ready and you can flip it over at this point.
However, it’s important to have a good quality skillet, where the heat distributes evenly throughout the surface of the skillet, or your meat will not cook correctly.
Hi Olga,
İt seems gorgeous. I planned to cook it for the new year’s meal.
But I have some questions. After heating the owen to 300 degrees, do you cook the meat 55-70 minutes in 300 degrees or in 140 degrees. I could not understand that instruction part.
Regards,
Hi Gozde,
You cook the beef tenderloin in a 300 degree oven until the MEAT in the center is 135-140 degrees. There is a thermometer that you insert into the center of the meat to check it’s temperature. It’s the most accurate way of checking if the meat is done.
Where did you buy beef tenderloin? I was looking for it at my local grocery store and I didnt see it.
Many times they do not have beef tenderloin with all the other meat in the store. Ask the butcher and they can prepare a roast for you.
Whats the price range?
What is the price range?
Prices are different in every store.
Well the reason why I was asking is because I went to the store and they had beef tenderloin cuts in thick steaks and they were $17.99 per lb so i was wondering if that was a regular price or at least around there.
Most of the time, Beef Tenderloin is found only cut up in steaks, just like you saw. For this recipe, you need a roast. You can ask your butcher and he’ll bring it out from the back. That’s what they use to cut filet mignon steaks. It is a pricier piece of meat.