Smoked Whole Beef Tenderloin

The story behind this recipe is somewhat comical. While Manny and I were sheltering in place in March or April this year we quickly learned that our grocery store was basically permanently out of certain predictable things (i.e. toilet paper, hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes, etc.), but oddly enough we also had a hard time finding some meats. While Arizona isn't known as "brisket country" we could always find several briskets on offer, which suited our needs well, of course. One day we were wandering through the meat department and saw three USDA Choice whole beef tenderloins that caught our eyes. When I picked one up, I saw it had the "card price" at 50% off, so I quickly checked the other two and they too were 50% off. So we ended up with 3 whole beef tenderloins in our cart each about 10 pounds that were originally $20/pound that we got for $10/pound. Necessity being the mother of invention, we knew there would be a recipe for the website forthcoming.

What makes this recipe work is the multi-step cooking process between smoking to infuse that deep smoke flavor and re-seasoning with Cattle Drive® before searing individual steaks to get a crisp bark and strong flavor across the whole steak. We use a mix of mesquite and hickory in the smoker for this recipe, but feel free to use your favorite wood here since many people don't like the stronger smoke woods on beef since beef takes on smoke well and quickly. If you prefer a medium to medium-rare temperature for your steaks, just leave the whole tenderloin on the smoke until it reaches 140°F instead of 130°F as the recipe calls for. What's awesome about this approach to cooking a whole tenerloin is that the outer tenderloin gets seasoned and smoked, then when you cut it into individual steaks, that outer layer becomes the outer ring of the individual steaks and since it was smoked, it gives a great texture to the outside of the steaks. Once you re-season, you're getting seasoning on the whole steak, too. Searing the individual steaks before serving them gives more texture and additional maillard reaction (caramelization) on the largest surface of the individual steaks making them flavorful, juicy, tender, and delicious.

As always, from our table to yours... #SpiceConfidently #EssenceOfFlavor #ChemistryInTheKitchen #CasaMSpice

— Mike Hernandez