Advice welcomed on cooking a tenderloin for Easter

Wolfie51sb

Keeping with my holiday tradition of making way too much food for our guests, I plan to Egg this 5-pound beef tenderloin to complement the ham we're having for Easter dinner. I've not done a tenderloin on the Egg, so I've read numerous posts for pointers. Would like to bounce my plan off you folks just to see whether you see any red flags.

1. Salt (kosher) and pepper the tenderloin the night before, let it sit uncovered in the fridge (which I love) overnight.

2. Let the Egg stabilize at 300 degrees dome temp Sunday morning. Set it up for an indirect cook.

3. Not going to add any wood chips, just sugar maple lump.

4. Let it cook until internal temp reaches 125-130 (we have a family of folks who aren't medium-rare eaters, or else I would pull it at 120).

5. Remove, let it rest.

6. Slice and serve 1.5-inch wide pieces.

Actually, I have two questions, both for the sake of planning. Any guesses, following the plan above, as to what the cook time will be? Based on what I've read in previous posts, my thought is about 3 hours?

How long can I realistically let it rest if needed? After 10-15 minutes of it resting uncovered, should I tent some foil over it or go a different route?

Thanks for your thoughts.

SmokeyPitt

That sounds like a fine plan.  

At 300 I would guess you would only be looking at 1 to 1.5 hours to reach 125-130 IT. 

If you want it to be warm I wouldn't let it rest for more that 15 minutes. Another option would be to do a reverse sear. Roast it until you hit your target temp, then set up the egg for direct.  You can let it rest for an hour or so if needed and then throw it back on the egg for 1 minute per side to add some color and warm it up. You can slice immediately after the sear (no need to rest again). 

If you do tent it to keep it warm just let it rest a bit first before you tent it. You can check the IT and make sure it has stopped rising from carry over heat and then tent it. 

jtcBoynton

Since you are cooking it whole, I would slice thinner pieces. The 1.5" cuts are good for grilling and then serving as individual steaks. But for serving slices off a whole tenderloin, nothing wider than 1/2".

Hntnhrd

I would have to say hour and a half. Sear at the end will add a little color but since there isn't much far in a fillet it won't be as nice as a ribeye . The rest of your plan sounds good to me. That's a spectacular price of beef by the way!! Here's a bison tenderloin I did a month or so ago 

mlamb01

Here's how I would do it, assuming you have access to or can get a sous-vide.

Split that 5 lb tenderloin in two, then season with pepper and some fresh herbs, and put each one in a gallon ziplock bag with maybe a tablespoon of olive oil(No salt, as this can cure the meat).  On Friday night, cook one tenderloin at 135 degrees for two to three hours in the sous vide, pull it out and put it in a ice bath in the ziplock for 30 minutes to cool it down, then into the fridge in the ziplock.  Don't open it up after cooking it.

On Saturday cook the other tenderloin at 125 degrees for 2 to 3 hours in the sous vide, then ice bath in the ziplock, and into the fridge.

On Sunday about 30 minutes before serving, fire up the egg, and heat up your sous vide bath to 125.  While the egg is warming up to searing temps, place both tenderloins in the sous vide bath to warm them up abit.  Probably only need 20 to 30 minutes for this.  Just before its time to eat, remove both tenderloins from the bag, pat them dry with a paper towel, salt and season them again, then sear them together on the egg.  Just roll them around abit, maybe let it sit for 30 seconds to a minute on each side.  You can take the juices from both ziplock bags and reduce it down to make a nice flavorful sauce for the beef.  Maybe even add some wine and fresh herbs during the reducing process.  You may want to start this a few minutes before you sear though.

This will give you two tenderloins cooked perfectly to two different temperatures, done at the same time, taking alot less of your time and attention on Easter Sunday.  It is a game changer...

If you want a really heavy char on the outside, skip the step of preheating them in the sous vide, and just let the heat of the egg reheat them.

Botch

I'd pull that beauty at 120 and let the naysayers eat the ham.
 
But that's probably why you have company for Easter and I don't.  

pgprescott

Botch said:

I'd pull that beauty at 120 and let the naysayers eat the ham.
 
But that's probably why you have company for Easter and I don't.  

Can't please everybody @Botch. May as welll please yourself. At least one person is happy for sure. 

northGAcock

Most important step to take....Rule #1....always invite forum members over.

NorthPilot06

northGAcock said:

Most important step to take....Rule #1....always invite forum members over.

+1 to that.  Also, I might recommend trying your local Costco next time for a whole prime tenderloin - $29.99/lb is pricey!  Think I picked one up at Costco for ~$17.99/lb recently.

Wolfie51sb

Thanks for all of the input. Very helpful.