Beef Tenderloin rubbed down with Bacon Fat to add moisture and flavor, then seasoned with a Garlic Thyme rub, and Roasted to perfection. An easy to follow recipe for a gourmet tenderloin roast that tastes incredible!
Bacon, Garlic and Thyme Beef Tenderloin
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Have you ever tried Beef Tenderloin? If not, you are really missing out! Beef Tenderloin is whole a Roast of Filet Mignon! Filet Mignon is by far the most tender piece of meat on the cow. Or in other words, the Beef Tenderloin is a roast of melt in your mouth tenderness. With this recipe, your Beef tenderloin will have the perfect Garlic and Thyme Crispy Crust on the outside and a tender, juicy, medium rare cooked center. It is absolute perfection and tastes like Heaven. If you’ve never had a correctly cooked slice of Beef Tenderloin you are in for a real treat!
A bit more than half a decade ago on Christmas Day, I made my very first Beef Tenderloin. I had read up on different techniques to make this gorgeous piece of meat and I was convinced I could do it, and that I could do it well. We ate the Tenderloin for Christmas Dinner and my husband’s entire family raved about it. At that point in my life, I was desperate for people’s approval, especially my in-laws, and therefore was over the moon that they loved it so much! A couple nights later all the extended family gathered for a Christmas celebration and I made it again. Once more it was well loved. It immediately made it in my “cook this every chance you get” book. Haha!
Although we have moved away from them and no longer spend all our Holidays with my in-laws. I have made this Beef Tenderloin every year for Christmas since that first time. It has become a loved tradition, especially for my kids and myself. My children are big time meat lovers, and once you try this, you will understand why!
Look close; Can you see that gorgeous crust! Mmmmm!
About the Beef Tenderloin:
- As mentioned above, the Beef Tenderloin is an entire roast of Filet Mignon. Well, actually, to get a bit more technical, the tenderloin is a muscle. One that does very little work; hence, it’s tenderness.
- However, because it is a muscle, it is a very lean piece of meat. Which actually makes it healthier. But don’t worry, I’ll ruin that. Haha! Because it is so lean, there isn’t really much fat in it or on it. That means there wont be much fat to melt and moisten the meat as it cooks. This is the reason for the added bacon fat; To avoid any dryness in our Roast.
- A Beef Tenderloin is usually pretty long; It’ll be about 7 or 8 pounds. That is a lot of meat and can get a bit costly. Because I don’t need that much meat, I will usually request that the Butcher cut the Beef Tenderloin in half. Which generally is not a problem because they just use the other half to cut into filet mignon steaks. However, if there is a problem with getting only a half and you don’t need that much meat; Request the Tenderloin Butt. The butt pieces are commonly around 4 pounds. One nice thing about the Butt piece is that it usually has a thin end and a thick end. Why is that nice? Because if you’ve got picky eaters that don’t like their meat to be deliciously pink; give them the thin end.
Okay, Let’s just get to it…
How to Cook the Perfect Beef Tenderloin:
- Rub it down with Fat. Like I mentioned above, Beef Tenderloin is a lean muscle and therefore doesn’t have a lot of fat. I use Bacon drippings. I do this for 2 reasons:
a. I’ll take any excuse to make and eat Bacon! (Check out my Bacon Topped Deviled Eggs!)
b. The meat and the crust soak in the bacon flavor and make this that much more delicious!
c. Bacon grease helps the crust get crispier. - Next, Season it generously with the rub.
- Now, Bake it on a Parchment lined Cookie Sheet at a high temperature. Do not open the oven AT ALL for at least the first 30 minutes.
For a rare roast, remove it from the oven when it’s Internal Temperature reaches 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
For a medium rare beef tenderloin wait until 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
*I usually remove mine between between medium 130 and medium well 135 degrees Fahrenheit. It’ll be overcooked if you wait much longer than that. - Once you have removed your beef tenderloin, you absolutely NEED to let the meat rest before you cut it. Seriously y’all, this is important.
- Finally; EAT! 5 steps y’all, that’s it. For the most perfect Dinner main-dish you will ever eat!!!
The Actual Recipe:
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 Beef Tenderloin Roast (I used a 4 lb roast)
- Approximately 1/4-1/2 cup Bacon Drippings
- 1.5 TBS Salt
- 3/4 TBS Pepper
- 1 TBS Garlic Powder
- 1 TBS Onion Powder
- 1 TBS Dried Thyme Leaf
- Mix all of the Rub ingredients together.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Rinse your tenderloin and pat it dry.
- Rub the entire roast down with Bacon drippings.
- Season Generously with the dry rub.
- Place roast on parchment lined cookie sheet. (It doesn't HAVE to be parchment lined, that just really helps with the clean up after...).
- Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit until the internal temperature reaches 120 degrees Fahrenheit for a medium-rare Beef Tenderloin (Approximately 9 minutes per pound). I cook mine to approximately 130 degrees Fahrenheit (about 11 minutes per pound), for a medium-well Beef Tenderloin.
- Remove from oven and let rest for approximately 10-15 minutes.
- Cut and Serve.
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