Easy Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Sauce

Christmas tradition for our family in Florida for the past several years is beef tenderloin and mac and cheese. My mother-in-law buys the beef tenderloin and I cook it, and my sister-in-law brings the Barefoot Contessa Family Style (affiliate link) Mac and Cheese. (We leave off the tomatoes and when I make it, cut down on the salt (to 1 tsp) and reduce the cheese to 8 oz (227 g) gruyere and 8 oz (227 g) sharp cheddar.) If there is family visiting for New Year’s, we might make another tenderloin (or two) for that as well, so perhaps you could make this for your New Year’s Eve this week! It may seem difficult, but I promise this is an easy show stopper that will be well received by all the meat lovers in your life!

I have been making beef tenderloin for at least 15 years. In the early days of my adulthood, it was definitely reserved for parties and special occasions, as it is on the expensive side. In terms of feeding a crowd, though, you can’t beat it. It works as well as a main dish as it does on crostini as an appetizer. Regardless, it will be gone at the end of the night or happily enjoyed as leftovers for days to come.

I have tried MANY beef tenderloin recipes over the years, and while they have pretty much all been successful, this one, which is adapted from Ina Garten’s Balsamic Roasted Beef from her How Easy is That? (affiliiate link) cookbook, is the one I make exclusively now. It is cooked in a hot oven so there is no need to dirty a pan with searing, and it cooks quickly so I can enjoy more time out of the kitchen on holidays! (I make the sauce a couple of days ahead, too, since it actually tastes better as the flavors meld.)

Beef tenderloins vary a lot in size. If you have a larger one, you may want to double the marinade and horseradish sauce ingredients. I usually purchase a “whole” beef tenderloin and trim it myself because it is cheaper, but I think Costco sells them pre-trimmed or you can ask your butcher to do it. Basically, you want to trim away the extra fat and sinew and remove the silver skin from the meat. You want a piece of meat that is fairly uniform in size so it will cook more evenly. For large tenderloins, I sometimes cut them in half into two pieces. This year, with just our family of four eating, I cut off the larger end of the meat (not shown) and we made Philly Cheesesteak Salads with that, and I tucked under the smaller end and tied the whole thing with four pieces of kitchen twine. (See Below) Place the meat on a foil-lined baking sheet with a lip. (I actually often prep the meat the day before, store it in the fridge uncovered, and remove it from the oven at least an hour and up to two hours before I cook it.)

Make sure your oven rack is on the middle shelf. Preheat your oven to 500 F (260 C) about 30 minutes ahead of when you want to cook the meat. (I have to admit that my oven doesn’t actually get all the way up to 500 F, but it seems to work fine anyway.) Before cooking, mix together the two mustards, balsamic vinegar and salt. Cover all sides of the meat with it (I use my hands to massage it in and make sure the meat is fully covered), and then grind cracked pepper over the top.

When the oven reaches temperature, place beef in the oven. I highly recommend using an oven safe probe thermometer when making this! This one at Amazon (affiliate link) is the one that I use. I have it in both houses and I love it! I forgot to take a photo, but I insert the probe into the middle of the middle part of the beef and set it for 125 F, which is perfect for medium-rare beef. It will beep when it gets that temperature. (If you like your beef more done, you can adjust the time based on this chart from the Reluctant Gourmet website.) If you don’t have a probe thermometer, I recommend checking the beef after about 20-25 minutes and then every 5 minutes or so after that.

Once your beef reaches the desired temperature, remove the pan from the oven and cover the meat with tin foil. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes before removing it to a cutting board to slice. Transfer slices to a serving platter and serve warm or at room temperature (or even cold!) with horseradish sauce on the side. Wait for the compliments to pour in! 😉

Happy New Year and have a great week!