As much as I love prime rib, beef tenderloin is much easier to prepare, easier to carve and the leftovers are good cold.
The only challenge with beef tenderloin is that it is lean (little to no fat) and it is best served rare. I wanted to do something that looked a little fancier than plain grilled tenderloin but was just as easy to execute. I thought about one of my favorite ways to prepare filet — bacon-wrapped — and thought, let’s see what happens if I wrap the whole tenderloin in bacon mummy style.
I proceeded to wrap room-temperature bacon around the tenderloin, tucking the end pieces under the center of the tenderloin to make sure that it was all roughly the same size. When bacon is room temperature, it will stick to itself and you don’t need toothpicks to secure it. Make sure to purchase a standard thin-cut bacon and make each piece slightly overlap the other, so it will bake into a beautiful bacon crust.
Finally, to make it festive, I decided to add a rich green peppercorn sauce scented with fresh thyme and a splash of cognac. This is now my favorite presentation for beef tenderloin. I love the mash-up of the bacon-wrap with the old-school sauce. It just goes to show you that everything old can be new again.
BACON-WRAPPED BEEF TENDERLOIN
Serves: 10
Start to Finish: 90 minutes
1 trimmed tenderloin, center cut, about 4-5 pounds
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 pound thin-cut bacon, at room temperature
Fresh thyme leaves for garnish
Green peppercorn and thyme sauce ( recipe below)
Nutrition information per serving: 467 calories; 283 calories from fat; 31 g fat (11 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 141 mg cholesterol; 380 mg sodium; 1 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 45 g protein.
GREEN PEPPERCORN AND THYME SAUCE
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 large shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons cognac or brandy
1 tablespoon strong Dijon mustard
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 dash Tabasco or other favorite hot sauce, optional
2 teaspoons thyme, plus 8-10 sprigs for infusing and garnish
1 tablespoon green peppercorns, pressed dry
Fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
Nutrition information per serving: 156 calories; 141 calories from fat; 16 g fat (10 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 47 mg cholesterol; 60 mg sodium; 1 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 0 g protein.
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