You can't go wrong with Barbara Kafka's method.
I've used it often. I've also grilled it over high heat. Easy and doesn't take long. I rub the roast with garlic and lots of black pepper. If you have time you can also presalt.

According to Barbara........"I buy the meat by the inch. It cooks exactly the same way no matter the length as long as it s more than 4 inches long. When ordering, I usually allow about an inch and a quarter per person and an extra half inch for the two end slices. By this rule, six people will require an eight inch piece of fillet. The muscles in a fillet all run lengthwise so that when it is sliced a cross the serving it is also tenderized.

The fillet is also called the tenderloin, and it is tender. It is a long round muscle that hides behind the bones on which the shell steak and the rib roast reside. T-bone steaks have some of the shell and, on the other side of the bone, a circle of the fillet, or tenderloin. A filet mignon is a slice cut a cross the whole fillet to make an individual steak.

4 to 5 pound whole beef fillet (about 3 to 3 1/2 inches in diameter, a good 18 inches long)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup red wine for deglazing, optional, or 1 recipe semi-perigourdine sauce

Place oven rack on second level from bottom. heat oven to 500ðF

Place fillet in an 18 x 12 x 2 inch roasting pan. Rub fillet with butter and oil. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. roast for 10 minutes. turn. roast 10 minutes more. Transfer fillet to a serving platter. Pour or spoon off excess fat. Put pan on top of the burner. Add the wine or sauce and bring contents to a boil while scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Let reduce by half. Season with salt and pepper.

Thanks. I've never cooked at roast at that high a temp, usually cook it at 200 since we like rare. This won't come out with a gray ring around it?

Do you cook it cold from the fridge if you like rare? I always let roasts come to room temp first.

The problem with doing filets or CB is that I'd have half this meat left over to cook right away, leftover roast isn't a problem in our house since we like RB sandwiches but with the running around (looks like it's going to be almost every night now that track season is starting, just like XC in fall) there just isn't time to roast and have it done/warm for dinner.

The laws of thermal dynamics and meat texture relative to temperature is well known.

In your situation, to maximize the quality of done-ness (rare) and not overcooking (temperature over 135F), you may try to make sure that the internal temperature is as high as possible when you start.

You can put your semi-frozen beef in very warm water and measure the internal temperature, or, set your microwave at the lowest power and microwave a few seconds at a time and keep turning the meat to even out the microwave cooking. Meanwhile keep measuring the internal temperature.

Once the temperature is high enough, then grill, or roast or fry at the highest temperature. You will get a very nice crust with minimum grey ring around an interior which is mostly rare, and no bloody uncooked cold raw meat.

dcarch

Another extremely easy way to cook tenderloin is boeuf a la ficelle--literally, beef on a string. The internet has dozens of variations for this recipe; google it and see what interests you. But they all have in common this simple procedure: you tie string around the filet and lower it into stock--essentially poaching it.

If you have a remote probe thermometer (the kind that has a probe that goes into the meat, with a cable going from the probe to a little box that sticks outside the oven door with a magnet), you can do Alton Brown's trick of roasting it in a very slow oven (200 to 225) until the inner temp of the meat is around 120. Then, take the meat out of the oven and sear it in a hot skillet. This develops a nice crust, just a little grey, and lots of hot pink medium rareness in the middle--similar to dcarch's recommendations.

Here's Alton demonstrating that technique in an episode called
"Tender is the Loin 2"

It's also worth looking at the first episode, "Tender is the Loin 1" for info on cutting up a whole beef tenderloin. Do a youtube search for that term.

Here is a link that might be useful: tender is the loin 2

Ajsmama we like our beef rare too. It is always best to roast or grill meat that is at room temperature.

And 135ðF is overcooked. I take the meat out of the oven or off the grill when it reaches between 110ðF and 115ðF depending on the cut. While it rests the internal temperature will continue to rise.

I switched from slow roasting to the high heat method many years ago.

~Ann

A delicious, quick meal that will use some of your filet is beef stroganoff.

This is the recipe I use...sounds complicated but you can simplify the sauce. The point is that the beef is sliced thin and quickly, very quickly, sauted and then tossed with the sauce and served over egg noodles. Delicious !

Beef Stroganoff (Silver Palate)

3 Cup Crème Fraiche (can use sour cream)

1 1/2 Tbl Dijon mustard

3 Tbl tomato paste

3 Tbl Worcestershire sauce

2 Tsp paprika

1/2 Cup demiglace (or good beef broth)

3/4 Tsp salt

fresh black pepper To Taste

1 Lb firm small sized, white button mushrooms

10 Tbl butter (or a combo of butter)and EVOO

24 pearl onions

3 Lb of beef filet

Italian parsley Chopped

Combine creme fraiche, tomato paste, mustard Worcestershire, paprika, demiglace (or beef broth if you don't have demi glace), salt and pepper in a medium size sauce pan.

Simmer slowly for 20 minutes or until sauce is slightly reduced. Do not boil. Remove from heat and let sit covered. Cut a small x in the bottom of each onion. Bring a pot of water to the boil and drop the onions in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain the onions and run under cold water. Peel the onions.

Melt 3TBSP of butter in saut pan. Saute Mushrooms until tender. Remove mushrooms and add 3 TBSP more butter, saute onions just until lightly golden. Remove the onions from the pan and add to mushrooms.

Cut the meat into thin slices on the diagonal. Heat the remaining butter in the same pan. Cook on high heat just until lightly browned,do not over cook.This dish can be prepared to this point several hours before serving.

To complete, set sauce over medium low heat and bring to a bare simmer. Add mushrooms, onions and any accumulated juices. Simmer 5 minutes. Add beef and juices, heat just until meat is heated through.

Serve immediately over hot noodles , garnish with the parsley.

Forgot to mention that this is also a recipe that you can totally prep and then finish at the last minute which may help with your timing issues.

Thanks Ann T. I usually do roasts that are larger in diameter the exact opposite way (low and slow, finish high though we don't really care for much of a crust so it's about 400 and really quick).

I've had the meat out of the fridge and seasoned for about 90 min, I don't have a grill pan like Alton in the video, so am heating the small George, had heated the oven to 250 in preparation for this other method (see link) but I'm going to try searing it on the small grill (it's a pretty flat piece of meat) and then I'm going to let it rest (a little more than optimal, about 35 min) while I pick up DS, then I'll put it in oven (turned off just now) when we get home.

If seared and set at room temp 35 min, what temp to set the oven at to have 3 lb of meat ready in about 45-60 min?

Oh, and I normally take a roast out at 115, let it rest about 15-20 min but tonight don't have the luxury of time, so maybe go to 125? Agree 135 is too much.

This was part of a whole grassfed tenderloin, it's only about 1.5" thick (but about 7 wide and 9" long) so it's really more like a really big steak than a roast. A little hard to get the thermometer into - maybe I'm just better off broiling it? Or doing it entirely on the GF (though the ends hang out a little, and I can't really sear the ends).

Thanks - I'm usually cooking grain-finished beef, and thicker roasts.

Thanks Chase, I was typing when you were, I will definitely make stroganoff with any leftovers since I have the feeling this "steak" won't make good slices for sandwiches.

At 1.5" thick I would sear-roast it. 4 min. searing, 5 min. on the other side in a hot pan in 450-degree oven, 6 min. rest = perfect medium rare. I prefer to salt ahead of time rather than after.

Filet makes GREAT sandwiches. We do it all the time with leftovers. Even better, piled on toasted English muffins with cheese melted on top. Yummmm!

Thanks - I was thinking about it while driving to town to pick up DS, got home and DH called, he was running late so I just cut it up, butterflied it and used the GF. DD said hers was perfect, of course I threw DS's on right after hers (plus cut off the more done ends since she likes hers really rare and he doesn't) but he was in the shower so I ate those pieces (more done than I like), he ate the next piece (though he didn't come down til DH was home so it was cold), and DH got to cook his the way he wanted. In between I cooked 2 more pieces rare, wrapped them in foil, let them sit for a bit before putting in fridge. Those will be for stroganoff.

Gotta run now - thanks to everyone!

Arley, that link "tender is the loin 2" is basically what I suggest, except in reverse. Quick sear them low temperature grill. The end result will be the same.

Ann_t, "And 135ðF is overcooked. --" I do understand that's overcooked for you, but I think for general information, that is considered medium rare. May be you meant 135F interior temperature before resting?

All this talk about cooking tenderloin. I think I have some in the freezer. I am going to try make that tonight.

dcarch

No, I meant 135ðF is way over cooked if someone likes it rare. If you took the meat out of the oven at 135ðF, and let it rest it would be also past medium rare.

~Ann

Agree. 135F (final temperature, not resting internal temperature) is medium rare, not rare.

dcarch