Roasted Filet or Tenderloin of Beef
Ingredients
1 filet of beef (about 5 pounds), well trimmed and tied (a.k.a. whole filet mignon)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425*F. Lightly oil a roasting pan. If you have a v-rack, this would be a good time to use it.
2. Pat filet dry. Rub oil over meat and then season liberally with salt and pepper.
3. Place the tenderloin in a shallow roasting pan and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the roast reads 120*F for rare, 125* to 130*F for medium-rare, or 135* to 140*F for medium, 25 to 45 minutes (the temperature will continue to rise 5* to 10* out of the oven). Cover the roast loosely with aluminum foil and let stand for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the strings and cut the tenderloin into thin slices.
Comments
I live near an amazing butcher and we always try to stock up on filet mignon when it goes on sale. While steaks are lovely, a roast filet is a great alternative. This recipe is from the 1997 Joy of Cooking, the cookbook that got me through the first 3 years of my adult life. This recipe is actually the first one I made with meat after several years of vegetarianism.
I was reminded of this recipe the last time I bought filet mignon. I had needed one cut up for steaks, but it was on sale so I asked Art to get a second one trimmed for roasting to go into the freezer. That way we could roast it, cut it for steaks ourselves, or whatever we decided to do with it. Another customer heard Art order “filet trimmed for roasting” and expressed curiosity about how that was achieved. She’d only ever had filet in steak form. I told her about the process and how delicious and tender the meat turned out and, the whole time, I wished that I had this recipe posted so I could direct her to my site.
And now it is posted! If you’re ever looking for a good alternative to “slab o’ meat,” this is a great one. You can easily use a smaller roast, it will just cook more quickly.
Shown with Cabbage and Potato Gratin with Sage.
Joy of Cooking (1997)