Pepper-Crusted Center-Cut Beef Tenderloin Roast
By America's Test KitchenPublished on September 17, 2012
Time
1¼ hours, plus 30 minutes resting
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
It is important to use coarsely cracked (and not ground) pepper for this recipe. To ensure that you are using only coarsely cracked pepper, sift it through a fine-mesh strainer. You can crack the pepper by hand using the bottom of a skillet or saucepan. You can also use the coarsest setting on some pepper grinders to achieve the right texture. Center-cut beef tenderloin roasts are sometimes sold as Châteaubriand. Serve with our Pomegranate-Port Sauce or Red Wine–Orange Sauce (see related content), if desired.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine salt, sugar, and baking soda together in bowl; set aside. Heat 3 tablespoons oil and peppercorns in small saucepan over low heat until faint bubbles appear. Continue to cook at bare simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until pepper is fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes. Using fine-mesh strainer, drain cooking oil from peppercorns. Discard cooking oil and mix peppercorns with remaining 1½ tablespoons oil, orange zest, and nutmeg.
- Set tenderloin on sheet of plastic wrap. Sprinkle salt mixture evenly over surface of tenderloin and rub into tenderloin until surface is tacky. Rub top and side of tenderloin with peppercorn mixture, pressing to make sure peppercorns adhere.
- Transfer prepared tenderloin to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Roast until thickest part of meat registers about 120 degrees for rare and about 125 degrees for medium-rare (thinner parts of tenderloin will be slightly more done), 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer to carving board and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Cut meat into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Serve.
Time
1¼ hours, plus 30 minutes restingYield
Serves 6Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Rubbing the raw tenderloin with an abrasive mixture of kosher salt, sugar, and baking soda transformed the surface into a magnet for the pepper crust. Cracking the pepper into rough pieces and sifting off any powdery grounds created the crunchiest crust and ideal textural contrast for the juicy tenderloin. In order to tame the heat of so much pepper, we simmered the cracked pieces in oil and strained them before use, replacing some of the complex flavors with orange zest and nutmeg. For a final touch, we serve the pepper-crusted tenderloin with a tangy fruit juice–based sauce.
Before You Begin
It is important to use coarsely cracked (and not ground) pepper for this recipe. To ensure that you are using only coarsely cracked pepper, sift it through a fine-mesh strainer. You can crack the pepper by hand using the bottom of a skillet or saucepan. You can also use the coarsest setting on some pepper grinders to achieve the right texture. Center-cut beef tenderloin roasts are sometimes sold as Châteaubriand. Serve with our Pomegranate-Port Sauce or Red Wine–Orange Sauce (see related content), if desired.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine salt, sugar, and baking soda together in bowl; set aside. Heat 3 tablespoons oil and peppercorns in small saucepan over low heat until faint bubbles appear. Continue to cook at bare simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until pepper is fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes. Using fine-mesh strainer, drain cooking oil from peppercorns. Discard cooking oil and mix peppercorns with remaining 1½ tablespoons oil, orange zest, and nutmeg.
- Set tenderloin on sheet of plastic wrap. Sprinkle salt mixture evenly over surface of tenderloin and rub into tenderloin until surface is tacky. Rub top and side of tenderloin with peppercorn mixture, pressing to make sure peppercorns adhere.
- Transfer prepared tenderloin to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Roast until thickest part of meat registers about 120 degrees for rare and about 125 degrees for medium-rare (thinner parts of tenderloin will be slightly more done), 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer to carving board and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Cut meat into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Serve.
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