Reverse Seared Beef Tenderloin with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

It stokes my coals to announce that Certified Angus Beef Brand® has renewed our sponsorship for another year.  Their support is what makes it possible for the Nibble Me This team to get out on the road to attend grilling festivals and BBQ contests.  

This recipe is based on one of the sample appetizers that we served to crowds this year at grilling festivals.  It's also what we turned in for our beef category at the Memphis In May World Championship BBQ Cooking Contest.

At those grilling events, we usually serve the beef shaved and served on roasted garlic crostini with arugula, capers, lemon zest, and the cream sauce.  

Here is the same beef and cream sauce served as a main course, served with pan roasted potatoes, blistered grape tomatoes, and bacon.

The Gorgonzola Cream Sauce is a variation of an Ina Garten recipe that we have used for years.  It's rich and brings a ton of flavor to the tender but mild filet.

Beef Tenderloin with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

Published 11/18/2017

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pound center cut Certified Angus Beef brand® beef tenderloin
• 2-3 tablespoons NMT Beef Rub v.2 or other beef seasoning
• 1 teaspoon cooking oil (something high temp and flavor neutral, such as; canola, avocado, peanut, etc)

For the Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 5 ounces Gorgonzola cheese
• 3 tablespoons grated Manchego cheese
• zest from one lemon
• Kosher salt, to taste
• White pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Make the Gorgonzola Cream Sauce.  Heat the cream and cayenne pepper in a medium sauce pan until simmering and allow to cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Whisk in Gorgonzola and Manchego cheese until melted and combined.  Add zest, salt (start with 3/4 teaspoon), and white pepper (start with 1 teaspoon).  Remove from heat.
2. Preheat your grill.  Set the grill up for indirect heat and preheat to 250-275°f.  For a kamado grill, use a heat shield. For a charcoal grill use a 2 zone fire.  For a 3 burner gas grill turn the outer 2 burners on low, adjust from there, and cook over the middle.  
3. Prep your meat. Tie the roast with kitchen twine if you butcher has not already done so. Lightly oil the surface of the tenderloin roast with the avocado .  Season on all sides with the beef seasoning.
4. Slow roast the beef.  Place the roast on the grill, shut the lid, and slow cook the roast until it reaches an internal temperature of 125-127°f for medium rare, about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. For more rare, pull the roast about 122°f  and for medium pull it off the grill when it hits an internal temp of 133°f
5. Rest the roast.  Remove the roast from heat and place on a cooling rack to rest until the internal temperature finishes rising (carry over cooking) and starts to fall again.  While it is resting, switch your grill to direct heat and raise the temperature of your grill to 500°f or more.
6. Sear the roast. Place the roast over the hottest part of the grill and cook just long enough to get color on each side, about 1-2 minutes per side.
7. Rest the roast (again).  Let the roast rest for 5 minutes and then slice into 1/2" to 3/4" pieces.
8. Serve the roast.  Serve the slices topped with some of the gorgonzola cream sauce.  For a flavor boost, finely grind some beef seasoning over the slices.

Yield: 4 servings

Substitutions

• You can substitute Gorgonzola cheese with blue cheese.
• You can substitute a Top Sirloin Petite Roast for the Beef Tenderloin for a budget savings.  This little used roast is tender and has a good beefy flavor.
• You can substitute any salt and pepper based beef rub for NMT Beef Rub v.2.  The Orleans Pepper Rub from Certifed Angus Beef brand® would go well with this.  If all else fails, a 50/50 mix of kosher salt and black pepper (16 mesh, dustless) always works good for beef.

By staying low and slow for the roasting portion of this cook, it lets the meat heat evenly all of the way through.  If you cooked the meat at higher temps, like 350-400°f, the meat will finish faster but only the center of the roast will be medium rare.  The outer edges will be more done.

Roast going onto the grill.  The metal skewer thing is the temperature probe of a remote probe thermometer.  These thermometers let you watch the temperature of the meat as it cooks, without constantly opening the grill lid.  It is great insurance for a properly cooked roast.

While the roast cooked on one of my kamado grills, I put a couple of skillets in another grill to make some side dishes.  

Skillet roasted potatoes

Preheat a 10" cast iron skillet in a 400°f grill.  Add 1.5 pounds quartered Yukon gold potatoes tossed with 1 tablespoon oil and 1 teaspoon NMT Beef Seasoning v.2.  Cook, tossing a few times, until browning and tender, about 45 minutes.

Blistered grape tomatoes

Preheat a small cast iron skillet in a 400°f.  Toss grape tomatoes in 1 tablespoon oil and 1.5 teaspoons sea salt.  Roast for 10-15 minutes, tossing twice.

The first rest is important for letting the energy that is cooking the roast (even after coming off of the grill) dissipate.  If you threw it on to sear immediately without resting, the internal temperature would shoot up and your roast would overcook.

You can sear directly over the flames but this time I tried something different.  I seared the roast on a flat surface.  It could be a hot cast iron pan, a griddle or in this case, upside down GrillGrates did the job.

The second roast just lets the internal temperatures even out.

Another trick we like to share is to season your board.  Chef Adam Perry Lang advocates this technique and calls it a "board dressing".  I minced a clove of garlic on the cutting board, some parsley, a drizzle of quality olive oil and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar.  The point is getting some seasoning on the inside of the roast once you slice it.

 

Sliced and ready to go!

 

The beef tenderloin is a wonderful choice for your holiday meal because it is relatively quick cooking (about 90 minutes total) and melt in your mouth tender.

Free Personalized Roast Coach

Would you feel a bit more confident about your holiday roast if you had a personalized coach in the kitchen?  Certified Angus Beef brand® has got you covered again this year with their free Roast Perfect App for your tablet or smart phone.

The Roast Perfect App will walk you through selecting the roast for your needs, personalizing it based on how many people you will be serving, giving you tried and true recipes, and even a roast timer.