How to Trim a Whole Beef Tenderloin
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A whole beef tenderloin makes a great main course for a special occasion. As tender as the name implies, it has a mild beefy flavor that almost everyone loves and goes great with all kinds of sauce and accompaniments from the classic creamy horseradish to chimichurri to flavored butters to creamy mushroom sauces.
You have probably seen a whole beef tenderloin in cryovac at the market as well as those that are beautifully trimmed with no visible fat. When you take a look at the price, the difference can be up to $10 per pound; the trimmed one costs much more. Of course, if you buy the whole cryovaced one, you are paying for the extra weight of the fat and parts that will be trimmed off, but even considering that, the whole untrimmed cut is going to be a lot cheaper. This is one big reason why many people choose to trim a whole beef tenderloin themselves. But there are other good reasons as well. Read on to find out more why and how to trim a whole beef tenderloin.
What is Beef Tenderloin?
Before we get into the how’s and why’s, let’s talk about the what, as in what is beef tenderloin? Beef tenderloin is a luxurious boneless meat cut that’s so tender you can cut it with a butter knife. The reason it’s so tender is that it comes from the loin, the area below the cow’s backbone, which is home to other popular cuts, such as Porterhouse. The muscle stays tender because, as opposed to other parts of the animal, it sees little work.
The cut is long (about 2 ½ feet), mostly narrow (about 4 inches in diameter at the center) and weighs between 6 and 7 pounds. It can serve 8 to 12 people depending on how it’s trimmed. It has a wide end sometimes called the nose or butt end and a tapered end referred to as the tail. Also called beef filet, it’s a lean cut with a mild beefy flavor. Both Chateaubriand and filet mignon are cut from the middle of the tenderloin to be sold on their own, the former as a small roast and the latter as steaks. A whole beef tenderloin in cryovac may be labeled “unpeeled” because much of that exterior fat needs to be peeled away.
Why Trim You Own Beef Tenderloin
By trimming beef tenderloin yourself, you can be sure your meat is fresh as opposed to the trimmed pieces that have been sitting unwrapped in the butcher case. If you are feeding a crowd, you can trim the tenderloin and leave it whole, but if you are feeding fewer, you can cut a smaller roast as well as custom-cut steaks, such as filet mignon, to use at a later date. Plus, with a little know-how, you can trim better, and with less waste, then many of the so-called trimmed roasts you find at the average supermarket.
Bonus: Some of the trimmed away sections contain delicious meat you can use for other dishes.
Equipment for Trimming a Whole Tenderloin
You will need a couple pieces of equipment to trim your tenderloin but none of it is specialized.
A sharp knife. If you have a boning knife, that is your best bet for trimming whole beef tenderloin as its slender curved blade and blade length (5 to 6 inches) is designed for that task. If you plan to trim meat often, or enjoy cutting up whole chickens, a good boning knife is worth the investment. Otherwise, a 5- to 6-inch utility knife will work well so long as it’s very sharp. (A chef’s knife does not give you the control you want due to it’s large size, and a serrated knife is a definite no-no as it will tear the meat.)
A large cutting board. This is a big cut so haul out your biggest board.
An apron. This is not mandatory, but the job is a bit messy so you might want to consider one.
How to Trim Beef Tenderloin
To start, remove the meat from its bag. You may want to do this in a clean sink because there will be a lot of liquid to drain off. Then place the meat fat side up on the cutting board. Using a clean towel or paper towel, dry it off so it’s not slippery, which can be dangerous around sharp knives.
Cut away the “chain.” Take a look at your tenderloin. You’ll see that along one side is a loosely attached strip of meat and fat and connective tissue running along the length of it. For a clean looking roast, the chain needs to be removed (but not discarded!). To remove the chain, use your fingers to start pulling it away from the roast—it comes off easy—then use your boning knife to cut it off completely. There is plenty of good meat in the chain, as much 12 to 14 ounces from a 6½ pound tenderloin, so save it and trim the meat off later to use in stir-frys, curries, stroganoff, or to add to your favorite beef grind for burgers.
Peel away the thick fat. The reason a whole tenderloin is called unpeeled is that most of the thick fat can be easily peeled away. Again, that’s as easy as it sounds, simply pull off the larger pieces of fat. Where it does not come off easily, use a knife to remove it fully.
Remove the silverskin. Once the roast is cleaned of the big pieces of fat, you can easily see the silverskin, a thin white and silverish membrane. (You can also see it in the image below of the larger end of beef tenderloin, sometimes called a tenderloin roast.) It's best to remove this as it can become chewy when cooked. This is where your knife skills come into play, but it’s not too tricky.
Using a boning knife and holding it parallel to your work surface slide it under the silverskin about one inch away from the end with the sharp side of the knife facing the end. Try to keep the blade as close to the silverskin as possible to avoid cutting away any precious meat. Using a subtle sawing motion, slide the blade toward the end of the silverskin. This will free up a tab that you can hold in onto when removing the rest of the silverskin.
Lift the tab up and position the knife in the same way but with the sharp side facing the remaining silverskin. While pulling on the tab run the knife down the length of the silverskin to cut it away. (Do not be tempted to peel this part off because peeling will tear the meat.) If the silverskin is wide, you may need to do this two or three times in strips to remove all of it.
Remove most of the remaining pieces of fat. You don’t have to remove all of it, since fat is flavor, but cut off any larger pieces that remain.
Forming Whole Tenderloin Into a Roast
Now that your tenderloin is trimmed of excess fat, you have choices. You can cook it whole as a large roast or trim it further and cut off some steaks to make a smaller roast.
The whole roast will feed 8 to 12 people. However, you will see if left as is, there is a very narrow tail and a very wide butt end. To make the roast more even in size, you will want to either cut off a few inches of the tail (keep that meat!). Or you can tuck a couple inches under and tie it with butcher twine to secure it and make that end appear thicker. At the butt end, there is a large chunk of meat that’s barely hanging on. To make the shape more compact and even and to secure that piece onto the roast, tie the roast with twine in one-inch intervals.
Alternatively, you can cut off that lobe at the butt end and either roast it another time for a couple people or slice it into steaks. Your hold tenderloin will be smaller, but it will look better and cook up more evenly.
How to Cut Steaks from a Whole Tenderloin
If you buy a whole tenderloin, you can custom cut it to fit your needs. For instance, you can create a 2- or 3-pound whole roast to feed 4 to 6 people and cut the rest into steaks. If cutting steaks, you may want to use a ruler to ensure the same thickness, usually about an inch is good. For a fancy Chateaubriand roast, eyeball the most even section of the middle of the roast and cut that as one piece.
How to Store Steaks and Roasts Cut from the Whole Tenderloin
If you aren’t cooking the whole roast at one time, wrap steaks or smaller roasts in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to three days. A good way to freeze steaks is to wrap them individually in waxed paper or parchment, lay them flat on a baking sheet and freeze until hard. When frozen, seal the wrapped steaks in freezer bags for up to three months and just pop one out when you’re in the mood for some tender beef.
How to Cook a Whole Beef Tenderloin on the Traeger
While you can smoke a whole tenderloin from start to finish, or roast it, and even sear it and then roast it, our favorite method of cooking beef tenderloin is a reverse sear. This method ensures it’s cooked to the perfect doneness throughout but adds a beautifully browned and crisped exterior.
Before cooking you will want to flavor the roast. That can be as simple as salt and pepper or one of our delicious Traeger rubs.
To reverse sear, you smoke the roast first on your Traeger for a couple hours until it reaches an internal temperature of about 120°F. (For easy internal temperature monitoring, use Traeger’s wired meat thermometer or a MEATER®.) The wood pellets you use is your choice, but beef usually benefits from a heartier smoke that you’ll get from hickory or from our Signature pellets.
Once the meat is imbued with that wood-fired flavor, you sear it on all sides with a little oil either on a hot grill, a skillet, or best of all on the Traeger Flatrock Flat Top Grill, which can handle the whole roast. (That said, you can cut a very large roast in half before smoking if you need to sear in a small skillet.)
Let the meat rest briefly before slicing and serving.
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Beef Tenderloin Recipes
It’s hard to beat the flavor of a wood-fired beef tenderloin. Here are some of our favorite recipes for it.
Porcini Crusted Tenderloin with red Wine Mushrooms Sauce
When the goal is to impress, make this elegant dish. The mushroom sauce also goes well with other cuts of beef.
Slathered with a mix of mustard, bourbon, and black pepper then reverse seared, this roast will become your go-to recipe for special occasions.
Sear-Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Fresh Herb Sauce
A tangy-sweet herb sauce adds bright flavor and a burst of color to a simple but perfectly cooked beef tenderloin that makes any dinner a special occasion.
Espresso Coriander Rubbed Beef Tenderloin
Espresso powder adds toasty notes to a rub that include brown sugar, pepper, and coriander for this easy roasted tenderloin.
Beef Tenderloin with Tomato Vinaigrette
A chopped tomato sauce makes this the perfect tenderloin for special summer eating.
Beef Tenderloin Steaks with Blue Cheese and Peppercorn Butter
Twenty-five 5-star reviews can’t be wrong. Cut some steaks from your whole tenderloin then top them with a blue-cheese spiked garlic butter for rich, savory flavor.
Smoked Beef Tenderloin
by Traeger Kitchen
50 Reviews
Prep Time
15 Min
Cook Time
1 Hr
30 Min
Serves
4
Pellets
Mesquite
We’re taking smoked beef tenderloin to the next level with a mustard, garlic, bourbon marinade, a peppered outer crust, and an hour-long blast of pure hardwood smoke.
Ingredients
main
| 1 | (2 to 2-1/2 lb) Beef Tenderloin Roast, trimmed |
| 1/2 Cup | Dijon mustard |
| 2 Clove | garlic, mashed into a paste |
| 2 Tablespoon | bourbon or strong cold coffee |
| To Taste | kosher salt |
| To Taste | coarse ground black and green peppercorns |
1
Lay the tenderloin on a large piece of plastic wrap.
2
In a small bowl, combine the mustard, garlic, and bourbon. Slather the mixture evenly all over the tenderloin. Wrap in the plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3
Unwrap the plastic wrap and generously season the tenderloin on all sides with salt and coarsely ground pepper.
4
When ready to cook, set the Traeger temperature to 180℉ and preheat with the lid closed for 15 minutes. For optimal flavor, use Super Smoke, if available.
5
Insert a leave-in meat thermometer into the thickest part of the tenderloin. Place the tenderloin directly on the grill grates, close the lid, and smoke for 60 minutes.
6
Remove the tenderloin from the grill. Increase the grill temperature to 400℉.
7
Once the grill is hot, place the tenderloin back on the grill, close the lid, and roast until the internal beef tenderloin temperature reaches 130℉, 20-30 minutes depending on the thickness of the tenderloin. Do not overcook.
8
Remove the tenderloin from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
