Holiday Beef Tenderloin

Turkey rules the roost on Thanksgiving, but when Christmas and New Years rolls around, I’m all about the almighty cow. Prime rib, more prime rib, rib eye steak sandwiches, and of course beef tenderloin. Some of you are cringing at the thought of grilling at Christmas due to the weather. I get that. Standing over a grill while pouring charcoal into a chimney can be rough. Having to repeatedly go outside to check on the coals throughout the process is a pain and takes you away from the Christmas festivities. So let me simplify it a bit and smoke this bad boy on a gas grill. That’s right, I’m smoking a holiday beef tenderloin on a gas grill. The trips outside include, turning the grill on. Placing the plank on the hot grill. Placing the meat on the plank. Removing the beef from the plank and searing it before bringing it in. That’s it. And when it is cold outside, standing next to a hot grill is pretty pleasant, if not downright enjoyable. By grilling the Holiday Beef Tenderloin also saves room in the oven for the sides and pies.

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Holiday Beef Tenderloin Ingredients:

• 1 wooden smoking plank (preferably oak)
• 4lb beef tenderloin, trimmed
• Coarse salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper
• Granulated Garlic
• Dried rosemary
• Grape seed oil (substitute olive oil if necessary)

I know what you’re thinking. Planking is for salmon, right? Absolutely. And it’s glorious. But why does it have to be only for salmon? Why do we only impart that sweet, aromatic smoke into salmon? Why not shrimp, or scallops, or red meat like pork and beef? Not to mention, my only knock on my gas grill is that it doesn’t impart as much smoke flavor that I like. Add a wooden plank and I have instant smoke!

The most popular plank is cedar, but the smoke I prefer most with beef is pecan along with white or red oak. This is  red oak which I drop into a sink full of water for 30 minutes or so:

Now go prep the meat. What kind exactly? Just a black angus beef tenderloin:

I didn’t put any amounts in here except for the size of the beef tenderloin. And it’s really not about weight as it is about length. You want it shorter than your plank. Planks come in different sizes, so I would recommend getting the planks first.

To season, coat the top with coarse salt, pepper, granulated garlic and rosemary. Go heavy on the salt and pepper. With the garlic and rosemary, choose whatever fits your taste buds. I had a rosemary hater in the group that night, so I went fairly light:

Drizzle with grape seed oil:

Flip the meat over and repeat:

Don’t forget the ends. Make sure to season them as well.

Now prepare the grill. I sparked up my gas grill and set it to medium high:

Now, place the soaked red oak plank on the hot grill grates for three minutes:

After 3 minutes, flip the plank over and place the beef tenderloin on the plank and close the lid:

So why did I just soak the plank in water and then dry it out? If the plank is water logged, it won’t smoke. But it needs some water in there to keep from bursting into flames, which will ruin your Christmas dinner faster than Snots in Christmas Vacation. Try to picture that red oak plank above on fire without cringing. I can’t knowing what that cut of meat cost!

After only a few minutes, my plank is blackening around the edges and I’m getting some smoke:

At 30 minutes, smoke is rolling out of the side of my grill:

At 45 minutes, the tenderloin itself is starting to darken, but that’s OK:

At 45 minutes, the internal temperature is still a little low at under 100:

I gave it the full hour at which point the internal temp rose to between 110 and 120. Then I took the tenderloin off the plank and seared the bottom only. The top and sides already had a nice browned crust and needed no searing, notice the red oak plank is in the background, charred pretty well around the outside:

Same scenario as searing a steak, except only on one side. Get some grill marks (approximately 3-4 minutes) and then rotate 45 degrees and the bottom will look like this:

Then take the soon to be holiday beef tenderloin inside and let it rest for 20 minutes so the juices, in an excited state from the heat, can calm down and redistribute throughout the meat:

20 minutes sounds like a long time, but don’t worry, it will still be plenty warm.

Slice and serve:

That slice was from dead center, so it is the reddest. The farther away from center, the more done the meat will be. So adjust accordingly per guest and what they prefer in terms of doneness.

By planking the beef tenderloin, I get the sultry smokiness I don’t normally get on a gas grill, plus the lovely char around the outside and a perfect red interior, getting more pink closer to the edges. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good bite!

If you have any questions about the holiday beef tenderloin, feel free to leave them below or shoot me an email.

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5 from 2 votes

Holiday Beef Tenderloin

Holiday Beef Tenderloin, smoked on an oak plank in a gas grill before being seared to caramelized protein perfection! Ideal for Christmas or New Years Eve

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course: Christmas Dinner, Christmas Supper, Entree, Holiday Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American, American Fare, Grilling, Holiday Meal, Steak

Keyword: Beef, Beef Tenderloin, Christmas, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Supper, Filet Mignon, Holiday Dinner, Holiday Meal, Planked Steak, reverse sear, reverse seared, Reverse Seared Steak

Servings: 6 People

Ingredients

• 1 wooden smoking plank preferably oak or pecan
• 4 lb beef tenderloin trimmed
• coarse salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• Granulated Garlic
• Dried rosemary
• Grape seed oil substitute olive oil if necessary

Instructions

• Soak the plank in water for 30-60 minutes
• Season the beef tenderloin with salt,pepper, garlic and rosemary
• Drizzle with grape seed oil
• Set the grill to medium high heat
• Place the plank on the grill, wait three minutes and flip the plank over
• Place the tenderloin onto the plank, close the lid
• Smoke on the plank until the internal temperature of the holiday beef tenderloin reaches 110-120 degrees (about an hour)
• Remove from the plank and sear on the bottom, rotating 45 degrees after 3-4 minutes and leaving on for another 3-4 minutes to get cross hatch grill marks
• Remove from the grill and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes
• Slice and serve

Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas, the Original Grillin’ Fool, was sent off to college with a suitcase and a grill where he overcooked, undercooked and burned every piece of meat he could find. After thousands of failures, and quite a few successes, nearly two decades later he started a website to show step by step, picture by picture, foolproof instructions on how to make great things out of doors so that others don’t have to repeat the mistakes he’s made on the grill.

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BBQ Grilling

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This article was initially published on: November 26, 2013