Grill-Roasted Beef Tenderloin for a Crowd on a Gas Grill
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 21, 2007
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour salting and 20 minutes soaking
Yield
Serves 10 to 12
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Once trimmed, and with the butt tenderloin (the lobe at the large end of the roast) still attached, the roast should weigh 4 1/2 to 5 pounds. If you purchase an already-trimmed tenderloin without the butt tenderloin attached, begin checking for doneness about 5 minutes early. If you prefer your tenderloin without a smoky flavor, you may opt not to use wood chips, (wood chips are a better option than wood chunks on a gas grill). Serve as is or with either of the related sauces.
Instructions
- About 1 hour before grilling, set tenderloin on rimmed baking sheet and rub with salt. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature. Cover 2 cups of 2-inch wood chips with cold water and soak 20 minutes; drain, place in small disposable foil pan, and cover with heavy-duty foil; poke 6 holes in the foil and set aside.
- About 20 minutes before grilling, place wood chip tray on primary burner (burner that will remain on during grilling); position cooking grates. Turn all burners to high, cover grill, and heat until very hot, about 20 minutes. Scrape grill grate clean with grill brush.
- Uncover tenderloin, coat with olive oil, and sprinkle all sides with pepper. Place tenderloin on side of grate opposite primary burner. Grill tenderloin over burner(s) without wood chips until well browned, 2 to 3 minutes, then rotate one quarter turn and repeat until all sides are well browned, for total of 8 to 12 minutes. Turn off all burners except primary burner (tenderloin should be positioned over extinguished burner). Cover and cook until instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of tenderloin registers 120 degrees for rare, 16 to 20 minutes, or 125 degrees for medium-rare, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Transfer tenderloin to cutting board and tent loosely with foil; let rest 10 to 15 minutes. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices and serve.
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour salting and 20 minutes soakingYield
Serves 10 to 12Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
When developing our grilled beef tenderloin recipe, we went to the wholesale clubs, where we found affordable beef that, while not ideally trimmed, was far more wallet-friendly than the meat at butcher shops and, with 20 minutes of home-butchering, was well worth the extra effort. Flavor-enhancement came next in our grilled beef tenderloin recipe, through just an hour of salting the meat, wrapping it in plastic, and letting it rest on the countertop before it hit the hot coals. Direct fire was too hot for the roast to endure throughout the cooking stages, so after briefly searing the meat, we moved it away from the fire for grill-roasting via indirect heat.
Before You Begin
Once trimmed, and with the butt tenderloin (the lobe at the large end of the roast) still attached, the roast should weigh 4 1/2 to 5 pounds. If you purchase an already-trimmed tenderloin without the butt tenderloin attached, begin checking for doneness about 5 minutes early. If you prefer your tenderloin without a smoky flavor, you may opt not to use wood chips, (wood chips are a better option than wood chunks on a gas grill). Serve as is or with either of the related sauces.
Instructions
- About 1 hour before grilling, set tenderloin on rimmed baking sheet and rub with salt. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature. Cover 2 cups of 2-inch wood chips with cold water and soak 20 minutes; drain, place in small disposable foil pan, and cover with heavy-duty foil; poke 6 holes in the foil and set aside.
- About 20 minutes before grilling, place wood chip tray on primary burner (burner that will remain on during grilling); position cooking grates. Turn all burners to high, cover grill, and heat until very hot, about 20 minutes. Scrape grill grate clean with grill brush.
- Uncover tenderloin, coat with olive oil, and sprinkle all sides with pepper. Place tenderloin on side of grate opposite primary burner. Grill tenderloin over burner(s) without wood chips until well browned, 2 to 3 minutes, then rotate one quarter turn and repeat until all sides are well browned, for total of 8 to 12 minutes. Turn off all burners except primary burner (tenderloin should be positioned over extinguished burner). Cover and cook until instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of tenderloin registers 120 degrees for rare, 16 to 20 minutes, or 125 degrees for medium-rare, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Transfer tenderloin to cutting board and tent loosely with foil; let rest 10 to 15 minutes. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices and serve.
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