Rosemary Beef Tenderloin

There’s something about the smell of baking a beef tenderloin during the holidays. In our house, we sear the beef and top it with butter and rosemary. While the tenderloin bakes, our entire house begins to smell like rosemary. That scent of warmed rosemary will forever remind us of the holidays. This beef tenderloin is simple, delicious, and one of our all-time favorite dishes.

Our dad was always in charge of making the beef on Christmas day. Although not a cook by choice, there were certain things that dad made so well, we asked him to make them time and time again (you should try his panang curry!). Beef tenderloin is one of those things Dad is the expert at. So every year on Christmas day, he pulls out the beef and cooks it in his special way. 

After taking out the beef, Dad goes into the garden and clips a few sprigs of rosemary. The rosemary is what gives the beef the signature flavor and makes our house smell of warm, piney rosemary every holiday. Dad comes inside with the rosemary and meticulous washes and dries each piece. After prepping the rosemary, he coats the beef with a generous amount of salt and pepper and tops it with butter and rosemary. That is the secret to Dad’s famous Christmas beef. It is the simplicity that makes it so good. It is truly just a few ingredients and the beef is tender, slightly rosemary flavored, and perfect for a holiday meal.

Making Beef Tenderloin

Making the beef tenderloin all starts with a great cut of beef. Since this is often our Christmas dinner, we splurge with a beef tenderloin. This cut of meat is the same as filet mignons but a long piece not cut into individual servings. You can do this same preparation with other cuts of meat such as filet mignon or prime rib, the cook time and amount of ingredients will differ depending on the size. 

Once you have selected your beef, bring the beef to room temperature. When the beef is at room temperature, pat it as dry as you can with paper towels. The more dry the beef is, the better the crust that will form when seared. If there is water on the outside of the meat, the beef will steam and the water will not allow the beef to form a crust until it has evaporated. 

When the beef is dry, coat it with a thin layer of oil and coat with flaky salt and pepper. The salt and pepper will also allow a better crust to form on the outside of the beef. To get a more apparent crust, we like to use a medium coarse grind of sea salt and pepper. Don’t use anything too coarse or it will be too large of chunks. It should be somewhere between coarse sea salt and table salt. Table salt will also work, it just won’t form the same crust on the rosemary beef tenderloin.

To sear the steak, pre-heat a cast iron pan on medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, sear the steak on all sides. You want to form a dark golden crust but not burn the steak. When the crust has formed, remove the steak from the heat and cook it on a baking tray or in the cast iron (if the beef fits well). Top the beef with cubes of the butter and rosemary and bake until 10 degrees below the desired temperature. The temperature will rise about 10 degrees when resting so take it out when it reads 10 below. 

Remove the steak and cover it gently with tin foil. Allow the steak to rest for at least 15 minutes. Resting is key for the juiciest steak. Slice the steak and top with juices from the pan. 

Notes:

1. Truffle butter: We love topping the prime rib with truffle butter to make it extra special, but regular butter also makes for a great beef tenderloin
2. Rosemary: Rosemary is our all time favorite herb to bake the beef with because that’s what our dad made every year. You can also top the beef with herbs like tarragon
3. Cast iron*: We prefer to sear the steak before putting it in the oven. This allows a great crust to form. If you don’t have a cast iron pan just skip this step! The steak will still be delicious
4. Resting the steak: Trust us, we know it’s hard but wait 15 minutes! This will allow the steak to be the juiciest when cutting and serving. It’s worth the wait

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Rosemary Beef Tenderloin

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Rest Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 1 beef tenderloin 6 lbs, or .5 lbs per person
• 1 tablespoon oil avocado or canola
• 10 sprigs of rosemary or more if you have a larger tenderloin
• 5 tablespoons truffle butter or regular butter, cut or portioned into 1 tablespoon portions
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 1 tablespoon cracked pepper

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F
• Pat the beef tenderloin dry with paper towels. The drier the beef, the better crust it will form
• Rub oil on beef tenderloin and form a crust with salt and pepper on all sides of the beef
• Pre-heat cast iron* pan on medium-high heat for 2 minutes
• *see note above if you do not have a cast iron pan
• Place beef tenderloin in a hot pan and sear on all sides until a golden crust forms. You can wrap your tenderloin or cut it into two pieces to sear
• Once the beef has seared on all sides, place it onto a baking tray and top with cubes of butter and rosemary sprigs. The butter and rosemary should be evenly spread across the top
• Bake in a 425 degree oven until the internal temperature reads 10 below your desired internal temperature (e.g. if you want a medium rare at 135, bake until reads 125). The steak will come up about 10 degrees as it rests
• When it reads 10 degrees below, remove the steak from the oven and tent gently with foil. Allow it to rest for at least 15 minutes
• Slice the steak and top with juices from the pan

Entertainer’s Note

This is one of the easiest things to prepare for a dinner party, but is often thought of as a daunting entree. We like to serve it for special occasions and dinners because it’s equally easy and impressive!