Learn how to make a show-stopping beef tenderloin that’s perfect for your festive gatherings! In this video, Nicole walks you through a step-by-step guide to preparing a tender, juicy beef tenderloin, roasted to perfection and paired with three irresistible sauces. Whether you’re hosting a holiday dinner or just want to treat yourself to something special, this beef tenderloin recipe will take your meal to the next level.
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00:00Everyone's always looking for something extra special
00:02to put on the table during the holidays,
00:03and for me, it is beef tenderloin.
00:06I'm gonna show you everything you need to know
00:08to make the best beef tenderloin
00:09and three ways to serve it up.
00:11Let's go.
00:13I think the biggest hesitation
00:14when it comes to cooking beef tenderloin is the price.
00:17However, to save a lot of money,
00:19you need to buy the whole tenderloin.
00:21You can get so much more than just your holiday dinner
00:24from one beef tenderloin for way less money.
00:27And let me tell you, I am no butcher, but I can do this.
00:29Therefore, you can too.
00:30This is the way to go, y'all.
00:32So I picked this up at Costco
00:33because that's where you get the best prices
00:36for this, hands down.
00:37I, of course, picked up the whole untrimmed beef tenderloin.
00:40They do have a trimmed version,
00:42but it was $6 per pound more expensive.
00:45So for the same price, you can get this size
00:48or we can get this size.
00:50I'm gonna show you how to break it down.
00:51It's really easy.
00:52Just gotta get past, you know, the little bloody juices.
00:55That is known as purge.
00:57You don't really wanna rinse that off.
00:59That's just a natural thing that happens.
01:00So I just like to not really look at it
01:03and just be like, there it goes.
01:05And then you just really wanna dry it off
01:06in order to get the best sear and flavor.
01:09First thing I'm gonna pull off is what's known as the chain.
01:12It has a natural separation
01:15that you can just kind of pull off with your hands.
01:17It might be connected in some spots,
01:20in which case you can just kind of use your knife
01:21to help it along.
01:22We are going to make use of this.
01:24The other part right here, this is known as the head.
01:28We're gonna take that off too.
01:29It also will kind of pull away.
01:32Also usable.
01:33You will get your one special holiday meal,
01:36but then you'll also get several other dinners.
01:38So your future self is really gonna thank you
01:40for buying this.
01:41Okay, so I have trimmed off just with my hands,
01:43pretty much all I can.
01:45And now we bring out the knife
01:46because this is the part we mainly want to remove.
01:50This is called the silver skin.
01:51This is not fat.
01:52This is a really tough tissue.
01:54So you wanna take your knife just under it
01:57and keep your knife facing upward.
01:59And then once you kind of get it going,
02:00go the other direction, keeping your knife upwards
02:02so that you don't take off unnecessary meat.
02:05Now this is discard.
02:06This is what I'm gonna call our scraps and our fat,
02:09what we can render down and make beef fat or beef tallow.
02:12And you can cook other foods in it
02:14for like super delicious flavor,
02:16other than just cooking it in regular oil.
02:18And you can also give some of that to your dog
02:20for some dog treats.
02:21So we have the head, the chain, the scraps,
02:24and now we're left with our beef tenderloin.
02:27Now, this is where you have to make some decisions.
02:30If you're serving a lot of people,
02:32you might wanna serve this whole thing,
02:34in which case you're gonna want to fold the tail end under,
02:38and then you can tie it up.
02:39When this side is so much thinner than the center,
02:41that's just not gonna cook evenly.
02:42This is gonna be beef jerky by the time this is done.
02:44Today, I'm going to show just roasting the center portion,
02:49known as the chateaubriand,
02:50and that's what we're gonna break out for the holidays, okay?
02:53So you're going to cut off the end.
02:55That's where it starts to get really small,
02:57and we'll save that.
02:58You'll feel it start to go down like that,
03:00and that's where you'll cut it.
03:01So that's good enough, right?
03:02That's beautiful.
03:03Okay.
03:04Chateaubriand.
03:05Oh.
03:06So this is what we are going to make
03:08for our holiday dinner.
03:09But before I get to that, we're gonna take the head.
03:12I'm gonna cut off, you know, the fatty parts.
03:14We're gonna save that to render down.
03:16Surprisingly, this freezes pretty well,
03:18especially like the steaks, after you cut them into steaks.
03:20So I'm gonna try to get a couple fillets out of here,
03:24just like petite fillets.
03:27And then when you flip them over,
03:28you kind of just shape them into fillets.
03:31Then you've just got these really skinny ends,
03:34and those can also be for your stir fry
03:36or your beef stroganoff.
03:37Look at that.
03:38We have our fatty, rendered down, dog treat area.
03:41Six fillets.
03:43We have enough meat for another dinner.
03:46And then we have our holiday dinner.
03:47You could have just gotten this, maybe slightly bigger,
03:51for the same price as I got all of this.
03:53You saw it really wasn't that hard.
03:54A lot of times, if I'm just cooking this,
03:56not trying to be super impressive, I don't tie it up.
03:59I just sear it just like this and just, you know, go for it.
04:02The only thing that happens when you don't tie it up
04:05is that it cooks kind of like this shape,
04:08where it's like more ovalized.
04:10But if you tie it, it's gonna get, you know, nice and round.
04:13We're gonna do it the easy way, not the butcher way.
04:15Take your piece of twine, squeeze it kind of tight,
04:18and then just make a double knot.
04:19Okay, we're just gonna go down the tenderloin
04:22and keep doing it.
04:23And then I like to take one more piece
04:25and just go around the long way.
04:28And I like to just come under.
04:32There.
04:34Okay, we have our trustmate.
04:35Nice coating of salt on the outside.
04:38This is what's gonna help develop that beautiful crust.
04:41You could pop this in the fridge for like all day.
04:44You could do this in the morning
04:45and then just keep it in the fridge.
04:46That's gonna kind of dry that surface off
04:48and help it to get really brown.
04:50But also it's fine just to go straight into the pan.
04:52I am just gonna keep this in the fridge
04:54just to kind of dry out.
04:56That way when my meat's done, the sauces are ready to go.
05:00I'm starting with probably my favorite sauce of the day,
05:02which is cowboy butter.
05:03I just wanted another excuse to make this.
05:05I made this a couple months ago and it was amazing.
05:09And it went viral.
05:10So this is basically just a compound butter
05:12with like the most flavor you've ever had in a butter
05:15on top of steak or filet mignon in our case,
05:20beef tenderloin.
05:21What I like about choosing this as your sauce
05:23is that it can totally be made ahead of time.
05:26You know, it's gonna blow people's minds.
05:27You may wanna make some extra
05:28so that you can dip your crusty bread in it too.
05:31Starts with a stick of softened butter.
05:33To that, I'm just adding in some minced garlic,
05:36tablespoon of parsley, a tablespoon of chives,
05:40and only about a half a teaspoon of fresh thyme.
05:43If you're thinking that butter can't count as a sauce,
05:46I'll tell you, you're wrong,
05:47especially when it's this kind of butter.
05:49Okay, two teaspoons of Dijon,
05:51a little bit of lemon zest and lemon juice.
05:53This mixed with these like really rich, like warm spices,
05:57it's just so good.
05:58Half a teaspoon of the juice.
06:00This is to me what makes it cowboy
06:02is that you're going in with smoked paprika,
06:04some chili powder, and some crushed red pepper
06:06so you have that like really smokiness that you think of
06:08when you think of cowboys.
06:10I use salted butter,
06:11so I'm going in a little less on the salt here.
06:14If color equals flavor,
06:16this is about to be the most flavorful butter
06:18you've ever seen.
06:19I mean, it screams holiday to me anyway.
06:22So then you're going to want to roll it up into a log.
06:25That way you can make easy slices
06:26and just put it straight over your hot beef tenderloin
06:29when it comes out.
06:29So you can use wax paper or parchment paper, create a log.
06:33Keep that in the fridge.
06:34Sauce number one is done.
06:36The next sauce is also no cook,
06:39but it is probably the most popular accompaniment
06:42to the beef tenderloin.
06:43Just the classic creamy horseradish sauce.
06:45And this is great because if you want to serve
06:47your beef tenderloin at room temperature
06:49and make little sandwiches with it,
06:50get you some rolls, some horseradish sauce,
06:53and make the best sandwich ever.
06:54All right, so the base for this is a mixture of mayonnaise
06:57and sour cream, a little more sour cream than mayonnaise
07:01because you want that good like tanginess.
07:03About three tablespoons mayonnaise.
07:05And then you get two tablespoons of prepared horseradish.
07:09That opens you up.
07:10A little bit of cider vinegar, a little bit of dried mustard,
07:13and then a dash of cayenne pepper.
07:15Okay, and then just give that a mix.
07:17And I'm going to add in one more non-recipe ingredient.
07:20I like to add a little Worcestershire in mine.
07:23I just love the flavor with beef.
07:24There's your horseradish sauce.
07:29I can go for a little more bite
07:31and then a little bit of salt and pepper.
07:33I tried to follow the recipe, but those are my additions.
07:35Okay.
07:38Yes, sir.
07:39Now our next one, we are going to cook.
07:42This is the sauce you make
07:43for your classic sit-down fancy holiday dinner.
07:46This is a classic mushroom sauce.
07:49It's so easy.
07:50It's so rich, full of flavor,
07:52and the perfect accompaniment to that beef tenderloin.
07:55Start with a half a stick of butter.
07:57Once that melts, you're going to add in
07:59two cups of sliced mushrooms.
08:01The goal for this first step is to develop color
08:04on the mushrooms,
08:05because that's going to give them the best, richest flavor.
08:07All right, now that we've gotten color on there,
08:09I'm going to go in with a little more butter
08:10and some shallots.
08:12And now I'm adding in some more mushrooms.
08:14These are chopped.
08:15That's just going to give it a different texture.
08:17Just kind of add to the hardiness of the sauce.
08:20The next step is to deglaze with some red wine.
08:23And well, look at there.
08:25It's just happened to be sitting right here.
08:26Anyway, use your spoon to get all those little brown bits
08:29from the bottom of the skillet.
08:31I'm also going to add in a bay leaf and some thyme.
08:34Just going to let that reduce a little bit,
08:35let some of that alcohol cook out.
08:37All right, now that that has evaporated out,
08:39I'm going in with some beef stock.
08:41So I kept some of the cold
08:42or room temperature beef stock in here.
08:45We're going to dissolve some cornstarch in there.
08:48You could also use arrowroot,
08:49but it dissolves better in cold or room temperature liquid.
08:53And this is going to be our thickener for the sauce.
08:55Whisk that until it's smooth.
08:57And we'll add that into the simmering sauce.
09:00And right when you add it in,
09:02you'll notice that it starts to thicken up
09:04as the sauce simmers.
09:05Then you're just going to season it up
09:07with a little bit of salt and pepper.
09:08And then because I can't help myself
09:10and whenever I make mushrooms,
09:11I also put in a little Worcestershire.
09:14And that sauce is done.
09:15I mean, three sauces in no time.
09:18Now you can pick how you want to serve your beef tenderloin.
09:23Mm.
09:25That's the one my dad would make.
09:27All right, speaking of beef tenderloin, let's get it out.
09:30Let's take some of the chill off and sear it up.
09:32This process could not be easier.
09:34Get yourself a skillet and get it really hot.
09:36See how it's kind of smoking right there?
09:38We are not trying to cook the inside.
09:40We're just trying to get some color on our outside.
09:44So I'm going in with some olive oil
09:46and then in goes our beef tenderloin.
09:50What's the formula?
09:52Color equals flavor and fat equals flavor also.
09:57All right, we've developed a great flavorful crust.
10:00Normally I would just take this pan
10:01and stick it straight in the oven.
10:03If you want a little more control over your cook time,
10:07you can just move it to another pan
10:09and then pop it into the oven.
10:10I'm going 325 degrees.
10:13You could also do a really hot and faster way.
10:16But again, just to have a little more control
10:18over the whole thing, I'm gonna go into a lower oven.
10:21The whole thing is still not gonna take long.
10:23Smartest thing to do is to insert a probe thermometer.
10:26That way you know when you're at the right temperature.
10:29I like to eat it at around 135.
10:31I'm more of like a medium kind of girl.
10:33So I'm gonna pull it at 125, 130
10:36because it'll continue to cook.
10:37If you just wanted to keep it in the skillet and do it,
10:40then I would keep the oven at a really high temperature.
10:42That way it just keeps cooking evenly fast.
10:45All right, check that out.
10:46This has been 40 to 45 minutes.
10:49I'm gonna leave the thermometer in
10:51as to not let all the juices out.
10:54Now that is a perfect beef tenderloin.
10:59That's your perfect beef tenderloin
11:00with the perfect medium rare center.
11:03I tend to prefer mine a little more done than that.
11:06So when you flip it around and slice from the other end,
11:09you're gonna get more of those cooked pieces
11:11that I happen to prefer.
11:12So that's more the way I like it.
11:15You're not gonna get a lot of this.
11:16You're gonna get more of the medium rare.
11:19Mm.
11:22You can cook that.
11:23I mean, it was salt and pepper.
11:25There's nothing to this
11:27and it still delivers the most delicious flavor.
11:29It melts in your mouth.
11:30Somebody else needs to taste it.
11:34Mm.
11:36It's so tender.
11:37It's so tender.
11:38Now, as promised, three ways to serve it up.
11:41First up, the cowboy butter.
11:43You may wanna bring your butter out to room temperature
11:45before you do this.
11:46That way it melts like right over.
11:47If you put it straight cold,
11:49it might not melt quite as well.
11:51But as it sits on that meat, it gets all juicy.
11:54Y'all, this is like one of the best things ever.
11:57Just plate everybody's up, serve some butter on the side.
12:02Oh my God.
12:05That garlic and that lemon, mm.
12:08You could even melt it down
12:09and then just drizzle it over your meat.
12:11Y'all, that is like, I wish you could taste it.
12:14Okay, and then we have our classic.
12:15This is your party way to serve your beef tenderloin
12:18with your old classic horseradish sauce.
12:21Put some rolls on the side.
12:27It's also so good.
12:28Those were two completely different experiences
12:31with the same beef tenderloin.
12:32That's what's so cool about this.
12:34And don't forget our mushroom sauce.
12:36This is your fancy dinner right here.
12:39See how that cuts like butter.
12:42Mm.
12:45Oh my God.
12:46That's like something really special to serve your guests.
12:49That gave you the restaurant experience in that sauce,
12:52but you saw how easy it was to make.
12:54I mean, it was nothing.
12:55It was mushrooms, butter.
12:56It's all just in the preparation.
12:58If you've never made a beef tenderloin,
13:00I hope you will take some of these tips and use them.
13:02It's really hard to mess this up.
13:05And go for the whole tenderloin,
13:07get the most, bang for your buck.
13:09Use up the three sauces,
13:10make yourself three or four dinners,
13:13and thank me later.