cooking a beef tenderloin roast....

[antonio cefalo]

i finished my WFO build last spring and have had many of pizza parties and even sampled salmon, steamers, corn and steaks in it...amazing!
Now i am hosting a holiday dinner party and wanted to take the next step and cook the roast and/or the sides in the WFO. not going to lie to you.. a litle nervous. it is going to be about 12/15 pounds. any suggestions? do i fire it up as usual (i was going to do a few appertizer pizzas in it first) and then stick the roast in when it reached around 400 F? would the best way to monitor be with a thermometer. should i continue to keep a small fire in it? any tips are welcomed. also for potatoes how any thoughts?
thanks!!

[texassourdough]

Re: cooking a beef tenderloin roast....

Hi Antonio!

I do whole tenderloins about once a year and have done a dozen or so. I sympathize with your nervousness for this is potentially asking for a bit of trouble and a 15# tenderloin is a big investment to potentially screw up.

There are two basic approaches. I generally prefer to brown the whole filet on a grill or hot stove first. (For a whole filet the grill is the best answer. You could brown it in the WFO on a Tuscan grill (or grills). Brown it well!) I tend to do that with cold meat so cooking beyond the surface is minimized. It should be seasoned before browning. Once browned it can be held for a day or two refrigerated or left out for a couple of hours to warm up and be ready for finishing.

I really like medium rare, lovely red to the edge tenderloin roast so I tend to finish the roast in a conventional oven at about 175 and let the roast slowly warm to 135 or so using a remote read thermometer so I can watch its temperature carefully. Then a ten to fifteen minute rest before slicing and serving. But that approach to finishing is not compatible with cooking the sides in the WFO.

The other approach is to finish the filet in a hot oven at 425 to 500. (The higher temp is better if you don't brown it first, the lower temp is better if it is browned. The filet should need about 15 to 20 minutes to heat to 130-135 and then need a 15 minute rest. Your potatoes and other items will need longer and 425 is probably a bit high for them, so....I would start the other items first and then (about a half hour before serving) put the filet in (allow a few more minutes if the oven is below 425 - say five minutes if it is 375, ten if it is 350). At this hotter temp the gray color at the surface will go down into the meat more but...you get to use the WFO. Oh...I would definitely use a remote read thermometer in the WFO!

To respond to your question on the turkey topic, this would be done with the door closed and the fire removed. There is no need for embers. If you cook it in the WFO with the fire in place you will almost certainly have uneven cooking and an inferior result. I would suggest trying that on a less expensive cut first!

Hope that helps!
Jay

[antonio cefalo]

Re: cooking a beef tenderloin roast....

thanks for the info Jay! as i think about it more, i am really thinking of doing it in the WFO. did you mean 15/20 minutes per pound for the tenderloin? i do not plan on searing it first, was going to put it in the WFO and cover it with foil to prevent over browning and then uncover at the end. will definitely be getting a remote read thermometer! thanks!

[texassourdough]

Re: cooking a beef tenderloin roast....

Hi Antonio!

If you don't brown it first and cook it in closed oven at a temp below about 500 you will not get a pretty surface (and you may not at 500). It needs serious heat to caramelize the surface. While you can do that with a fire, it will be difficult to get the center warm before the outside is charred. You can control that to some degree with foil, but you are a bit at risk also. The remote thermometer will help on this.

No, not per pound - total time is only 15 minutes at 425 to 500. Not more than 20 even at 425. Think of it as a long, narrow, thick steak! It only needs about 15 to 20 minutes for the heat to get to the center! The wait time of 15 minutes is important to let the heat equalize.

Good Luck!
Jay

[antonio cefalo]

Re: cooking a beef tenderloin roast....

Thanks for your guidance Jay! I had two 7 pound beef tenderloins and went with the WFO. They came out great. I seared them in the morning on the grill. Then I coated with a rub and refrigerated them. I took them out 1 hour prior to cooking. I had the WFO fired up at about 700F for a few appetizer pizzas and let the fire burn out. Slowly the oven came to around 400/500 (3 hours) I placed the roasts in and they cooked great. About 34/40 minutes to 147F. I took them out and let them sit for 25minutes or so. They had a great taste and the Smokey flavor from the oven made it. Next time I would take them out a bit sooner so the fatter end of the roast is more medium rare.
Thanks for the tips!

[HARRIS558]

Re: cooking a beef tenderloin roast....

We don't have a crock pot but my husband cooks practically everything in our pressure cooker. I want to make him beef stew tonight, for the first time ever. Can I cook it in the pressure cooker? If so, how do I go about doing that? (The options on the cooker are browning, slow cook, warm, steam and then a timer)