chateaubriand for xmas dinner

I'm having my mom pick up a 5-6 lb tenderloin (to serve 8 and maybe have some left over for sandwiches). She lives in Columbus, and has heard good things about the Costco there, and in general, people seem to be happy with their meats. I don't know any butchers over there, so we shall see....

I told her to ask for center cut, hoping that we can get something pretty and won't have to tie up an end.

I've done quite a bit of reading about methods that don't involve searing, but I'm hoping someone has some real expertise for me.

My plan is to take the meat out of the fridge, and salt the living hell out of it (like literally pack it in kosher salt), and let it come up to room temp for an hour.

First question: can I rinse the meat, or just rub off the salt, or... ?

Since I'm not searing, but would like some crust, there will have to be high heat involved at some point. The method that makes the most sense to me is starting at lower temp until the meat is 130 or so (rare), then cranking to 500 for what, ten minutes? Then resting should take it to medium.

I have to have the right idea here, but for meat this expensive and a meal this important, the details matter.

Thanks for any and all help!

I made a tenderloin for a dinner party last weekend. To serve 8, you probably will need a full tenderloin so you will most likely have to tie it up. A center cut (chateubriand) is really only enough for 2 people, maybe 3. I picked up a trimmed 3 lb tenderloin at Whole Foods and it was just almost the entire tenderloin. It fed the 4 of us generously with leftovers. If you are buying a cryo-vacked tenderloin from Costco, beware that your final yield of meat will be a lot lower because of all the trimming you will have to do. Still a great deal though.

Like you, I like to let the meat come up to room temp and salt ahead of time as well Though, I've never packed it with salt like you are planning. Have you tried that before? You should just brush the salt off afterwards I assume. Rinsing will probably rinse some of the seasoning you put in.

Your method of cooking sounds like a good way to get some crust without first searing. However, 130 sounds a bit high to target for medium. I pulled mine at 120 and let it rest for 10 minutes and it was medium. If I were you I'd crank the oven to 500 at around 110 or so if you want to keep it in there for another 10 minutes. Then let it rest for 10 minutes. That's soooo important.

Good luck & happy holidays!

Yes to Costco but you will want the pre-trimmed tenderloin.
I suggest that you crust the meat prior to roasting. here's what I find works well.

Remove your trimmed tenderloin 3 hours before service
salt liberally with K salt
after two hours on the counter pre-heat a cast-iron griddle to smoking-hot
(also pre-heat oven to 225˚)
wipe off salt and dry meat with paper towels.

sear the tenderloin on all sides (figure 2 min per side) be sure to get it nice and
colored up then pop it into the oven with a temp probe and you should reach
125˚ to 130˚ in 45 min or less remove and tent the meat with foil for 10 min or so. then slice and serve.
Plenty of color and crust but not bulleyed grey to red inside

If I pull it out at 125-130, resting should take it up to about 135, which is right in the middle of medium, right?

Sorry for the basic questions.

You might not see that big of a bump do to the thermal mass of a tenderloin as compared to a rib roast. I usually see no more than a 5˚(if that) bump with a low over roasting plan.

Perhaps an occasion for/excuse to try some variation of the thomas keller blowtorch method?


http://www.thedeliciouslife.com/blowtor ... as-keller/

So we have our 5 lb. tenderloin. It's salting/coming up to temp as we speak. I'm going to cook in a 425 degree oven (starting hot).

Here's the issue. I see a range for medium rare target temp as 125 to 160 degrees. (wtf?)

I know the roast will continue to heat up another 5-10 degrees while resting (15 mins or so).

So: for a perfectly medium roast, what should a meat thermometer in the center read right before pulling from the oven? I'm guessing 145.

I would not go over 125˚ with a tenderloin

So we ended up shooting for 135, was actually at 137.

Ended up a slightly overdone medium. This was actually fine with some people, and the meat was tender and flavorful.

What I learned: when cooking at 425 (fairly high heat) and dealing with 5 lbs, carry-over is probably going to add 15 degrees.

Not a failure, we ate the whole thing. But next time will be better.

Sorry I didn't see your Post earlier.
The Chateaubriand is really the head of the whole tenderloin flattened somewhat into a round small roast. Pepin shows how to do this very nicely in his 'Art of Cooking'. The industry has gone to where any center part of the whole tenderloin is considered a 'Briand but you actually get a much thinner piece.
In any event we always sear for crust and roast over high heat 450F until internal temp of 100F is reached and then rest for up to 30 minutes under foil for whole tenderloin. Smaller fillets about 15 minutes and a 'Briand about 25 to 30.
I usually use Sam's Club Choice tenders which run about $10/# whole and are pretty good. The price of Prime is now close to $30/#!-Dick