Makes 12 servings
This roast is perfect for holidays and dinner parties, because it’s quick to cook, including a few minutes on the grill. While you can sear your roast in a pan on the stove, using the grill your house free from smoke and grease, so you can finish it in the oven ahead of dinner.
Ingredients
Crust
- 4 oz (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, plus as needed to adjust crust
- 2 teaspoons (about 2 cloves) minced garlic
- 1 1/2 cups freshly toasted bread crumbs, coarsely ground or panko
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon basil chiffonnade
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped marjoram leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus as needed to adjust seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, plus as needed to adjust seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus as needed to adjust seasoning
Mustard Coating
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
- 2 oz (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
Beef Tenderloin
- 4 lb 8 oz completely trimmed beef tenderloins, tied to hold their shape with butcher’s twine
- 2 tablespoon canola oil, plus as needed, for grill grates
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed black peppercorns, plus as needed to adjust seasoning
Directions
- For the crust, melt the butter in a 10-in sauté pan over low heat. Add the garlic and cook until the butter and garlic start to turn golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the bread crumbs, parsley, thyme, basil, marjoram, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Toss, taste, and adjust seasoning. The bread crumbs should be moist and hold their shape when pinched together. If not, add more melted butter a tablespoon at a time until it does. The herb crust can be made in advance. Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 1 day or in the freezer for 3 months.
- For the mustard coating, stir the mustard and butter together until evenly combined. The mustard coating can be made 1 week in advance. Store covered in the refrigerator.
- Heat the grill to high. Clean, then oil, the grates. Let the tenderloin come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Blot the beef dry, evenly season with the salt and pepper, and brush with the oil. Place on the hot grill grates. Lower the grill cover or use an aluminum foil pan to cover the meat. Leave the meat undisturbed for 3 minutes. Adjust the heat to control flare-ups, keeping it as hot as possible.
- Give the meat a quarter turn and grill, covered, 2 to 3 minutes, then give a quarter turn 2 more times and grill until evenly charred, 2 to 3 minutes more for each turn. The beef should be very rare. Place the meat on a sheet pan.
- Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and heat it to 450°F. Remove and discard the butcher’s twine. Evenly paint a thick mustard coating on top of the tenderloin. Pat the bread crumbs on top of the mustard, forming about a 1/4-inch-thick crust.
- Roast in the oven until the bread crumbs are golden but the beef is rare to medium-rare or reaches an internal temperature of 115° to 120°F, 10 to 15 minutes. If the crust is not crispy or golden enough, brown under the broiler on high heat for about 1 minute. Loosely tent with aluminum foil, and let the meat rest for 20 minutes before slicing against the grain.
