Rosemary Beef Tenderloin

Nothing says Christmas dinner like a Rosemary Beef Tenderloin recipe!

I’ll let you in on a little secret.

I'm making Rosemary Beef Tenderloin for our Christmas Eve dinner and I’m already giddy with excitement. Every time I’ve made this dish there are ooohs and ahhhs followed by silence.

That’s the sound of people enjoying their food - silence.

It's a good thing.

Now, you guys know I'm pretty darn practical.

While I don’t generally have fresh rosemary sprigs hanging out in my fridge, I say if it's a special ocassion, then get yourself to the grocery store and buy you some.

Heck, you can use the extras to make your serving platter or plates look all fancy. Or tuck a sprig into your cloth napkins at each place setting - that's super cute, too!

But in a pinch, dried rosemary will work, just decrease the amount by about half.

The best way to cook beef tenderloin

I remember the first time I cooked a really beautiful - and expensive - beef tenderloin cut of meat.

And yes, I do believe that a nice cut of beef can be beautiful

I was shaking in my boots, friends, because I saw what the price tag was on that bad boy.

Well, that, and I was cooking beef tenderloin for a crowd of 20 of my favorite people. At a 40th birthday celebration.

Trust me, I 100 percent did NOT want to be that person. You know, the one who ruins a perfectly good whole beef tenderloin.

So you know, no pressure, right????

If you’re feeling the same way, don’t fret. I’ve got you, friend!

Perfect Beef Tenderloin

Before we get started, before we even start talking about my holiday beef tenderloin, there is one tool that is imperative for this recipe.

My tip right here, it's gonna make or break your beef tenderloin success.

You’ve gotta have a digital or instant read meat thermometer for this recipe.

If you don’t have one, hop on to Prime and get one. I’ll wait right here watching my free trial of Netflix….

But really, to make this the right way, you need a meat thermometer. . 

You’re welcome.

Okay, now that we have that taken care of let’s get talkin’ beef.

How to make the best beef tenderloin recipe

When you buy at beef tenderloin at the store, it generally is tapered (thinner) at one end.

There are two ways to look at this.

If you leave it as is, you’ll have a piece of meat with one end that has cooked waaaaay faster than the entire rest of the beef tenderloin.

If we're thinking glass half full, that may be just the thing for the relative at your holiday table who likes their meat well done, and then cooked some more.

Bless their heart.

But really, in my opinion it's a downright crime to cook beef tenderloin to well done. Just - don't.

My preference is to fold the thin end in on itself so it is just as thick as the rest of the tenderloin. Then use some butchers string to tie and hold it into place.

Yes, I should take a photo of that. Consider this the placeholder until Christmas. I'll grab another photo.

You don’t need any fancy butcher/sailor’s knot here, the idea is just to hold that part together.

As much as it pains me to do this, here's a great video from Martha Stewart showing you how. Skip to the :20 mark and you'll see what I'm talking about.

This way, everything cooks evenly and there aren’t burnt ends on the end of your roast. Those are great in a pork recipe but this one, not so much.

How to Cook Beef Tenderloin

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil and cook your mushrooms and shallots, seasoning with salt and pepper.

This is one of the times I'm going to tell you to splurge for shallots. If you really don't have them, or don't want to buy them, I love keeping freeze dried shallots in my spice cabinet. Cook everything for a few minutes until they start to get a little color. Remove them from the skillet and set aside.

Make the garlic rosemary rub

In a small bowl, combine the remaining olive oil, rosemary and garlic. Add some fresh ground salt and pepper and make into a paste or rub. Rub the mixture all over the beef.

Get it oven ready

Place the sliced red onion on the bottom of the skillet. Put the seasoned beef tenderloin on top. Add the cooked mushrooms and shallots along the sides of the beef.

Cook it, baby!

Place the pan with all its loveliness in your pre-heated oven for 45-50 minutes for medium rare or longer for more well done results.

Remove from oven and rest for 10-15 minutes, tented by foil, before you cut the beef for serving.

When your roasted beef is done cooking, transfer to a cutting board and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes, tented with foil.

Then slice and serve alongside creamy make ahead, no drain mashed potatoes.

Make Ahead Beef Tenderloin

Okay, as I mentioned, I love to make this for Christmas Eve.

Here's the catch. We tend to go to mass on Christmas Eve, too. So here's my tips to prep beef tenderloin ahead of time!

The beef tenderloin can be seasoned and chilled up to two days in advance. 

What to Serve with Beef Tenderloin

My favorite way to serve rosemary beef tenderloin is with a side of horseradish cream sauce.

Mouth watering.

Also, oven roasted potatoes, make ahead mashed potatoes and Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts or Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon recipe would be downright delicious sides.  

It also pairs amazingly with this Kale Salad with Cranberries!

And red wine.  You've gotta serve red wine.

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Rosemary Beef Tenderloin

Deanne Frieders

Nothing says special occasion like a Rosemary Beef Tenderloin recipe!

5 from 12 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Resting Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Main Dish Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Calories 718 kcal

Ingredients

  

.5x1x2x

• 3 tablespoon olive oil divided
• 16 oz. white mushrooms sliced
• 2 large shallots sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
• 2 tablespoon garlic minced
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 3 lbs. beef tenderloin roast
• 1 large red onion sliced

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Instructions

 

• Place oven rack in center position and preheat oven to 350°F. Add one tablespoon olive oil in a large, high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms and shallots develop a bit of color and soften, approximately 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Place the remaining olive oil in a small bowl. Add the rosemary and garlic to the oil and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Rub the rosemary-garlic mixture on top and all along the sides of the beef. Arrange the sliced red onion on the bottom of the same skillet and place the seasoned beef tenderloin on top of the onions.
• Arrange the mushroom and shallot mixture around the sides of the beef and place in the pre-heated oven for 45-50 minutes for medium rare or longer for more well done results. Remove from oven and rest for 10-15 minutes, tented by foil, before you cut the beef for serving.

Notes

1 ½ tablespoons dried rosemary may be substituted for fresh.

If your beef tenderloin has a tapered end, the butcher may tie it for you - or it may come already tied. See my notes in the post for info about this including a video.

Actual cooking time will vary depending on a number of factors, including the starting internal temperature of the beef. Allow the beef to rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before roasting and use an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness.  For medium-rare, remove from oven at 140°F. The temperature will rise to 145°F as it rests. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1grams | Calories: 718kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 57g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 159mg | Sodium: 117mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g

This Farm Girl Cooks is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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