If there is a special occasion around here, you can almost bet your bottom dollar we will be eating beef tenderloin. This recipe is pretty foolproof and is always delicious! We typically pair it with scalloped potatoes, mac and cheese, and asparagus, and it becomes an easy fancy meal for any occasion. I use the recipe from the Perini Ranch cookbook- Perini Ranch is a famous steakhouse close to us- with a few tweaks that make it even better!

Ask for a 3-5 lb beef tenderloin roast from the meat market. Depending on your grocery store, it may come in varying stages of trimmed. You want any excess fat trimmed off the edges. Place on a parchment lined pan, or grease a pan so it won’t stick. Preheat your oven to 475 degrees.

Cover entire roast with a thin layer of olive oil. Season generously with tenderloin seasoning rub (see below for recipe). Allow seasoning to adhere to the meat (about 20-30 minutes). You don’t want any dry seasoning sitting on top of the meat when you put it in to cook.

Put it in the oven at 475 degrees for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, lower the temperature to 425 degrees and cook until it is 125 degrees at the thickest part- this is typically 20-25 minutes, but check it frequently. This allows it to get to medium rare with hangover cooking when you take it out of the oven. Tenderloin isn’t hard to cook by any means, but probably the one thing you don’t want to happen is overcooking it.

Once you take it out at 125 degrees internal temp at the thickest part (it will look like above), place slices of butter along the top and cover with foil for 10-15 minutes before slicing. This will allow the butter to melt and the meat to rest, which helps it maintain its juiciness and tenderness.

After letting it rest, transfer to a cutting board and cut in 1/2″ slices. We like to take the melted butter and seasonings and pour them back over the sliced tenderloin. Now it is ready to enjoy!