How to Cook a 6-oz. Beef Tenderloin Fillet

According to the Beef It's What's for Dinner website, beef tenderloin fillets or steaks have a fat content between that of a chicken breast and chicken thigh.

According to the Beef It's What's for Dinner website, a beef tenderloin fillet or steak contains 7.1 grams of total fat and 2.7 grams of saturated fat, a little over twice as much as a chicken breast and slightly less than a chicken thigh. Therefore, this cut of beef can be a healthy addition to your diet, especially if you trim all visible fat from the meat either before cooking or while eating. A beef tenderloin fillet is also versatile and can be cooked with a variety of techniques.

Things You'll Need

• Olive oil
• Instant read meat thermometer

Instructions

Roasting

1. Trim excess fat from the fillet then season with salt, pepper or other spices or a rub as desired.

2. Preheat oven to 400°.

3. Set your stove's burner to medium-high heat. Pour approximately 2 tsp. of olive oil into a cast iron or other oven-proof skillet. Place your pan with olive oil on the burner.

4. Place steaks into pan and cook on each side for three minutes or until browned.

5. Remove pan from stove and place in the oven. Roast for seven or eight minutes for rare or longer until the fillets are cooked to your liking.

6. Allow fillets to rest for three to five minutes before slicing or serving.

Grilling

1. Trim excess fat from fillets and season with salt, pepper, spices or a premixed rub as desired.

2. Heat a gas grill, charcoal grill, grill pan or indoor grilling appliance to medium-high heat.

3. Brush fillets with olive oil and place on grill. Grill for approximately four minutes without moving until grill marks appear on the fillets.

4. Turn fillets and continue cooking approximately three or four minutes for rare, and slightly longer for medium.

5. Let meat rest for a few minutes prior to cutting or serving.

Sautéing

1. Trim excess fat from fillet and season as desired.

2. Heat a large skillet over a stove burner set to medium or medium-high heat.

3. Coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of olive oil.

4. Place fillets in pan and cook until they are done to your liking, turning halfway through cooking time, approximately four minutes each side for medium.

Broiling

1. Trim visible fat from outer edges of fillet and season as desired.

2. Arrange top oven rack so fillets on a broiler pan will be approximately 4 inches from heat source.

3. Brush fillets lightly with olive oil, place on pan then place pan with meat on top oven rack.

4. Broil fillets on broiler pan approximately 4 inches from heat source until done to your liking, four or five minutes for medium rare.

5. Let meat rest for a few minutes before cutting or serving it.

Tips & Warnings

• Insert an instant read thermometer into the side of the fillet horizontal to the pan or grill grates until the tip is in the thickest part of the meat then remove meat from heat as soon as it reaches the desired temperature.

• For rare, cook fillets until an instant read thermometer reads 140° for rare, 150° for medium-rare, 160° for medium, 165° for medium-well and 170° for well done.

References

• "Betty Crocker's Cookbook", General Mills, Inc., 1986
• Food Network: Roasted Tenderloin of Beef
• Food Network: Grilled Beef Tenderloin
• Food Network: Beef Tenderloin Steaks
• Food Network: Grilled Steak Salad
• Beef It's What's for Dinner: Lean Beef