Help - Beef Tenderloin

DrummerDawg

Always wanted to do one on the Egg and haven't so tomorrow is the night. I have one that is about 2.25lbs. How do I cook it - temp, method, length - to get to medium? Going to be serving 5 adults.[p]I have cooked just about everything else on the Egg (mostly pork products), but have never done a whole tenderloin. Pretty expensive piece of meet to screw up.[p]Thanks!

mad max beyond eggdome

drummerdawg,
for that weight, sounds like you have the 'big end', more like a chateaubriand. . . .i have done a couple of these now with great success using sort of a modified trex cooking method. .. [p]first, i liberally coat the meat with olive oil, kosher salt and ground black pepper, nothing else. . .[p]i then heat the egg up to 700+. . .there are two ways you could go here. . . a direct searing, where you put the meat on the grill and turn it every minute or so until seared all around (shouldn't take any more than about 5 total minutes). . .or what i do, which is to stick an old cast iron pan in the egg, let it get really hot in the 700 degree egg, then through the meat on the pan, turning often (careful, you will get a lot of flame and spitting oil), again, no more than about 5 total minutes, getting a nice pan sear all around (sort of in the french style). . .[p]after searing, pull the meat, put it on an uncovered plate for about 20 minutes (make sure you keep it away from the dog). .. while you get the egg temps back down below 400 ( i aim for around 350 (oh yea, if did the pan method, pull the pan out as well). . .[p]when the egg temp is back down, put the meat on direct until done, (takes me around 40 - 45 minutes to get to 140 internal). . .pull and let rest a few minutes before slicing. . .should be nicely med-rare inside. . really delicious. . .[p]if you want to add something, you may want to make a little red wine mushroom sauce or something (in a pan, sautee some finely chopped mushrooms in butter, add wine, let it reduce, add some salt and pepper to taste, maybe a pad or two of butter to 'cream' it up a little.. .etc. . . [p]check internal temps often though. ..you don't want to let this one get away from you and end up well done inside (i did this by accident last time, and while still good, it was pretty brown inside and a little dry). . .[p]you will probably get lots of recipe suggestions on this one. . .different rubs, marinades etc. . .personnally, we are minimalists in our house, so we like to taste the meat, not other stuff. . .but again, that is strictly personal taste. . .[p]good luck, i know it will be good. ..

DrummerDawg

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]Thanks - sounds right up my alley. We'll see what anyone else has to say. I don't have the skillet, but no big deal.[p]DD

Unknown

DrummerDawg,[p]the skillet thing is definitely optional. .. searing direct works great too ... what i have though is an old 12" cast iron pizza pan. . .i find that it works really great in the egg when i want something pan seared, but still want all the benefits of 'egging' as well... it actually cleans up pretty well, and i have done things like cook in butter at high temps where it has gotten pretty cruddy. . .i may also use it for doing things like scallops or crab cakes. . .[p]you may want to think about a cast iron investment for your egg. . .they aren't very expensive, and in fact, you see lots of people selling old cast iron at yard sales and flea markets (and you can never really ruin a cast iron skillet or pot, all you may have to do is re-season it). .. .today's modern cooks find it too heavy, smokey in the kitchen, etc. . .frankly, i have cast iron pieces that are over 50 years old, and are as good as new, and i still use them almost as much as my expensive calphalon. . .[p]

Unknown

mad max beyond eggdome,
Do you deglaze with wine right in the iron pan? I have heard it is not the best thing to do as you might remove some of the cure with it? Have you ever noticed this happening? I have never tried to make a pan sauce when using my cast iron pan b/c I was afraid that I would have to re-season my well seasoned pan.

Mike in New England

drummerdawg,[p]I've done these before. I've had good success with applying a light amount of your favorite rub, then put it in at 300degrees and hit it with some mesquite chunks. Not too much smoke. I've also used apple. I take it to 140deg internal which takes about 2 hrs. Let it rest and slice.[p]Once, I found that it was too rare for my liking, so, I just finished off the slices by placing them over high, direct heat for a minute or so, each side. You get nice grill marks this way, as well. They look more like steaks instead of roast beef. Either way, it makes for good eating.[p]You should throw on some portabello mushrooms while the fire is still hot. It goes well with the tenderloin. All I do for these is with gill side up, sprinkle in a little balsamic vinegar and light dusting of the same rub as the tenderloin. Grill a couple minutes on each side and enjoy.

mad max beyond eggdome

Nardi,
i guess i've never really worried too much about the seasoning aspect of things . . .i figure i cook enough stuff in butter/oil in the pan to constantly 're-season' it. ..if need be you can always do a formal re-season (i.e. putting a couple of tablespoons of crisco in the pan, then sticking it in a hot oven for an hour or so), but i must admit to not doing this, and i have pans that are pretty old (25 to 50 years old), and still going strong. .[p]i deglaze in whatever pan i'm using. . .in this particular case, because the cast iron i used in the egg is so hot and nasty when i first pull it out, i make the sauce separate of this pan. . .so all i'm deglazing is the butter stuff from the mushrooms on the stove pan i'm using, and for this one at least i'm probably using calphalon. .. but i've deglazed on the cast iron plenty of times when doing things like veal or fake scallopini (thin sliced turkey breast pieces) without necessarily ruining my seasoning, and like i said, a fresh coat of oil seems to work fine for me ...