At our annual family Christmas Eve get together, my uncle who is a sensational in kitchen, cooked a fantastic beef tenderloin. The meat was so tender and it was like cutting through softened butter. He served it with a delicious red wine reduction. I had never considered using this cut of meat. Whenever we wanted to cook beef for a crowd, we would usually go with a prime rib roast. My wife saw the beef tenderloin on sale, so we decided it was time to give this a try.
Initially I thought I could follow one of my recipes for pork tenderloin. But that would be boar-ing! I wanted to try something different and perhaps even a red wine reduction sauce. After searching, here is the recipe I contrived adapted from a couple of sites. I cooked the beef tenderloin based on Our Kitchen and the red wine reduction sauce from Fine Cooking.
Beef Tenderloin
Printable Recipe
(Serves 6)
Ingredients:
3 to 4 pounds of beef tenderloin
1 head of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
1) Wash and trim beef tenderloin of any fat and sinew.
2) Make a paste with the garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. Massage into the beef. Wrap the beef tightly with saran wrap. Set it aside for an hour to marinate. If it is longer than an hour, be sure to place in the refrigerator.
3) Preheat oven to 450˚F.
4) Heat a heavy-based oven-proof metal frying pan over a high heat. Sear the beef, turning every minute until it is well browned.
5) Transfer pan to oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes (for medium-rare). I use an instant read thermometer and check more than 1 spot and remove from oven once it reaches 125 to 127F.
6) Cover and rest somewhere warm for 15 minutes.
7) Slice into 1/2 inch thick pieces just prior to serving
Red Wine Reduction Sauce
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
3 large shallots, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup red wine, preferably fruity
1 cup beef broth
salt and pepper
Directions:
1) Melt 1 tablespoon in a sauce pan over medium heat.
2) Add the shallots and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until they soften and turn golden brown.
3) Add the wine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue until the volume of wine and shallots reduces to 1/2 cup.
4) Add the broth and continue to boil until the sauce is reduced to 1 cup.
5) Reduce the heat to low. Add the remaining cold butter a little a time , stirring to melt each addition.
6) Add any accumulated juices from the beef tenderloin into the sauce. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
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