How to Cook Beef Tenderloin

Beef tenderloin is a cut from the loin of beef, and is more popularly known as eye fillet in Australia and New Zealand. To be more specific, tenderloin is small part cut from the muscle which is below the rib cage. The most common way to cook beef tenderloin is roasting. Beef tenderloin is generally prepared only for special occasions, as it is quite expensive, and people are not generally aware of the fact that beef tenderloin can be cooked in even an oven at home!

How You Can Cook Beef Tenderloin:

...in the Oven
Before starting the actual cooking process, it is first important to buy good beef, and by good beef I mean beef tenderloin which is firm and has lots of marbling. Beef tenderloin which is firm and has more marbling is tender and juicy. Once you get beef tenderloin home, put it aside and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Now take a shallow baking pan and line its bottom with aluminum foil, so that later you don't have to deal with a messy pan which is hard to clean. If you do not have aluminum foil at hand, you can simply oil the pan lightly.

See if the beef tenderloin has come to room temperature, if yes, first cut the excess fat, if any. Now brush the beef tenderloin with olive oil and season it with black pepper and garlic. Do not rub salt now, as salt will draw out the roasts' juices. Now put in a meat thermometer in the beef tenderloin where the beef is the thickest. Place the beef tenderloin in a baking pan which is shallow. Do not add any water, just put the pan in the middle rack of the oven. Cook for about 60 minutes, uncovered. Before removing beef tenderloin from the oven, check the thermometer to make sure that the beef is cooked as per as your desire. Wrap the beef tenderloin in aluminum foil after removing it from the oven. Make sure you do not cover the beef tenderloin completely, just cover it from the top, leaving it open from the front, like a tent. Beef tenderloin continues cooking even after it is removed from the oven, so let rest at least for 10-15 minutes before serving.

If you like your beef tenderloin medium rare, cook it until the thermometer reaches 145 degrees F, and if you like it well done, cook until the thermometer reaches 165 degrees F.

...on a Grill
If your oven is not working, or you do not have an oven, do not worry, as you can cook beef tenderloin on a grill as well. Like the above method, buy the best beef tenderloin you can get. Getting good quality beef tenderloin does almost half the work! For grilling beef tenderloin, first wrap the tenderloin with a strip of bacon, and use only around 6 oz. of tenderloin. Making sure that the ends of the meat overlap about ½ inch. You can use a toothpick to keep the ends in place. Once this is done, season the beef tenderloin with freshly ground pepper, and salt. We can use salt now, because we have tied the beef tenderloin with bacon, which will prevent the meat from drying.

Now place the beef tenderloin on the grill, 3-4 inches away from the source of heat. If you are wondering how long do you cook beef tenderloin, then the answer will depend on how you like the beef, rare, medium rare, or well cooked. If you like rare, sear for only 2 minutes, on each side. If you like medium rare, sear for about 4 minutes total, on each side. And for well done, sear for about 9-10 minutes per side. Keep a check on the meat so that it does not get over-cooked. Once grilled, set it in a plate and season it with chopped scallion, carrot curls, and asparagus at the side. You can also add a little au jus.

Now that you have both the ways to cook this delicious meat, do try both so you can decide which is the best way to cook beef tenderloin yourself. With the help of these recipes, start practicing to cook beef tenderloin so that you can have this exotic dish for the nearest occasion, Valentine's Day!