Beef tenderloin makes for a perfect entrée in an extensive dinner with friends and family. Be it your special anniversary dinner or a casual weekend dinner, you can always rely on this meat cut to present a minimal yet delicious centerpiece dish that leaves a mark. Also known as filet mignon roast, this beef cut is succulent and butter-tender, making it the favorite dish of many people in the country.
Tenderloin cuts of beef come with an expensive price tag. It might be the priciest one in the meat cuts section of your local grocery store, thus, making it essential to cook it properly. It can be cooked in your oven, barbeque grill, pan, smoker, or slow cooker- as you like it, but the technique is what matters. You can find here perfectly cooked beef tenderloins to turn your weekend dinner into a big celebration.
The juicy meat is best served when cooked in medium rare, as cooking the beef beyond medium gets it dry and loses all the flavor. A meat thermometer becomes an essential component of the cooking process.
Tips To Keep In Mind While Preparing The Beef Tenderloin
Beef tenderloin is a lean meat cut that comes from the loins part of the animal. Because the muscle is loosely set and does not get a lot of toning, the beef cut is usually tender and juicy. It is a chef’s dream due to its mild flavors, which allow you to play with your recipe and experiment with the sauces. However, it is essential to do the proper meal prep before you go forward with the cooking technique.
1. Choose The Center Cut:
The center-cut tenderloin, known as chateaubriand, is uniform in shape and is perfect for making the main plate of the dinner. Because of its uniformity, it cooks thoroughly and quickly. It has a cylindrical shape and weighs anywhere between 2 pounds to 3 pounds, making it easier to handle this cut. It cooks beautifully inside out when the proper technique is used, and it is easy to slice the steak into even slices for serving purposes.
2. Prepare It Well:
- It doesn’t matter if you do the butchering job or get it done; the essential thing is to take care of the translucent tissues on the outer body of the tenderloin. You must carefully remove any fat and silver skin from the beef and wash it with clean water several times before using it.
- Remember to season your beef cut well. The beef is a little drier than other meats, thus, requiring a good amount of basic seasoning with fats and salt—the more seasoning, the better the flavor.
- The next step to prepare the cut involves tying it up tightly with a string. This allows it to form into even pieces, which, when pan-seared or placed in the oven, cook evenly. Placing the whole piece as it is may need to cook better.
- Brown your meat before you place it for cooking thoroughly. You can use a large skillet to brown the meat’s skin and lock in all the flavors and juices. This will result in a better-tasting meat dish.
How To Cook Beef Tenderloin?
A cut as tender as this allows you to cook it in a skillet, a pan, a grill or an oven. The choice depends on your reasons, but the most common method of cooking the filet is slow roasting it in the oven at a particular set temperature for that perfect crispy skin and juicy inside of the meat.
Using An Oven:
It takes minimal preparation to cook the filet in the oven. An oven-roasted filet mignon makes for a great entrée in a creamy butter sauce served with mashed potatoes and exotic grilled veggies. Before you start prepping your meat cut, let the meat thaw for some time, say one hour. If the meat is frozen, allowing it to thaw overnight would be best.
Seasoning the steak with salt, pepper, and some fat like butter, mayonnaise, or olive oil can help infuse great flavors that can compliment any sauce or side dish you serve. You can always go right with basic seasoning, but leaving it overnight can be a wise option.
Roasting The Meat:
- Preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit: This has proven to be the ideal temperature for preheating the oven when you want to use it for tender meat like beef.
- Place the meat with the already browned skin on an oven-friendly pan and place the meat inside the oven at the same temperature.
- Cook for 20-25 minutes.
- Insert the meat thermometer to check if the temperature is registered at 130 degrees for medium-rare doneness, which is the ideal cooking stage for the beef cut.
Remember that the roast will continue to brown and warm after you take your meat out of the oven. It is advisable to take it out, leaving enough time for it to cook automatically once out of the oven. There you go with the perfect oven-roasted beef tenderloin that you can serve as your attractive centerpiece dish.
Understanding The Temperature, Weight And Time Dynamics
If you are a newcomer to cooking beef, you must have heard terms like “rare,” “medium rare,” “medium,” etc. This refers to the cooking doneness of the meat. You must understand the temperature and time needed to cook the beef well in the oven.
2-3 Pound Meat Cut:
- For the filet that weighs 2-3 pounds, you may prefer roasting it at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, the ideal temperature for a beef steak.
- Roast it ideally for 30-35 minutes for rare, medium doneness (130-135 degrees Fahrenheit) and 35-40 minutes for medium doneness (140-145 degrees Fahrenheit).
4-5 Pound Meat Cut:
- Ant beef filet that weighs 4-5 pounds needs its own sweet time in the oven. It should be roasted at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- For rare, medium doneness (130-135 degrees Fahrenheit), you need to cook the meat for 50-60 minutes. For medium doneness (140-145 degrees Fahrenheit), oven it for 60-70 minutes.
As the weight of the meat increases, the time in the oven increases as you cannot increase the roasting temperature.
Bottomline
These tips can help you make a perfect tenderloin cut that keeps your guests thrilled. You can serve it with a side of veggies and your favorite sauce combination to add extra oomph and flavor to your dish. When you know the perfect way of roasting the meat, you can serve it the way you like for a luxury family dinner.