Buy it!
Buy a whole beef tenderloin, ask that it be trimmed down, “steak-ready,” the tail tied into the middle for even thickness.
Prep it!
(can be done the AM of the party or up to 10 hours before, depending on how organized you care to be, don’t do it night before or 24 hours, too long to sit)
You now want to make a 1/3 cup of 60/40 oil. This means you take a one-cup measuring cup and eyeball the 1/3 cup mark. Fill 60% of the way with olive oil. Fill the remaining 40% of the way to 1/4 with plain old salad oil. Mix it up.
Rub the tenderloin with your mixed oil. Now take some chopped garlic (yes, use the fresh kind, the pre-chopped is not great on this) and an equal part chopped shallots. Liberally coat the oiled tenderloin with the garlic and shallots. Sprinkle liberally with salt and fresh-cracked black pepper.
Wrap it back up for a couple hours or proceed, depending on how much of a planner you are. If you do let it sit, take it out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for about 20 minutes to come back to temp a bit so it’s not stone cold as you move ahead.
Cook it!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Heat up a big, high-quality roaster pan (I use the turkey roaster pan, you want a pan that will conduct heat evenly but try not to make it too big or too small a pan) with grapeseed oil or some other high-heat oil (trust me on the oil) on one or two burners. When the oil gets hot (but not super-smoking), brown the tenderloin to seal it but don’t let the garlic and shallots become bitter and burned, yuck! You just want to seal the meat and maybe brown a touch but you don’t need to cook the thing.
Once it’s all sealed and nice, you have a choice. You can now stake some raw, thick-cut bacon on top (about three or four strips, tacked down with toothpicks). Or you can realize you have forgotten to buy the bacon or you’re in a hurry or you’ve already started drinking and you just plain forget to do this until you suddenly notice the bacon in your fridge after the tenderloin is already cooking. No matter, it’s still just lovely. Your choice. The bacon sort of bastes thing (plus makes for a lovely hors d’oeuvre just for you) but you also might want a nice, even garlic/shallot crust. Whatever blows your skirt up.
You are now going to cook it for about 20 minutes, giving it a spin in the oven after ten minutes (yes, halfway around, halfway through the cooking time). After this point, after 20 minutes, you need to start checking the center with an instant read meat thermometer. You want it to end up between 130 and 140 degrees. This will probably take about 30 minutes. I pull in the low 130s as it will continue to “cook” once pulled from the oven. Once you reach 130-133, pull it from the oven. Let rest for at least 10-15 minutes.
Serve it!
Now you have a decision. If you are making this ahead to serve at room temp, let cool and WRAP IN TIN FOIL WHOLE. Do not slice it. Do NOT give in to temptation!! I don’t care how “Martha” you need to feel, no tenderloin deserves a night in Tupperware. Instead, slice only just before the party, before the guests arrive so it has time to warm to room during drinks.
If you are serving the tenderloin now, warm on a buffet, start slicing, being careful of the strings (don’t forget them) and flinging any burnt garlic or shallots into the sink.
Voila.
Serve with Horseradish Sauce, copied here straight outta the Silver Palate Cookbook for your convenience.
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper
Whip cream to stiff peaks. Combine mayo, horseradish and mustard in another bowl. Fold into cream. Add the sugar, salt and pepper. Stir and transfer to serving bowl. This is fine to make ahead. Makes 2 cups.
Masthead Photo by