Cook Beef Tenderloin

Beef tenderloin, known for its mild flavor and juicy succulence, is any chef's dream. Because the tenderloin, which is situated under the ribs and beneath the backbone, gets very little use during the life of the animal, it tends to be very tender, and thus, very expensive. Cuts range anywhere from $5/lb to $9 or $10/lb. At any cost, it's well worth the money, especially if you find it on discount, and relatively easy to prepare. Beef tenderloin is a great main dish for Christmas dinner or family gatherings; a whole tenderloin will feed about 10 people.

Steps

Choosing Your Tenderloin

1. Consider buying a whole tenderloin or tenderloin in bulk. Beef tenderloin is expensive, meaning the more that you buy, the better bang for your buck you'll get. Plus, beef tenderloin stores extremely well in the freezer, meaning any meat that you don't plan on using will keep until you next decide to treat yourself.
   • Try storing your tenderloin in a freezer-safe vacuum pack for ideal freshness. When you're ready to defrost your tenderloin, simply remove it from the freezer and let it thaw slowly overnight in your refrigerator.
2. Purchase beef tenderloin labeled "prime" or "choice" for the best quality and flavor. The USDA grades some cuts of meat, in part to ensure certain safety standards are met, and in part to ensure that the customer knows what they're buying. While the grades depend on numerous factors — including marbling (the amount of fat interspersed in the muscle), maturity, and skeletal ossification — what's important to know is that beef labeled prime or choice are the two highest grades a cut of meat can get.
   • From highest quality to lowest, the USDA beef grades go as follows: Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, Canner. Utility, Cutter, and Canner, while available, are rarely sold at retail and are mostly used as processed meat.
3. Choose your cut of tenderloin with respect to how much extra trimming you'd expect to do before cooking. Beef tenderloin comes either "peeled," "unpeeled," or as "PSMO." Each varietal requires different amounts of labor in order to prep the meat before cooking.
   • Peeled tenderloin comes with the fat removed, but the silver skin remaining. Silver skin is the rubbery, white connective tissue that's often on red meat.
   • Unpeeled tenderloin contains both fat and silver skin on the cut of meat. This is the least expensive cut of tenderloin, but also the hardest and most time-intensive to prepare.
   • PSMOs stand for "peeled, silver skin removed, and side muscle on." Because the butcher has already done most of the work for the chef, there's very little prep work involved on these cuts, although they do tend to be more expensive than the rest.

Trimming

1. Trim away excess fat and the silverskin from the tenderloin. Again, if you want to make your life easier or you've never trimmed meat before, stick with PSMOs instead of buying your tenderloin unpeeled. The process of trimming can be quite tricky if you don't know what you're doing.
   • On a PSMO tenderloin, simply cut into the fat and/or silver skin. Lift up a piece with your hands and safely begin cutting away more as you continue to lift up the flaps of fat and silver skin with your fingers. Continue until all noticeable fat and silver skin has been removed.
2. Locate the membrane that holds the side meat (also called the "chain"). Cut the chain, which is fattier and tougher, off from the rest of the loin. Freeze and save for later.
3. Cut off the large section attached to the main keel, also called the chateaubriand. Wrap and save for later. The chateaubriand is a great piece of meat and can be used it any number of dishes.
4. Cut the tenderloin in half with a chef's knife for easier handling (optional). Do this especially if you've never cooked tenderloin before, or if you're only serving a few people. A whole beef tenderloin is about 6 pounds (2.72 kg), or enough for about 10 people.
   • Place one cut portion of tenderloin in the freezer or refrigerator to cook later. Again, tenderloin keeps very well as long as you thaw it slowly in the refrigerator.

Trussing

1. Start with a long piece of butcher's twine. Butcher's twine is the best, easiest way to truss the tenderloin, although some heavy cotton cord — as used for kites — will do in a pinch.
2. Bring your string under one side of the roast and drape the string over the top of the meat.
3. Tie a butcher's knot. Bring both pieces of string together and loop one string under the other twice. Tighten the string, then twist the pieces of string and tie a simple overhand knot.
   • Make sure that when you tie the butcher's knot, you leave enough rope at the end of your knot. You'll need a little bit of rope at the very end of the trussing process to tie both ends of the rope together.
4. With the remaining string, make a large loop with your hand. Do this by taking the string around your hand and then twisting your hand. A simple loop should form.
5. Wrap the loop under the tenderloin and tighten about an inch from the last loop. Tighten the loop by tugging on the free line while holding the loop knot in place with one hand. Make sure that the loop knots are lined up in a relatively straight line.
6. Make another loop with your hand and continue the process of looping and tying off. Loop and tie off in the same manner, separating each loop by about an inch, until you reach the end of the roast.
7. Flip the tenderloin over once the entire top side is trussed.
8. Going the opposite direction with your twine you went on the top side, start feeding the twine under and then over each loop. Wrap the string under one loop, then over and under again, working down the roast in a straight line.
9. Wrap the twine under, then over and under again, until each loop has been tied off.
10. Finish with a butcher's knot on the top side of the tenderloin. Bring both ends of the rope together, loop one end underneath the other twice, and finish off with a simple overhead knot. Your roast is now officially trussed!

Cooking

1. Salt your tenderloin generously, at least 40 minutes to an hour in advance of cooking. Salting your meat brings moisture out to the surface, which is why you should never salt immediately before cooking, unless dry meat is your sort of thing. Salting far enough in advance fixed this problem:
   • When you salt far enough in advance, the salt gets a chance to enter back into the cut of meat. This process is called osmosis. This process, however, takes a while, which is why you should prepare enough in advance.
2. Allow the tenderloin to come to room temperature. If you've just bought the tenderloin, allow it to sit in a cool place on your counter. Meat that has been chilling in the refrigerator generally takes 30 minutes to an hour in order to come to room temperature. Meat that has come to room temperature takes less time to cook and generally turns out easier to cook, as the meat on the outside doesn't dry out before the meat on the inside gets a chance to cook through.
3. Right before it's ready to start cooking, season your tenderloin with herbs and spices. What you do with your tenderloin is completely up to you. Suffice it to say that simple is often better than elaborate. Here are some different herb combinations that you can try out:
   • Chopped garlic, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, crushed black pepper.
   • Coriander, cumin, clove, and nutmeg.
   • Curry powder, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, chopped garlic.
4. Preheat your oven to 425° F (218° C).
5. While the oven is preheating, place a large skillet over medium-high heat on your stove. Pour a thin layer of vegetable oil in the heated skillet and wait for the oil to just start smoking.
6. Sear each side of the roast until brown, approximately four minutes. You're not trying to fully cook the tenderloin here, just give it a nice color and begin to develop some flavors on the outside. Remove the tenderloin from the skillet when searing is finished.
7. Lay the tenderloin in a roasting pan and insert a cooking thermometer into the tenderloin. The thermometer tip should be in the innermost portion of the meat.
8. Cook the tenderloin in the preheated oven until the thermometer reads 125° F Fahrenheit (51.1° Celsius). This process should take a little under an hour, depending on the thickness of the tenderloin. This temperature produces a medium rare tenderloin. If you prefer your meat less well done or more well done, consult this guide:
   • 120° F (48.8° C) = Rare
   • 130° F (54.4° C) = Medium rare
   • 140° F (60° C) = Medium
   • 150° F (65.5° C) = Medium well
   • 160° F (71.1° C) = Well done
9. Take the beef tenderloin out of the oven and let it sit for about 15 minutes before carving. The meat will continue to cook even after taken out of the oven. But most importantly, letting the meat rest will ensure a juicier tenderloin when you finally do cut into it.
   • Cooking meat causes its muscles to contract. This sends the juices toward the center of the meat. If you cut into the meat right after it's been removed from the oven, the juices will all run out because they're localized in one place. If you give the meat time to rest, however, the muscles relax and the juices disperse back into the whole cut of meat. Give your tenderloin at least 10 minutes of R & R for a much juicer experience.
10. Enjoy.

Tips

• Patting the meat dry before searing will help the tenderloin sear evenly.
• When tying the tenderloin with butcher string, make sure the string presses firmly against the meat. String that is too tight or too loose will interfere with cooking.
• Remove the second tenderloin from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before taking the first tenderloin out of the oven. Follow the same steps for searing, basting and cooking as the first cut of meat. You can heat this tenderloin to an inner temperature of about 130 degrees Fahrenheit (65.55 degrees Celsius) for a pinker middle that is not as rare.

Warnings

• The tenderloin will be very hot after searing and cooking. Use proper oven mitts to protect your hands from burns.

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