When you want an impressive centerpiece for a holiday dinner or special occasion without spending all day in the kitchen, Ina’s No-Fail Filet of Beef is hard to beat. This simple roasted beef tenderloin uses just butter, kosher salt, and coarse black pepper, allowing the naturally tender beef to be the star of the meal. The result is beautifully browned on the outside and tender enough to slice with a fork.
The secret to this beef tenderloin is keeping the preparation simple and paying attention to the cooking time. The whole filet is generously coated with softened butter, salt, and pepper before going into a very hot 500°F oven. The intense heat quickly develops a flavorful exterior while keeping the center tender and juicy.
A digital meat thermometer is the most useful tool I would recommend for this recipe. Although the recipe provides specific roasting times for rare and medium-rare, oven temperatures and the thickness of a tenderloin can vary. Checking the internal temperature gives you much more confidence that your roasted beef tenderloin is cooked exactly the way you want it.
After roasting, the filet needs to rest for about 20 minutes under foil before slicing. Don’t skip this step. Resting allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat and gives the tenderloin time to finish cooking from the residual heat. The internal temperature can continue rising several degrees after the beef comes out of the oven.
Because beef tenderloin is naturally flavorful and exceptionally tender, you don’t need a complicated sauce or elaborate seasoning. Serve thick slices alongside mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, or fresh bread for a classic special-occasion dinner.
Whether you’re planning a holiday meal, Sunday dinner, or an elegant dinner for guests, this No-Fail Filet of Beef is a wonderfully simple way to serve a restaurant-worthy cut of beef without making the meal complicated. Don’t forget a dessert: Low-Carb Cheesecake.
Check out: Culinary Chronicles: A Diverse Collection of Cookbooks
Serve this Filet of Beef with super simple Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes, easy Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes or super yummy Garlic Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes. This dish also goes well with easy Oven Roasted Broccoli or simple Roasted Asparagus. Oh, don’t forget the fresh bread! Try some homemade Potato-Sour Cream Biscuits, fresh baked French Bread or some easy Dinner Rolls.
Image Source: Traeger Grills.
The Filet Mignon is made from beef tenderloin, a gorgeous, soft cut of steak. You can buy a complete tenderloin and cut it yourself for a roast, saving the rest for filet Mignon, or you can ask the butcher to cut a large center piece from a whole tenderloin. Whole beef tenderloin can be purchased at Sam’s Club or Costco for a fair price.
Not what you are looking for? Try these other great recipes:
- Filet Mignon
- Bourbon’d Filet MIgnon
- Spicy Pork Tenderloin Green Chili
- Chicken Artichoke Fricassee
- Pineapple Pork Tenderloin
Ina’s No-Fail Filet of Beef
The most tender beef cut is the filet, which comes from the loin. This is where filet mignon, which is created from the tenderloin’s pointed end, originates. The tenderloin is an extremely lean cut since it has very little fat.
Beef tenderloin is one of the most expensive beef steaks as a result of all of that.
- Total Time: :50
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
- 1 whole filet of beef (4 to 5 pounds), trimmed and tied
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
- Place the beef on a baking sheet and pat the outside dry with a paper towel. Spread the butter on with your hands. Sprinkle evenly with the salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for exactly 22 minutes for rare and 25 minutes for medium-rare.
- Remove the beef from the oven, cover it tightly with aluminum foil, and allow it to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Remove the strings and slice the filet thickly.
Notes
- Recipe Notes Beef Tenderloin Temperature Chart: 22-23 min for rare (120-125˚F), 24-26 min medium-rare (130-135˚F) 28-30 min for medium done (138-140˚F) – what we aim for. 30-32 min for medium-well done (140-145˚F) – USDA recommends 145˚F. 33-35 min for well done (150˚F) – don’t do this to your meat
- Timings can vary depending on your oven and the thickness of your tenderloin, so always check for desired done…
- PRO TIP: Keep in mind that the internal temperature will continue to rise about 5 to 7 degrees after being removed from the oven.
- Prep Time: :05
- Cook Time: :25
- Category: Entree
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Global