whole beef tenderloin?

Beernuts

so my wife has volunteered me to cook whole beef tenderloin for a neighborhood party next weekend - will probably end up cooking two whole tenderloins about 4 - 4.5 pounds each (quite expensive, even from Costco) - I am thinking about either using T-Rex method or Naked Whiz's rib roast method (indirect at 500, put meat on and shut down to 350)

big question I have is if anyone knows about how long this will take for two four pound tenderloins - I am guessing about 2 hours, but any insight would be appreciated as I plan my day

thanks

Boilermaker Ben

2 hours sounds like a really long time for a beef tenderloin roast. Alton Brown's recipe for a pan-sear followed by a 250 degree roast to 125 internal, about 15-20 mins for the roasting part. That's for a center-cut tenderloin roast, so I'm guessing the whole tenderloin would be a little bit (but not too much) longer...and obviously it would be shorter at a higher temp.

You might already know this, but you can fold the thinner end over on itself (and secure with butcher's twine), to make a roast of more uniform thickness, to prevent the thin end from overcooking.

vidalia1

I cooked a 6# beef tenderloin at the Waldorf Eggfest after party last Saturday.

I coated it with a light coating of olive oil and DP Cowlick. I cooked it direct at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes per side. It took a total of about 30-40 minutes. I took it off when the center piece was it 120. I wrapped it HDAF for about 10 minutes, then slices & served with rolls, Horseradish sauce and grainy mustard....it was deeelicious.

Misippi Egger

I cooked my first beef tenderloin roast a month or so ago for my son's band when they were in town. Fed 7 on a 6# roast. I used the following recipe from RichardFL.

RECIPE: Tenderloin, Drunk & Dirty

SOURCE: Forum (RichardFL) / Smoke & Spice
CATEGORIES: Beef

INGREDIENTS:

Marinade:
1 cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Bourbon, or other sour mash whiskey
1/4 cup Worcestershire
2 tbsp Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 teasp Ground Ginger
4 cloves Garlic
Main Course:
2 lb Beef Tenderloin, or other cut
2 tbsp Coursely Ground Black Pepper
1 teasp Ground White Pepper
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

METHOD:

Wood Chips: Oak, Pecan, Hickory (don't overdue it)
Procedure:
1 Combine ingredients down to the garlic with 1/2 cup water and marinate beef for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours.
2 Remove beef from fridge, reserve marinade and cover beef with ground peppers. I don't measure, I just be sure to completely cover both sides with black and then crack the white not quite as liberally.
3 Put half the marinade in fridge and add the vegetable oil to the other half if mopping. If not mopping just put all the marinade in fridge.
4 Heat mop (if using) to a boil for a few minutes and keep warm on low.
5 Put beef on smoker indirect at low temps...225 to 275 and cook until almost done...1 1/2 to 2 hours for a tenderloin, 45 minutes or so for a flank...in between for other cuts. Mop every 20 minutes for larger cuts; for flanks mop once.
6 When almost done remove from grill and bring grill up to sear temps. Put steak back on when grill is 500 degrees or so for about 1 minute per side. You're just trying to get a nice char but not too much.
7 Remove steak and let sit at least 5 minutes but closer to 10 is fine. While resting bring reserved marinade to a boil for a few minutes then lower to low and reduce by about one quarter.
8 Slice and either drizzle marinade over or serve on side for guests to drizzle themselves.
==============

I got the meat from Sam's and it was fork-tender!

Boilermaker Ben

WOW, that looks perfectly done...truly impressive. Are you sure you didn't hot-tub that thing? Even with a roast at 250, I NEVER get beef that has NO grey ring. I usually do a reverse sear on steaks, with the roasting part of the cook at 250, and still get a teeny grey ring...but your roast looks absolutely perfect, and juicy as can be. Great photo, too. Has me licking my monitor.

Serial Griller

Thanks for the recipes!

Misippi Egger

My notes don't mention hot-tubbing it, but I was thinking about it after I posted it. I think I just left it out about a hour at room temp before going on the Egg. Also the low-temp cook is kinda like a hot tub effect. I think I pulled it about 120* internal, opened everything up then did a quick sear to caramelize the outside a bit, foiled and rested before slicing.

I'm thinking about a repeat performance Saturday night. Will be having the in-laws and a few of the kids over for an early Mother's Day meal. Fresh market Grocery has whole beef tenderloins on sale for $9.99/lb. (Hereford lean - not quite as tender and the Premium Angus).