Herb Crusted Beef Tenderloin Recipe
For this recipe I start with a PSMO whole beef tenderloin. You can save some money by buying the tenderloin whole and trimming it yourself. If you want to skip this step just ask your butcher for a center cut piece of beef tenderloin. This is the same cut used to create filet mignon steaks.
First mix up the herb seasoning for the crust. It’s a combination of dry herbs (parsley, rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc…) called Herbs de Provence mixed with Kosher salt and ground black pepper. Place the seasonings in a shaker dredge and shake to combine. Next apply a little olive oil to the outer surface of the beef so the herb mixture sticks. Shake on a generous amount of the herb blend and let the beef tenderloin rest for about 30 minutes.
For this cook I used my PK 360 charcoal grill set up for 2 zone, indirect cooking. A chimney of Royal Oak coals is placed on one side of the grill and a void is created on the opposite end. I run the intake vents open under the coals and close off the exhaust above them. On the cool end it’s just the opposite. The intake is closed and the exhaust is open 100% creating a draft throughout the grill.
The beef tenderloin is placed on the far end (cool side) and I add a couple small chunks of pecan to the hot coals for smoke flavor. It takes about 40 minutes for the beef tenderloin to cook but I highly recommend using an internal thermometer like the Thermoworks DOT to monitor the internal temperature.
The Thermoworks DOT is set for 125 degrees and cooking the tenderloin in this two zone set up brings it up nice and slow. I did rotate the tenderloin half way through the cooking process so it would cook even.
Once it hit 125 I took it off the grill and placed a sheet of aluminum foil over it loosely. It needs to rest for at least 15 minutes to calm down, this will help keep all the juice inside the meat. At this point it’s ready to serve.
I sliced it into 1” thick portions and served with a creamy dill horseradish sauce. The recipe is below if you want to give it a try.
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Herb Crusted Beef Tenderloin
Description
Whole Beef Tenderloin with an Herb Crust Smoked on a charcoal grill
Ingredients
- 1 center cut beef tenderloin
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons Herb de Provence
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon course ground black pepper
Creamy Dill Horseradish Sauce
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoon prepared horse radish
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 Tablespoon fresh chopped dill
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Combine ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Instructions
- Prepare charcoal grill for indirect 2 zone cooking.
- Remove excess fat and sinew from outer surface of beef tenderloin
- Combine herbs de provence, salt, and black pepper in a shaker dredge. Apply olive oil to the outside of the beef tenderloin and season well with the herb mixture.
- Allow the beef tenderloin 30 minutes to come to room temperature.
- Place the tenderloin on the cool side of the grill away from the fire. Add 2 small chunks of pecan wood to the hot coals for smoke.
- Insert probe thermometer into the center of the tenderloin and cook until the temperature reaches 125 degrees about 40 minutes. (rotate the tenderloin 1/2 way through cooking process)
- Rest the tenderloin for 15 minutes loosely tented with aluminum foil. Slice into desired thickness and serve with Creamy Dill Horseradish sauce (recipe below)
Keywords: beef tenderloin, Tenderloin, filet mignon, whole beef tenderloin, how to bbq, smoked beef tenderloin, grilled beef tenderloin, beef tenderloin on the grill, beef tenderloin grill
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Comments 24
Looks great Malcolm, curious though I typically sear over the hot side after the rest, am I missing something?
You can – but it came out so pretty I didn’t need to. If you want to sear, you might want to catch it a few degrees earlier and sear it so it’s not overcooked.
looks yummy i will try it sometime
Thanks Malcom. I see you say cook on indirect heat, but about how hot would I want my grill? 300? 350?
I followed this recipe but cooked on a pellet grill, 225 degrees until internal temp of 115, pulled it off, tented in foil, cranked the grill up to 450 degrees, seared for four minutes rolling the roast every minute. Came out silly delicious. Now everyone is asking when I’m doing it again!
Hi Mr Reed,
Mr. Reed because I have not came across anyone else that provide absolutely delicious smoke recipes.
Hope all is well.
My question is can the beef herb recipe be used on a pork loin?
yeah – we talked about using this same method for a pork loin too!
Where you able to locate/find where you got the charcoal basket from?
It was custom made – so they aren’t selling them.
This was unbelievably good and a huge hit with my family. Best tenderloin I’ve ever had and that horseradish sauce is absolutely delicious and takes it another level. Great job Malcom and thank you for sharing this recipe! This will be repeated over and over at my house!
★★★★★
Malcom,
First time posting but have been on your website for about a yr now. This was perhaps the best piece of beef I’ve ever cooked. Cooked on a Kamado Joe at 350 +/- . Used combo of fresh herbs and dried. Had cherry wood smoke. Perfect medium rare. The horseradish sauce was a new and different addition. Absolutely perfect. Thank you!
Adam
This was perfect!! I used my Yoder 640 and your recipe for the herb rub and dill sauce was spot on!!! I even added a little extra horseradish (I like it spicy)!!..Perfect fathers day meal for my in-laws and my family. They raved about it the rest of the evening. You’re right Malcom, it’s extremely important to have temp gauge to be spot on for your internal temps. I can’t wait to fix it again, it’s a top 5 smoke/meal for us!!! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge!!
Malcolm,
Oh my god, I made this and took it to friends house! It was simply delicious, I paired it with some home made scalloped potatoes. Your instructions are so spot on it made it seem to easy! You make look like a pro, much appreciated!!!!!
I just purchased a loin and I think many forget that tenderloin is a perfect cut for the grill. I’m looking forward to trying your horseradish sauce!
I have a Kamado Joe. How would I do the 2 zone cooking? Use the deflector on half the grill and place the meat over the deflector or use the entire deflector for total indirect heat?
Malcolm,
I have a Kamado Joe but may also purchase a pellet smoker. Do you have a recommended brand? I’ve done a little research on the Traeger and Yoder.
Just started smoking meat this Spring. You have taught me everything I know. Thanks so much.
Rick
Hello Malcom!
I’m not sure if you will get this before I have to make my roast or not but I’ll try. I have a Prime Beef Whole Peeled Tenderloin. I wasn’t going to trim off the thin end, I was going to tie it to the roast so it stays uniform with the rest of the roast. Is this okay?
Also, I purchased the fresh herbs, etc needed to make your Filet compound butter and we love it so much we kind of wanted to use it with the roast. How do you suggest I incorporate it? Just salt & pepper & maybe a little garlic powder the roast before cooking and melting the butter and basting it? And pouring the rest of the butter over the cooked tenderloin?
In addition, it’s going to be about 20 degrees Christmas, how would I roast? I was going to brown on all sides just to sear and then roast at 12-15 min/1 lb….. It is a 5 lb roast.
Thank you!
I appreciate your kind response!
I did this recipe a few weeks ago absolutely amazing doing it again tomorrow for Christmas keep up the great work Malcolm!!!
★★★★★
Malcolm,
Making one of these today. My question pertains to adding the pecan chunks. I’ve read that once you add your wood for smoking regardless of flavor of wood you must wait until the “white” smoke dissipates and the smoke turns blue, then add the meat. I have read that the white smoke will make your meat taste funky. is that true because I noticed you added the pecan and immediately put the Tenderloin on the grill. Happy New Year!
This recipe is a keeper! Second consecutive year that my future son-in-law (Alec) and I did this recipe for Thanksgiving. We both used our PK’s with hardwood charcoal and chunks of oak. The beef came out perfect both times. The sauce is a great compliment to the meat as well as the roasted garlic mashed potatoes that we served. Your name went around the table numerous times throughout the evening. Hopefully we added more fans for in the near future.
Please enjoy the holidays with your family! We will be looking forward to what you cook up in 2022!
★★★★★
Malcolm, I want to do this on my Big Green Egg. I assume indirect, but at what temp?
Malcolm,
I have a Green Mountain pellet grill. At what temp would you cook the tenderloin on it to get a similar cook? Thank you!
My family always looks forward to dinner whenever they here the opening drum beat music to your videos. Thanks for sharing all your recipes. I have probably made 75% of your recommendations and they always hit it out of the park. This one however was special; definitely in my top three. Please keep sharing the gift!!!
★★★★★
The tenderloin was great. The dill horseradish sauce was killer! I can’t wait to try it out on a burger! Thx!