Celebrate the holidays and special occasions with this easy, elegant and incredibly delicious Slow Roasted Beef Tenderloin served with Horseradish Cream Sauce. You’ll slow roast, reverse-sear your way to an ultra-tender, perfectly pink tenderloin with a flavorful browned crust your guests will rave about.
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Why You’ll Love this Recipe
Christmas is just days away and if you’re still deciding on what to make, I urge you to consider this Slow Roasted Beef Tenderloin. Granted it is pricey, but it’s a special time of year of gathering with those who mean the most to you.
If there’s ever a way to show your family and friends how much you love them, it’s by preparing a mouthwatering, memorable meal. And, they’ll love you even more in return. Guaranteed!
The Method
I totally get buying an expensive piece of meat can be intimidating because the last thing you want to do is screw it up. Tenderloin is a lean cut so it can easily become dry and overcooked.
This method of slow roasting and reverse searing not only safeguards against overcooking, it rather ensures you’ll have perfectly pink results from edge to edge with a super tasty crust.
Many recipes call for roasting the tenderloin in a really hot oven, which runs a high risk of being well-done toward the outside and just a small portion of the interior staying pink. I’ve found slow and low yields much more consistent and desirable results.
The Prep
To prep the tenderloin, you want it to be the same thickness as much as possible. Wrapping butcher’s twine in intervals around the meat will do the trick. Then rubbing a dried herb mixture all over the tenderloin will give the crust extra flavor when pan seared at the end. You can see above I also tucked little bunches of fresh sage, thyme, oregano and rosemary in the twine to infuse more flavor while roasting.
Tip: It’s best to prep your tenderloin the night before and leave it uncovered in the fridge for a crispier crust. Also, use a sheet pan with a rack so air can circulate completely.
While the tenderloin is roasting, or up to three days in advance, you can make the Horseradish Cream Sauce. It’s a tangy complement to the beef and is a delicious spread for sandwiches if you have leftovers. I used a base of cream cheese, but you could use sour cream or creme fraiche as well. In addition to the horseradish, I added a little milk, dijon mustard, lemon juice, fresh herbs, and seasoned with s&p.
Finishing Touches
We prefer medium-rare around here, so it took about 80 minutes for this nearly 4-pound tenderloin to reach the 120-degree F mark on my instant-read thermometer. At this point the fresh herbs did there work, so they were removed before the tenderloin hit the skillet.
Cast iron is my skillet of choice especially when searing. It takes just a minute or two per side to get the perfect char. After searing, let the beef rest 15 minutes before slicing so the juices don’t run all over the cutting board.
Below are suggestions on what to serve with this much-anticipated tenderloin. I certainly hope you give this recipe a try and let me know how it goes! Wishing you the happiest of holidays full of wonderful food and great cheer!! x, Kim
What else to serve…
Here are ideas to round out your special meal with delicious appetizers, side dishes and desserts!
Appetizers
Side Dishes
- Balsamic Roasted Root Vegetables
- Potato Leek & Fennel Gratin
- Winter Citrus Salad w/ Avocado & Goat Cheese
- Cider Glazed Sweet Potatoes & Squash
Desserts
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Slow Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Beef Tenderloin
- 1 3-4 pound center-cut, trimmed beef tenderloin
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon each of dried thyme, rosemary, oregano, cumin, garlic powder and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 10 fresh thyme sprigs
- 5 fresh rosemary sprigs
- 5 fresh oregano sprigs
- 5 sage leaves
- 4 tablespoons butter
Horseradish Cream Sauce
- ¾ cup cream cheese, room temperature
- ¼ cup whole milk or half-n-half
- 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
- ½ tablespoon each of fresh oregano and thyme leaves
- 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ½ lemon, juiced
- Kosher salt and pepper
Roasted Potatoes and Mushrooms (optional)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 ½ pounds baby potatoes, halved
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano or thyme leaves
Instructions
Beef Tenderloin
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
- Line a large, rimmed baking sheet pan with foil and set a roasting rack inside the pan.
- Tie the meat with butcher’s twine in 1 to 2-inch intervals, folding the thin end underneath to keep the tenderloin the same thickness as much as possible. Place tenderloin on prepared sheet pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk the salt, dried thyme, rosemary, oregano, cumin, garlic powder and black pepper until combined.
- Evenly coat the tenderloin with olive oil.
- Rub the dried herb mixture all over the meat.
- Tuck bunches of the fresh herbs under the twine.
- Roast tenderloin in preheated oven for 80-90 minutes for medium-rare* and rotate the pan halfway through cooking time. (Use an instant read thermometer to check the tenderloin’s temperature after an hour to see where you are.)
- When you’ve reached desired doneness, remove tenderloin from oven.
- Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- When butter has melted and begins to foam, add the tenderloin to the skillet and sear 1-2 minutes on each side.
- Tent the tenderloin with foil and let rest 15 minutes before slicing.
- Serve tenderloin on a platter with desired veggies and Horseradish Cream Sauce on the side. Enjoy!!
Horseradish Cream Sauce
- Whisk all ingredients in a medium bowl until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Let sit at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.)
Roasted Potatoes and Mushrooms (optional)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large, oven-proof skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat.
- When oil is shimmering, add potatoes to skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook potatoes until browned on edges, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir mushrooms into skillet with potatoes and remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Cook 5 minutes until mushrooms begin to soften, stirring frequently.
- Transfer skillet to preheated oven. Roast potatoes and mushrooms 10-15 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.
- Carefully remove skillet from oven and stir in fresh oregano or thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy! (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm in low oven with tenderloin or microwave.)
Notes
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Excellent recipe. Simple to follow and beef came out perfect medium rare.
Awesome! This is definitely my favorite way to prepare beef tenderloin. Happy Holidays!