Tender and tasty

Beef tenderloin is a large cut of meat right out of the short loin section. It is the centre of tenderness. This makes it one of the most popular cuts. This also makes it one of the more expensive cuts. Whole trimmed tenderloin can weigh in around 3kg.
To trim beef tenderloin start by removing the silvery skin. This cooks up very tough and makes dealing with the tenderloin difficult. This is similar to removing the membrane from ribs. Try using a paper towel to get a good hold on the skin while you use a knife to lift it away from the meat. Then remove any excess fat that might be hanging loose.
From here you can either cook the tenderloin whole or cut it into steaks. If you want to grill it as a roast you should tie up the tenderloin into an even, round roast. This will help it cook evenly. Tenderloin should have a nice caramelised surface, so start out by searing the roast on the medium hot grill just long enough to lightly brown the surface. Move to indirect grilling and finish it off over a low heat. Remove the tenderloin when it has reached an internal temperature of 120 degrees F. Cover and let it rest for 15 minutes. It will continue cooking during this time and the temperature will rise about 10 to 15 more degrees.
Grilling is easy when the tenderloin is cut into steaks. Sear it over a high temperature for about 1 minute per side. Reduce the heat and continue grilling until done. Depending on the thickness the remaining cooking time can wary from two minutes per side to five minutes per side.
Always use a thermometer to get the temperature right. Allow steaks to rest for about five minutes and plan on the temperature rising about five more degrees after you take it off the grill.
Since a good beef tenderloin is both tender and flavourful, it won’t need a lot of seasoning. Try a little black pepper, garlic and maybe a very light coating of a flavoured olive oil. Anything more will simply detract from the flavour of the meat.

Rosemary grilled
tenderloin

Ingredients
(Serves 2)
Tenderloin steak 2 no
(300g each)
Garlic cloves 2-3 no
Olive oil 3 tbsp
Black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Fried potato 200g
Rosemary sprig 2 no
For salad wrap
Cucumber slice 2 no
Rocket lettuce ½ bunch
Carrot 1 no
Bell peppers 1 no
Tomato 1 no

For sauce
Onion, chopped 1 cup
Carrot, chopped  ½ cup
Celery, chopped ½ cup
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Garlic, chopped 5-6 cloves
Bay leaves 2 no
Tomato paste 1 cup
Balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp
Veal stock or chicken stock 1 litre
Salt and black pepper to taste
For garnish
Mustard seeds to sprinkle
Rosemary sprig 2 no

Method for sauce
In a heavy bottom pan heat olive oil and saute onion, carrots and celery over medium heat till it turns brown.
Add garlic, bay leaves and tomato paste, cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add vinegar and bring to boil, add the veal or chicken stock and simmer.
Reduce by two thirds, skimming occasionally.
Once reduced the sauce should coat the back of spoon.
Strain and adjust the seasoning.
Make a salad roll by rolling julienned vegetables in thin sliced cucumber.

For the steak
In a bowl marinate steaks with olive oil, garlic, black pepper and salt and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
Pre heat barbecue grill and grease with oil.
Place steaks on the grill and turn after attaining the grill marks and required degree of doneness, about 3-4 minutes on each side for medium rare.
Use a meat thermometer to verify the doneness: rare- 1200F, medium rare-1250F, medium-1300F
When the steaks are crusty charred and done to your liking, remove from grill and rest for 15 minutes before serving (meat temperature will rise 5 to 10ºF during resting period.)
Serve on a bed of fried potato chips and salad roll on side and sauce.
Garnish with rosemary sprig and toasted mustard seeds.

Note: making a perfect tenderloin steak is not only a skill but an art and require some patience and experience. Tenderloin as the name suggests is a very tender beef steak which gets overcooked very quickly. Choosing the right quality of meat is equally important to relish this delicacy, one should not over season it otherwise the taste of the meat is not enjoyed.

* Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel.  Send your feedback to:
exe.chef@horizonmanor.com