Beef tenderloin is the long, lean muscle that filet mignon is cut from, and roasted whole it is the easiest showpiece you can put on a holiday table. We sell it two ways: whole, just as it comes to us, or trimmed and tied by our butchers so it can go straight into the oven. Plan on half a pound of trimmed tenderloin per person, pull it at 125°F, and it will be pink from edge to edge.
What Beef Tenderloin Is, and Where Filet Mignon Comes From
The tenderloin runs along the inside of the spine and does almost no work while the animal is alive. Little work means very little connective tissue, which is why it is the most tender piece of beef there is. It also means very little fat, so the flavor is mild and there is no marbling to cover for you if you overcook it.
A whole tenderloin has a thick head, an even, round center where filet mignon steaks come from, and a tail that tapers to a point. Running down one side is the chain, a loose strip of muscle and fat, and across the top is the silverskin, a tough, shiny membrane that never softens no matter how long you cook it. Both come off before a tenderloin is ready to roast.
Two Ways We Sell Beef Tenderloin
Whole, in the bag. This is the tenderloin as it arrives from the packer, sealed, with the fat, the chain and the silverskin still on. It costs less per pound, and you do the trimming. Expect to lose roughly a quarter to a third of the weight to trim, so the saving is smaller than it looks on the label.
Trimmed and tied. Our butchers take off the silverskin and the chain and tie the roast so it holds an even shape in the oven. What you pay for is what you serve. A single tenderloin tops out at around five pounds trimmed, and you choose the weight when you order.
Would you rather serve steaks? We cut filet mignon from the center, usually six to ten ounces each, and keep a bacon wrapped version too. Order by the pound or put the number of steaks in your order notes. Anything else you want done at the block is covered in custom butcher cuts.
How Much Tenderloin Per Person
Half a pound of trimmed tenderloin per person is a generous main course. A third of a pound is plenty when it shares the table with a ham or a big spread of sides. A three pound roast feeds six comfortably, and a five pound roast feeds ten. If you buy it whole, do that math on the trimmed weight, not the weight on the bag.
At home, keep it wrapped in the coldest part of the fridge and cook it within three or four days. Buying ahead for a holiday? It freezes well, and our notes on storing meat properly cover the wrapping. Thaw it in the fridge, which takes a day or two for a whole roast.
How to Roast a Beef Tenderloin
Salt it the day before. Season it all over with kosher salt and leave it uncovered on a rack in the fridge overnight. The salt works its way in, and the dry surface browns faster. Add pepper and garlic right before it cooks, or use a blend like our Butcher’s Dust. The reasoning behind salting early is in five secrets to perfectly seasoned meat. Then let the roast sit out for an hour, so the outside does not overcook while a fridge cold center catches up.
Sear, then roast hot
Brown the roast on every side in a very hot cast iron pan, about eight minutes all told, then move it to a 425°F oven. A three to four pound roast takes somewhere around 25 to 35 minutes, but only a thermometer tells you when it is done. Pull it at 120°F for rare or 125°F for medium rare.
Reverse sear, for the most even pink
Roast it low at 250°F until the center reads 115°F to 120°F, usually an hour to an hour and a half. Rest it ten minutes, then sear it hard in a hot pan to build the crust. This is the method to reach for when the roast is the centerpiece: it leaves almost no gray band under the crust, and the timing forgives guests who run late.
Either way, rest it fifteen minutes before you cut the twine. The temperature climbs about five degrees while it rests, and the juices stay in the meat instead of running onto the board. Slice it an inch thick and give it a sauce, since the cut is lean: horseradish cream, béarnaise, or chimichurri. What does not work is cooking it past medium. With no fat to protect it, a tenderloin at 145°F is dry and expensive.
Tenderloin or Rib Roast for the Holiday Table?
Tenderloin is leaner, milder and more tender, cooks in under an hour, and carves into neat slices with no bone to work around. A standing rib roast has the marbling and the deeper beefy flavor, and it forgives a few extra degrees. If your table leans toward big flavor, go rib roast, and our guide on how to cook a rib roast walks you through it. If you want something elegant that everyone can cut with a fork, go tenderloin. For the bottle to open with either, see the meat and wine pairing guide.
Ordering Your Holiday Tenderloin
The weeks before Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s are the busiest of the year at the counter, and tenderloin is one of the first things people ask for. If you know your date, order early.
Your neighborhood butcher shop is at 2030 Main Street NW in Riverside, open Mon–Fri 11am–7pm, Sat 10am–7pm, Sun 10am–5pm. You can order online for pickup and enter the weight in the quantity box. Feeding a crowd? Our catering menu runs off the same counter. For a large order or a question about what came in this week, get in touch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Frazie’s sell beef tenderloin?
Yes. We sell whole beef tenderloin in the bag for you to trim, a tenderloin roast our butchers trim and tie, filet mignon steaks, and bacon wrapped filet mignon. Order online for pickup or ask at the counter.
Is filet mignon the same as beef tenderloin?
Filet mignon is cut from the beef tenderloin. The tenderloin is the whole muscle, and filet mignon steaks are slices from its even center section.
How much beef tenderloin do I need per person?
Half a pound of trimmed tenderloin per person for a main course, or a third of a pound with plenty of sides. Buying it whole and untrimmed, allow for a quarter to a third of the weight coming off as trim.
What temperature should beef tenderloin be cooked to?
Pull it at 120°F for rare or 125°F for medium rare, then rest it fifteen minutes. It rises about five degrees while it rests. Past medium, this lean cut dries out fast.