Garlic- and Pepper-Crusted Beef Tenderloin Recipe, Spotlight on Black Peppercorns, How to Dry-age Beef at Home and Buying the Best Garlic
Over the course of 20 years traveling the globe—originally as a food, wine, and travel writer and more recently as the Olive Oil Hunter®—I’ve marveled at the rich flavors I’ve experienced across dozens of cuisines and cultures. Whether I was dining at the top restaurant in Paris or sitting down with farmers’ families for simple home-cooked food, every bite was a revelation that fine-tuned my palate. What common denominator did all these meals share? The freshness of the ingredients. Just as I’m a fanatic when it comes to sourcing the freshest extra virgin olive oil, I have a similar passion for intense spices—spices that are deep and bright and can transform even an ordinary dish. If you saw emails about my new harvest-fresh Spice Collection earlier in the week (if not, check your spam right away!), you know that I’m excited to share my spice knowledge and know-how with you—how to use spices for maximum flavor and to expand your cuisine repertoire, starting with this issue of The Olive Oil Hunter Newsletter and in future ones, too.
If I had to pick just one spice, it would be black pepper, and that’s why it’s up first. Though it’s the most widely used spice on the planet, in the U.S. it can be an afterthought rather than the star of a dish. That’s not the case with the two recipes I’m sharing with you—one is perfect for the most festive meal of this season, and the other, just as delicious, is a meal you can make in minutes with just four ingredients. So, grab your grinder and let’s cook…
No matter what your preference for doneness, use an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the tenderloin to test. According to the experts at Thermo Pro, rare is 120º–130ºF; medium rare, 130º–135ºF; medium, 135º–145ºF; medium well, 145º–155ºF; and well, 165ºF. Keep in mind that when you take it out of the oven, it will continue to cook and can go up by another 5 degrees, so plan accordingly.
A special note about garlic: When I buy garlic, I always buy organic and I always turn over the head to make sure there’s still some of the root network intact, a sign that it’s American-grown. Too often, Chinese imports are sold. Those are bleached in chlorine to artificially enhance their appearance. Another telltale sign is a concave area on the bottom, free of roots.
Garlic- and Pepper-Crusted Beef Tenderloin
Garlic- and Pepper-Crusted Beef TenderloinAncient Indian and Egyptian cultures used peppercorns as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic. Rich in antimicrobial compounds, pepper acted as a preservative, too. Contemporary research has found that there’s science to back up those early practices, thanks primarily to the powerful compound piperine, the source of its spicy punch. It has enzymes that help the body better absorb both conventional and herbal medications—turmeric supplements often come with piperine for this reason. There’s even the possibility that it could play a role in the development of medications to combat illnesses as varied as Parkinson’s, cancer, and depression. According to studies in Phytotherapy Research and other journals, although research is still in the early stages (most has been done only in the lab), one day there could be value well beyond pepper’s great taste for making it an important part of the diet.
Ingredients
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil plus 2 tablespoons for searing
- 1 tablespoon freshly cracked black peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh rosemary needles from a 3- or 4-inch sprig
- 2 tablespoons coarse grain mustard
- One 3-pound center-cut beef tenderloin, trimmed
Directions
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 450ºF. In a small food processor, combine the garlic and salt and process until the garlic is finely chopped. Let it rest for 10 minutes for the powerful allicin in the garlic to develop. Add the olive oil, black pepper, thyme, and rosemary, and process until the herbs are evenly chopped. Stir in the mustard.
Step 2
Heat a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven on the stovetop. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Sear the beef tenderloin on all sides until nicely browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side, turning with tongs. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and let cool slightly.
Step 3
Coat the meat evenly on all sides with the garlic, pepper, and herb mixture. Transfer the tenderloin to a meat rack set in a roasting pan. Roast the tenderloin until the internal temperature reaches desired doneness on an instant-read thermometer, about 20 to 30 minutes (depending on its thickness). So that the juices will redistribute, let it rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.
Yields 8 servings.
Healthy Ingredient Spotlight
Black Peppercorns
The origin of black peppercorns (Piper nigrum, part of the Piperaceae family) can be traced to Kerala, a province in southwest India where its written history goes back at least 4,000 years. Once the most coveted spice in the world, peppercorns were the original “black gold.”
Black pepper has a place in almost every cuisine, as you can tell from the fact that it’s part of spice mixes from Cajun blends to the French quatre épices to India’s garam masala. It’s great on your favorite proteins—beef, pork, duck, game, shrimp, and eggs. And it adds an indelible flavor to terrines and patés, stock and sauces, spicy desserts like gingerbread and poached pears, and even mulled wine.
It’s important to always grind your own peppercorns fresh as needed. If you require a large amount, place them by the tablespoon in a coffee bean grinder and pulse until just shy of a powder. When using black pepper as a crust, you want to crack the peppercorns into small and large pieces.
Healthy Kitchen Nugget
Dry-aging Beef at Home
My favorite quick hack for dry-aging beef at home is to open the package a day in advance of cooking and place the meat on a rack over a sheet pan on the bottom shelf of your fridge (for food safety). The overnight dehumidification in the fridge concentrates the flavor of the beef and makes it more tender (this works well with skin-on chicken thighs, too). The next day, season and cook the beef according to your recipe.
For Your Best Health
The Many Uses of Peppercorns
Ancient Indian and Egyptian cultures used peppercorns as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic. Rich in antimicrobial compounds, pepper acted as a preservative, too. Contemporary research has found that there’s science to back up those early practices, thanks primarily to the powerful compound piperine, the source of its spicy punch. It has enzymes that help the body better absorb both conventional and herbal medications—turmeric supplements often come with piperine for this reason. There’s even the possibility that it could play a role in the development of medications to combat illnesses as varied as Parkinson’s, cancer, and depression. According to studies in Phytotherapy Research and other journals, although research is still in the early stages (most has been done only in the lab), one day there could be value well beyond pepper’s great taste for making it an important part of the diet.
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