This elegant yet easy roast beef tenderloin is perfect for a special holiday meal. The tenderloin is first seared to give it a nice crust and then roasted to medium rare with an incredible mushroom-tarragon sauce. Dried porcini mushrooms are hydrated to add rich, earthy flavor to the sauce along with shallots, tarragon vinegar, and veal stock. A touch of cream finishes it off before it’s topped with fresh tarragon. The roast comes out incredibly tender and juicy, coated in a sophisticated sauce that complements the beef perfectly. This show-stopping dish will wow your holiday guests without requiring a ton of effort.
Holiday Roast Beef Tenderloin
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 2½ Pound trimmed beef tenderloin roast, tied
- ⅓ cup dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or avocado oil
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup sliced shallots
- 1 pinch salt
- ¼ cup tarragon vinegar
- 1 cup veal stock (ok to substitute beef stock)
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine porcini mushrooms and water in a bowl, soak until soft, approx. 1 hour. Drain and reserve liquid. Dice and set mushrooms and reserved liquid aside.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Season beef generously with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Place beef in the skillet, cook until brown on all sides. (NOTE: Just sear all sides, approx. 2-3 min per side on high heat.) Remove beef and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium and stir in 1 tablespoon butter, shallots, and a pinch of salt. Cook until shallots are soft and translucent. (Approx. 5-7 min.)
- Pour tarragon vinegar into the skillet and bring to a boil while scraping any browned bits off of the bottom. stir until liquid is reduced by half, 2 to 4 min.
- Pour veal stock, cream, ½ cup reserved mushroom liquid, mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Return the beef to the skillet.
- Roast in the preheated oven until meat is medium rare, approx 45 minutes. Center temp should read no more than 130 degrees. Transfer meat to a plate and loosely tent with foil. Set skillet over high heat and bring pan juices to a boil.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon butter and tarragon, season with salt and pepper to taste. Return tenderloin and any accumulated juices to the skillet and serve.