Tonight's menu was
Beef Tenderloin with Creole Sauce
Smoky Mountain Cafe's Summer Corn**
Roasted Potatoes with Garlic & Rosemary
Grilled Garlic Bread
**(One of the easiest, best side dishes ever. Katherine is a fellow food blogger who is awesome! Check her blog out.)
Start with a whole beef tenderloin. We got this one for a steal at because it was close dated. Yeah, we paid $45 (basically the cost of 3 people eating at Applebee's) for fillet mignon for 6-7 people. Not to mention I'll get at least a couple of incredible burgers by grinding up the scraps in an 80/20 mix.
So instead of "beef from the discount rack" we were having hand trimmed steaks. Say it out loud. Hand trimmed steaks. It just sounds fancy doesn't it? Like "rich Corinthian leather".
Anyway, I cut the steaks, tied them, and hit them with my Cajun beef rub***. This is my standard batch, you don't have to use it all, just enough to coat the steaks well.
Beef Tenderloin with Creole Sauce
Smoky Mountain Cafe's Summer Corn**
Roasted Potatoes with Garlic & Rosemary
Grilled Garlic Bread
**(One of the easiest, best side dishes ever. Katherine is a fellow food blogger who is awesome! Check her blog out.)
Start with a whole beef tenderloin. We got this one for a steal at because it was close dated. Yeah, we paid $45 (basically the cost of 3 people eating at Applebee's) for fillet mignon for 6-7 people. Not to mention I'll get at least a couple of incredible burgers by grinding up the scraps in an 80/20 mix.
So instead of "beef from the discount rack" we were having hand trimmed steaks. Say it out loud. Hand trimmed steaks. It just sounds fancy doesn't it? Like "rich Corinthian leather".
Anyway, I cut the steaks, tied them, and hit them with my Cajun beef rub***. This is my standard batch, you don't have to use it all, just enough to coat the steaks well.
Grove's Cajun Beef Rub
2 T smoked paprika2 t kosher salt, coarse ground
2 t granulated onion, coarse ground (substitute onion powder but grinding your own rocks)2 t granulated garlic, coarse ground (same)
2 t cayenne pepper1.5 t white pepper
1/2 t black pepper1 t thyme
1 t oreganoThan I moved them to the indirect heat said and when they hit 130 internal, I pulled them to rest.
Creole Brandy Sauce
One of the VERY FEW PERHAPS ONLY ONE DOWNSIDE to grilling versus pan searing steaks is that you miss out one the foundation (the seared beef drippings in the pan) to many great sauces. With beef tenderloin, I found a way around that by using some of the trimmed scraps.1 T olive oil
2 T beef tenderloin fatty trimmings, diced VERY finely1/4 c mushrooms, diced very fine (measurement is after dicing)
1/4 c beef broth1 oz brandy
1 T green onion diced on a bias2 T Dijon mustard, coarse ground
6 oz heavy cream1 t smoked paprika
S & P to taste
In a heated saute pan, add olive oil and allow to become warm. Saute beef trimmings and mushrooms stirring frequently until the 1) beef is browned and 2) the mushrooms have given off their liquid. The pan should start to look like it is going to burn. The following action shots are courtesy of my wife.
Deglaze the pan with beef broth and simmer for a minute or two letting the liquid reduce.
Add the cream, green onion, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper and let it thicken.
To serve, ladle one spoonful of the brandy sauce on a plate and place the steak on top of the sauce.
IMHO, the flavor of the brandy sauce and the texture of the mushrooms & mustard seeds ROCKS!
For printable recipe, click here: