This roasted beef tenderloin is incredibly tender, juicy, and flavorful, it’s perfect for holiday dinners and special events! The tenderloin is wonderfully seasoned with a mix of salt, pepper, garlic, and herbs to a flavor-packed bite. It tastes amazing paired with homemade mushroom red wine sauce.
Beef tenderloin is one of my favorite cuts of beef… ever! It’s tender as can be, especially when roasted in the oven! Truly, with my simple tried and true cooking method for this recipe, you’ll have beef so tender, you could cut it with a fork!
This is a perfect dinner to make for when you need to cook something special. It’s sophisticated enough to garner lots of compliments from your adult friends, but the kids will still love it too. It’s ideal for those large family gatherings when you’re just not quite sure what to serve as an entree.
Don’t be intimidated by cooking beef tenderloin! I have simple steps and tips below to help guide you along the way. Serve it with some comforting dishes like mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes and some simple green beans.
How to Cook Beef Tenderloin
Note: you can buy a center cut of beef tenderloin, ask a butcher to beak it down for you, or break down a whole tenderloin yourself. To learn how to do it yourself, check out more info here – How to Break Down a Whole Beef Tenderloin. (Just keep in mind that for this recipe, we won’t be slicing it prior to cooking.)
- Pull the tenderloin out of the refrigerator 30-45 minutes before cooking and let it warm up on the cutting board.
- Use cooking twine to tie the tenderloin all along the whole length in 1 inch intervals. Then, rub the meat with olive oil and pressed garlic. Mix seasoning and spread it on a rimmed baking sheet. Roll the tenderloin in seasoning to coat it evenly.
- Place the tenderloin in a roasting pan, then place that pan in the oven preheated to 425°F.
- Cook until your desired temperature is reached. (Personally, I pull the beef out at 135°F because it continues to cook while resting under the tent.) (The temperature will go up another 5-7 degrees while the meat is resting.)
- Once out of the oven, loosely tent the beef with foil and rest for about 10 minutes. Then, cut off and take off the twine carefully and let it rest on a cutting board for about 10 more minutes.
How To Make Mushroom Red Wine Sauce
- While beef is cooling off, let’s make the sauce! First, heat up some oil in a pan, then cook the shallots until softened and brown. Sear the garlic next until it’s fragrant. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until they’re almost done.
- Pour in the sherry and allow it to simmer for a few minutes. Then, sprinkle in the flour, mix well, and let it cook before adding the red wine. Pour in red wine while slowly and constantly mixing.
- After the wine is incorporated, stir in the beef stock. Add the seasonings next, then remove the sauce from the heat. Stir in the butter to make it nice and glossy.
At What Temperature Is Best To Cook Beef Tenderloin?
When cooking the center cut of beef tenderloin (also called chateaubriand), cook it at a high temperature of 425°F until it reaches medium-rare (or medium). It’s not recommended to cook beef tenderloin to more than medium temperature because this lean meat will become dry fast. Since the tenderloin is such an expensive cut of meat, would want the results to be the best!
Beef Tenderloin Cooking Temperatures
It’s best to cook meats with a leave it thermometer, that way you don’t have to bother the meat or keep opening the oven. When you open the oven, it looses heat.
To check the temperature, insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the beef, towards the middle. You want to hit the reading of the thickest part in the center.
120°-125°F – Rare (cool red center)
130°-135°F – Medium-rare (warm red center)
140°-145°F – Medium (warm pink center)
Remember, the meat continues to cook another 5-7 degrees while resting!
Storing and Reheating Instructions
To store the leftovers: Place cooled beef tenderloin in an airtight food storage container with a lid, and keep it in the refrigerator for about 3 days.
To reheat beef tenderloin: Preheat the oven to 350°F and wrap each slice of beef tenderloin in aluminum foil. Don’t wrap it too tight. Place wrapped tenderloin pieces directly onto the oven rack and reheat for 10-15 minutes. (Time will depend of thickness of cuts.) Reheat it just until warm in the middle so it doesn’t overcook. I don’t recommend reheating these leftovers in the microwave.
More Beef Recipes To Try
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Beef Tenderloin with Mushroom Red Wine Sauce
Ingredients
Beef:
- 3-4 lb beef tenderloin (center cut, also known as chateaubriand)
- 2 tbsp olive oil to rub the beef
- 3 cloves of garlic pressed
Beef Seasoning:
- 1 tbsp coarse kosher salt more or less to taste
- 3/4 -1 tbsp coarsely ground black peppercorns
- 1 1/2 tbsp dried minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp crushed dried rosemary
Mushroom Red Wine Sauce:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 shallot diced
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lb mushrooms mix of different kinds, sliced
- 3 tbsp sherry
- 1 1/2 tbsp all purpose flour*
- 1 cup burgundy or another rich, full bodied red wine
- 1/4 cup beef stock
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- black pepper
- salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter to finish
Instructions
- NOTE: Most grocery stores with a butcher department can help you clean the tenderloin if you are not willing to do it yourself. You can also request a butcher to cut the tenderloin to a more desired size if needed
Prepare Beef Tenderloin:
- Use cooking twine to tie the tenderloin all along the whole length in 1-inch intervals. Make sure not to tie too tight where it starts cutting into meat. (Note, beet tenderloin is tender, so don't tug too hard.)
- Rub the tied tenderloin with olive oil all over and then rub it with pressed garlic, spreading it evenly all around.
- Mix the seasoning ingredients and spread them in a rimmed baking sheet that is large enough for the tenderloin. Roll the tied tenderloin in the seasoning to coat it all around.
Cooking Beef Tenderloin:
- Preheat the oven to 425° and line the bottom of the roasting pan with aluminum foil.
- Place prepared beef tenderloin on a rack inside the roasting pan and insert a leave-in thermometer in the center of the meat. (I highly recommend that you use a leave in thermometer to track meat temperature more accurately.)(If you don’t have a leave-in thermometer, you will need to take the meat out of the oven to take the temperature.)
- Cook in the preheated oven until the internal temperature is around 135° for medium-rare. (Cook to 135°-140° for medium, or 120°-125° for rare.) Personally, I pull the beef out at 135° because it continues to cook while resting under the tent. The temperature will go up another 5-7 degrees while the meat is resting.
- Take the pan out of the oven, loosely tent the beef with a sheet of aluminum foil, and let it rest about 15 minutes. Transfer beef tenderloin onto the cutting board and cut off the twine. Let it rest another 7-10 minutes.
- While the beef is resting, prepare the sauce.
Mushroom Red Wine Sauce:
- Preheat a large cooking pan over medium-high and add oil to the pan.
- Add shallots and cook until completely softened and browned. Stir in garlic and let it sear a few seconds, until fragrant.
- Stir in mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are almost done.
- Pour in sherry and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Sprinkle flour over the mushrooms and stir until combined. Pour in red whine while still stirring and incorporating it and then, pour in the beef stock.
- Add salt, pepper, and thyme and stir to incorporate.
- Let the sauce simmer and thicken for a few minutes and then take off heat.
- Add butter and stir it in until melted and the sauce is glossy.
- Spread the sauce in the serving dish. Cut the beef tenderloin against the grain into about 1/2 inch slices and place the sliced steaks over the sauce. Serve right away!
Notes
- *Gluten Free Notes: to make this recipe gluten free, simply use all purpose 1:1 gluten free flour in the sauce.
- To store the leftovers: Place cooled beef tenderloin in an airtight food storage container with a lid, and keep it in the refrigerator for about 3 days.
- To reheat beef tenderloin: Preheat the oven to 350°F and wrap each slice of beef tenderloin in aluminum foil. Don’t wrap it too tight. Place wrapped tenderloin pieces directly onto the oven rack and reheat for 10-15 minutes. Reheat it just until warm in the middle so it doesn’t overcook. I don’t recommend reheating these leftovers in the microwave.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in November 2021.
Dustin says
I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Matt says
Can you cook ahead of time and reheat?
LyubaB says
Yes, Preheat the oven to 350°F and wrap each slice of beef tenderloin in aluminum foil. Don’t wrap it too tight. Place wrapped tenderloin pieces directly onto the oven rack and reheat for 10-15 minutes. (Time will depend of thickness of cuts.) Reheat it just until warm in the middle so it doesn’t overcook. I don’t recommend reheating these leftovers in the microwave.