Salt Crusted Beef Tenderloin

 

I've heard about using a salt crust to cook a whole fish, but never for beef so I was intrigued. The meat ended up being so tender I could almost cut it with a fork! I made this as a special treat and I would definitely serve it to company at my next party! You could use top sirloin roast or top round roast instead of the expensive beef tenderloin. 

Ingredients:
2 lbs. beef tenderloin (for a larger piece of tenderloin, you'll need more salt crust to cover it)
pepper

Salt Crust:
3 cups kosher salt
1 cup water
1 tbs. chopped rosemary

Directions:
1. Cover beef tenderloin in black pepper. Heat a large pan oven high heat and sear the outside of the beef. Place in pan and allow to brown on one side for 4 minutes until beef is browned nicely, rotate tenderloin and repeat until all sides are browned.

2. While beef is searing, combine all ingredients for salt crust in a bowl and stir until combined. Mix should look like damp sand. (If you have any small cuts on your hand, make sure to wear gloves!)

3. Put 1/3 of the salt crust in the middle of a sheet pan covered in foil. Spread out the salt to make a level platform about 1/2 inch thick and about 2-3 inches loner than the tenderloin. Place tenderloin in middle of salt layer. Put rest of salt crust on top of the beef tenderloin, using your hands, make a dome of salt around the beef so it is completely encapsulated. Stick in a prob thermometer into the beef by sticking it through the end and into the middle of the tenderloin so you can make sure you get an accurate temp reading.

4. Preheat a 250 degree oven. Bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes or until beef has reach 135 degrees Meat will continue to cook slightly in salt crust. My final temp was around 145 which is normally high for me but the meat was perfectly medium rare!)

5. Allow meat to rest for 20 minutes in the salt dome. This is a great time to reheat any sauce or sides you plan to serve with it. (I did my Irish Whisky Gravy with baked potatoes and sauteed broccolini with lemon.)

6. Using the back of a spoon tap the salt crust to crack it. Use the spoon and remove the salt crust. Move beef to a cutting board wiping off all excess salt (if you skip this step final dish could be too salty). Slice and serve!