Mustard-Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Sauce

By MooK

Ingredients

• 1 whole beef tenderloin, cleaned (the butcher can do this for you), 6 to 8 pounds
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 cups reduced beef stock (it should have body and be a little thick)
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons parsley, minced

Preparation

Step 1

At least 24 hours before you want to cook it, place the beef tenderloin on a wire rack and salt it. Let it sit in the fridge uncovered overnight. If you plan to leave it in the fridge for longer, cover it loosely with plastic wrap. Dry is one thing, jerky is another and we want dry so the tenderloin caramelizes.

Heat the oven to 375? F. If the tenderloin is too big for your pan, cut it in half, or thirds. I like to truss the tenderloin so it holds a nice round shape. It also helps it cook more evenly. Heat a heavy-bottomed pan over high heat. Pepper the tenderloin with freshly ground pepper. Add a glug or two of oil to the pan, just enough to give a good coating.

Sear the meat quickly but make sure it is browned. Remove it from the heat. Combine the panko bread crumbs with half the melted butter, season it with salt and black pepper and half the parsley, and combine it all with a few stirs of a spoon. Once the tenderloin has cooled a bit, use three tablespoons of the mustard and smear it across three sides of the tenderloin, then take the tenderloin and roll the three sides into the breadcrumbs, creating a crust.

In a sauce pan, add the remaining butter. Place the pan over medium high heat and sweat the shallots. Do not brown them. Once the shallots are tender, add the wine and let it reduce to 1 tablespoon or so. Add the stock and the mustard and reduce the volume by half. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon nicely. If it's too thick add a splash of water.

Place the tenderloin, uncrusted side down, on a baking sheet with sides. Bake the tenderloin about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Add the parsley to the sauce and warm it, add a splash of lemon juice, then ladle the sauce onto the bottom of a warm serving platter and fan out the tenderloin. Serve immediately