Tenderloin à la Mud and Sticks

Doesn’t that look cool? This is what the marinade ingredients looked like before stirring them up and adding the beef tenderloin. Later, Wayne told the boys we were eating meat cooked with mud and sticks and leaves. Do you think they believed him?

This recipe was one of two new ones (from the special occasion roasts list) that we tried for our Christmas Eve dinner, and it tasted absolutely delicious. I really liked the Beef Wellington, and loved the “awe” factor of that recipe, but this one was the hands down favorite, and much easier to make besides. We’ll definitely be having it again in the future.

I had to purchase horseradish to make the recommended sauce, and I was a bit leery about that because from past experience it’s not something we like. However, the sauce turned out to have an understated horseradish taste and worked quite well with the beef. It also tasted pretty good on our baked potatoes!

Basically, make the marinade and let the beef sit in it for 1-24 hours (we did about 6), then roast it and serve with the sauce. We’ll give it a thumbs up for a perfect celebratory dinner. 

• Roast Tenderloin
• 2 pounds beef tenderloin
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 cloves garlic smashed
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

Tie beef in several places to help it keep its shape.

Combine olive oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, garlic, rosemary, thyme and bay leaf in a bowl/container. Add salt and pepper to taste. Marinate beef in this mixture in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Remove meat from marinade. Place on a wire rack in a baking dish. Season to taste with salt, pepper, dried rosemary and minced garlic. Roast at 425° for 25-30 minutes, or until reaches desired temperature.

Let set, covered, for 15 minutes before removing string, carving and serving with Yogurt Sauce.

To make the sauce, mix together yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, horseradish and salt to taste.