A whole oven roasted beef tenderloin. Absolutely wonderful. This is our traditional Christmas dinner. We cook the whole thing at once.
Editor note: The original photos for this post were lost. It was the first month of the blog, and I wasn’t the most organized blogger. But they were probably bad anyway. I have substituted stock photos that represent the recipe well. But no step by step photos. Also, this recipe was published initially January 2010. I have rewritten and updated it April 30, 2018.
My wife refuses to do turkey for Christmas… too much work. I do this to keep the work down and increase family time. So the absolute best meal for me is beef…. beef tenderloin specifically. And this is the best
An excellent guide to trimming a whole beef tenderloins is at Serious Eats – How to Trim a Whole Beef Tenderloin for Roasting. But I usually don’t bother with the tying. Rub with salt, pepper, and garlic. Roast to taste and be the holiday cooking hero, nothing could be easier.
My Rating:
An easy 5.
How to pick a beef tenderloin.
It is all about quality here more than almost any other cut of beef. Prime is the top 2%; you can buy it for $35 per pound which I have done at the best meat shops.
Next, just under Prime, is Choice. About half the beef sold in the USA is Choice, and this is what you should usually buy. It will be about $10-15 per pound. Select is next but just say no. If you see a beef tenderloin that does not have one of these three ratings, it is guaranteed to be bad.
Beef tenderloin – the biggest you can find, but it should be the choice or prime not the cheap one from my small local store.
2-3 T Olive oil
2-4 cloves of garlic crushed
Kosher salt
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (convection).
2. Place tenderloin in a shallow roasting pan on a rack. Roll the narrow tail around to double that area and help fit.
3. You may sprinkle with salt and pepper here.
4. Mix oil and garlic together and liberally coat the loin.
5. Place on a center rack with a meat thermometer.
6. Remove at 130-150 degrees in the thickest part per your desire. Tent for about 10 minutes before slicing. The final temperature will rise about 5 degrees.
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Roasting A Whole Beef Tenderloin - The whole enchilada
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Beef tenderloin - Prime or Choice
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-4 cloves garlic - crushed
- kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees (convection).
- Place tenderloin in a shallow roasting pan on a rack. Roll the narrow tail around to double that area and help fit.
- You may sprinkle with salt and pepper here.
- Mix oil and garlic together and liberally coat the loin.
- Place on a center rack with a meat thermometer.
- Remove at 130-150 degrees in the thickest part per your desire. Tent for about 10 minutes before slicing. The final temperature will rise about 5 degrees.
Recipe Notes
Have a question or something not clear? Ask in the comments.
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Nutrition is for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated.
Originally published January 10, 2010
I'm DrDan and welcome to my blog. You will find delicious easy everyday recipes mostly for smaller households. Please look around and enjoy your visit. 
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