How long to cook a 6 pound beef tenderloin

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Knowing how to cook beef tenderloin means you are always ready to impress! Roasting beef tenderloin delivers a tender roast that is worthy of any special occasion!

This easy beef tenderloin recipe is perfect for any occasion but especially for serving up to guests. Served alongside my homemade gorgonzola sauce and you’ll have a show stopping dinner ready with very little effort.

The hardest part is deciding what to serve as a side dish. I recommend Greek Roasted Potatoes and Sauteed Brussels Sprouts because both are wonderful sides for this beef tenderloin!

What Is Beef Tenderloin?

It’s a cut of meat that often comes in an oblong shape (which explains why we need bakers twine to hold it together as it cooks).

This lovely cut of meat is always regarded as a great cut of meat because it’s so tender when cooked properly. This cut comes from the loin of the cow and because of that, it is a non-weighbearing muscle with fewer connective tissues than other muscles in the cow making it much more tender in texture.

Ingredients

What You Will Need To Cook The Beef Tenderloin

• Beef Tenderloin – I purchased a 5 lb tenderloin which was enough to feed a crowd.
• Olive Oil – Use good quality extra virgin olive oil.
• Salt – I prefer to use kosher salt over table salt.
• Pepper – Black pepper or a pepper blend will work well.
• Butcher’s Twine – This will help to hold the meat together as it cooks because tenderloin is usually oddly shaped cuts.

What You Will Need For The Gorgonzola Sauce

• Half and Half – Using half and half will make the sauce the perfect consistency while giving it a rich flavor.
• Gorgonzola Cheese – This will give us a great tasting sauce that pairs well with the richness of the meat.
• Salt & Pepper – Added to taste.

Allow your beef to come to room temperature. I let my beef sit out for an hour before cooking it. Having your beef come to room temperature will help it cook more evenly.

You also want to make sure your oven is on a relatively high setting. I preheated my oven to 450 degrees.

If you purchased your tenderloin from a butcher, it should be trimmed and ready to go. The beauty of this cut of beef is it is so flavorful, it doesn’t require a whole lot of seasoning.

I lightly seasoned my beef with olive oil, salt, and pepper and that is all. You could get a little fancier and use a peppercorn mix and maybe some garlic.

Once the roast is removed from the oven, transfer it to a carving tray or cutting board, then cover it loosely with aluminum foil (this is called tenting) and let it rest for a while. Larger roasts need more time to rest, often up to 15–20 minutes.

How Long to Cook Beef Tenderloin:

• The beef is ready when a thermometer inserted reads 145 degrees for medium-rare beef.
• It’s helpful to follow cooking guidelines when preparing a roast. When roasting larger cuts, an ovenproof meat thermometer that stays in the roast while cooking is preferable to an instant-read thermometer.
• This helps you avoid opening the oven unnecessarily and poking multiple holes in the roast and losing those delicious juices

How to Make Gorgonzola Sauce

• Prepare the sauce by bringing the half and half to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Reduce the heat and then stir in the cheese until the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened.
• Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve with your sliced tenderloin.

Recipe Tips

How to Trim a Beef Tenderloin

When you purchase a beef tenderloin they sometimes come with little fatty pieces or silver skin connective tissues. With a sharp paring knife, run along the meat and trim off any clumps of fat or silverskin that you see. The silver skin is the most important part to remove as it will shrink as the meat cooks making it chewy (which we do not want).

How to Know When Beef Tenderloin is Done

The beef tenderloin temperature should reach 145 degrees F in the center with an ovensafe meat thermometer. This is one of those thermometers that sits in the meat as it cooks in the oven so you can press it into the meat as it goes into the oven and simply check as it cooks. Once the inside is 145 degrees F the inside should be a good medium rare and perfect for a melt-in-your-mouth experience.

Substitutes

For the sauce

• Milk: If you don’t have half and half on hand you can simply switch to heavy cream or milk and still get good results.
• Cheese: If you do not have or do not like gorgonzola cheese you can replace it with blue cheese as that will also taste great.
• Omitting or Replacing: I served this simple gorgonzola sauce on the side, but melted butter, au jus, or a balsamic reduction are all good options.

FAQs

Where Can I Buy Beef Tenderloin?

The best place to buy a beef tenderloin is straight from a butcher. He can tailor the cut to feed the number of people you are hosting and he can bind it up for you as well. You want to get a tenderloin that will yield about 1/2 lb per person…of course, you want a larger cut if you would like to have leftovers (which is awesome, especially since one 3 oz. serving of beef provides 50 percent of your recommended daily value of protein).

Where Does Beef Tenderloin Come From?

The Tenderloin is a long narrow muscle that sits high in the loin area. It doesn’t tend to get a lot of exercise, which is why it is so tender and desirable. It tastes so rich and practically melts in your mouth.

Is Beef Tenderloin Filet Mignon?

Beef tenderloin is the name of the large cut of beef before it is sliced into steak. Once it is cut into steaks, those steaks are then labeled as filet mignon. I’ve seen steaks labeled as “beef tenderloin” steaks in the market, and they are the same as filet mignon steaks

More Great Beef Recipe For You To Try:

• Crockpot Beef Tips With Noodles
• Beef Shish Kabobs
• Beef and Noodles
• Beef Tenderloin Steaks
• Steak au Poivre
• Prime Rib Recipe
• 10 Most Expensive Steak Cuts You Can Order

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 5 lb beef tenderloin, trimmed
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 teaspoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of pepper
• Gorgonzola Sauce:
• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 3 oz crumbled gorgonzola cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Allow the beef tenderloin to stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
3. Rub olive oil over the beef tenderloin. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Place beef on the baking sheet, cover with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees for medium rare.
5. Allow the beef to stand for 15 minutes before slicing.
6. To prepare the sauce, bring heavy cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat, stir in the cheese and stir until sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Nutrition Information

Yield