Grilling Beef Tenderloin

   The greatest cut of meat ever... the beef tenderloin! When its cooked right, it has a flavor and texture unmatched by any other steak. But the key words to remember are: "when its cooked right"! So, to help out all my fellow grillers out there, I've created this comprehensive guide to simplify the process of grilling the perfect beef tenderloin.

   To begin, let us start off with a brief background. Beef Tenderloin is a basic cut of meat which is usually used to make steaks. This cut of meat is called tenderloin because it comes right out of the short loin section of a cow. This center loin section is extremely tender, and for this reason beef tenderloin has become very popular and pricey.

   Before you can grill a beef tenderloin, you are going to have to buy one. You can buy beef tenderloin trimmed or untrimmed. I recommend buying it untrimmed, because supermarkets will charge you more when they trim the meat for you. To trim the tenderloin all you need to do is remove the silver tinted skin and any excess fat. This can be done relatively easily when using a sharp knife.

   After trimming the tenderloin you can grill it in two different fashions. You can either grill it as whole tenderloin, or you can cut it into individual steaks. Whole tenderloin is a bit more complicated to grill, while the steaks are very easy to grill. Both styles of cooking the tenderloin will yield marginally different tasting results.

General Guide and tips for Individual Steaks:

  If you cut your beef tenderloin into individual steaks it will be relatively simple to grill them. With both full beef tenderloin and individual cut steaks make sure to remove them from the refrigerator around 20 minutes before grilling so that they are not cold and are closer to room temperature. One tip for grilling is to not use a fork! Make sure to use tongs, because if you pierce the steak with the fork, you may lose those delicious juices! For a video guide and recipe to cooking your individual steaks, see the site navigation on the left of this page.

General Guide and tips for Whole Beef Tenderloin :

To cook the beef tenderloin whole, it must be tied so that it is round and of even thickness. With a thick cut of meat such as the beef tenderloin, it is very hard to judge exactly when the meat is done grilling. For this reason, some people like to use a thermometer. Additionally, when you take the meat off the grill make sure to not start cutting into it right away. It is important to cover the meat and let it rest for about 20 minutes. This is because all the juices will just come out of the meat if you cut it too soon, and the meat actually continues to cook for a while after you take it off the grill. For a video guide and recipe for grilling a whole beef tenderloin see the site navigation on the left of this page.

   Grilling beef tenderloin can be scary, especially if you've never done it before. I realize that no one wants to ruin a piece of meet that costs that much money! However, we hope that with our grilling tips and video recipe guides you will be happy, and your stomach even happier, with your steak!