Whole Beef Tenderloin Recipe

Something I learned back in my New York days in the late 1990s is that the art of true sophistication can be really simple — it doesn’t necessarily need to be dynamic. Case in point is this elegant beef tenderloin, which gets seasoned with just salt and pepper and brushed with a combination of Dijon mustard and thyme. The sweet floral nature of the fresh herb matches with the punchy notes of Dijon, and that’s honestly all you need. The method here is more of a reverse-sear, where you start on the cooler side of the grill first and move the tenderloin over to the hot side at the end to get your crust. Use an herb brush to baste extra mustard mix onto the meat as it cooks. —Tyler Florence

Whole Beef Tenderloin

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 1 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 cup coarse-grain mustard
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 beef tenderloin (3 pounds)
• Coarse sea salt, such as Maldon, for garnish

Courtesy Abrams Books

Directions

To set up the grill, preheat a charcoal or gas grill to medium-high heat, and set it up with two zones: a hot side and cold (less hot) side, for direct and indirect cooking. You want the temperature to hover around 400°F.

In a small bowl, stir together both mustards, the oil, and thyme. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper and thin with a few tablespoons of water, if necessary, to make the mixture loosely spreadable. Spread half of the mixture over all sides of the tenderloin. Place the steak on the cooler side of the grill and let it slowly come to temperature, turning occasionally.

Continue to cook, basting occasionally with more of the mustard sauce, until the tenderloin reaches an internal temperature of 112° to 115°F, about 45 minutes. In the last 5 to 10 minutes of cooking, move the tenderloin over to the hot side of the grill, to get some char on the exterior. Remove when the internal temp of the steak reaches 125°F for medium-rare; leave on longer if you want it cooked further.

Rest for 10 to 15 minutes, then slice into steaks. Garnish with fresh thyme and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Serve immediately with any remaining mustard sauce.

Excerpt from American Grill A Cookbook: 125 Recipes for Mastering Live Fire by Tyler Florence. Photos copyright © 2024 by Jason Perry. Published by Abrams.