Beef tenderloin
The most tender cut of beef.
Rare
Medium rare
Medium
Well done
Rest time
Cooking helper: how long to go?
Check the core temperature of your beef tenderloin now and then. After two readings the helper works out when it will be done. Then start the rest timer.
1. Pick your doneness
2. Measure the core temperature
Measure every 5 to 10 minutes at the thickest point. Your readings are kept if you close the page.
3. Let it rest
Tip: large cuts rise another 2 to 5 °C while resting, so take them off a little before the target.
All internal temperatures in one chart · Resting meat: how long and why
About Beef tenderloin
Beef tenderloin is the beef version of the tenderloin muscle: the strip along the inside of the spine that does almost no work. That makes it the most tender cut on the animal, and also the leanest and the most expensive.
It is precisely that lack of fat that narrows the margin. Where a ribeye a few degrees too far is barely noticeable, tenderloin dries out quickly above 60 degrees and loses the velvety texture you are paying for. Most people therefore take it no further than medium rare.
The cut tapers at one end. If you are cooking it whole, tie the thin tail back or fold it under, otherwise that section is well done while the middle is still rare. Cut into tournedos, each piece cooks separately and the problem disappears.
Because tenderloin has relatively little flavour of its own compared with marbled cuts, many people baste it with butter, thyme and garlic. That changes nothing about the core temperature, but a great deal about what you taste.
Tips
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Most voted
Ossenhaas is mager: bak kort en fel aan, en laat goed rusten.
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