Grilled Tenderloin Feast

Written By Sean McBride

First Course

Spring Green & Purple Radish Salad

A vibrant bed of crisp spring lettuce tossed with sweet snap peas and paper-thin slices of peppery purple radish. Dressed in a rich, velvety balsamic and Dijon vinaigrette lifted by local honey, and finished with a shower of fresh snipped chives and flaky Maldon sea salt.

Main Course

Grilled Whole Beef Tenderloin

A center-cut beef tenderloin, beautifully charred on the grill to lock in its buttery tenderness. Sliced and served with a deeply savory, rich reduction of Chianti Classico and caramelized yellow onions, enriched with salted butter and fresh garden herbs.

Accompaniment

Grilled New Potato & Asparagus Salad

Quartered new potatoes and tender asparagus spears, grilled to capture a touch of smoke, then tossed in a bright, punchy sauce of crushed garlic scapes, briny capers, Dijon, and fresh squeezed lemon.

Wine Pairing

Barolo

With its bold tannins, high acidity, and complex notes of dried rose, tar, and dark cherry, a well-structured Barolo cuts beautifully through the rich marbling of the beef tenderloin while seamlessly complementing the deep, savory notes of the Chianti-infused onion sauce.

Ingredients

  • Grilled whole tenderloin with a red wine and onion sauce

    • One whole beef tenderloin (3.15 lbs)

    • 4 Tbsp salted butter

    • Two cups red wine (I used Chianti Classico)

    • One large yellow onion, thinly sliced

    • Fresh herbs

    • Salt and pepper

  • Grilled new potato and asparagus salad with a lemon-caper-garlic scape sauce

    • 1.5 lbs new potatoes, quartered with skins on

    • Two lemons

    • One bunch asparagus, cut into thirds

    • Olive oil

    • Dijon mustard

    • One bunch garlic scapes

    • Capers

    • Salt and pepper

  • Spring lettuce, snap pea, and purple radish salad

    • One bag spring lettuce

    • One bunch purple radishes, thinly sliced

    • One bag of snap peas

    • One bunch chives

    • Olive oil

    • Balsamic vinegar

    • Local honey

    • Maldon salt

    • Black Pepper

    • Dijon

  • Wine

    • Two bottles of Barolo

Recipe

  • 24 hours ahead of time

    • Vigorously salt and pepper the tenderloin. Put on a wire rack uncovered in the fridge.

  • Make the dressings for the salads in Mason Jars

    • Potato salad: Put ½ cup olive oil, juice of one lemon, two tablespoons dijon, two tablespoons capers (one tablespoon smushed flat under a knife), salt and pepper into a mason jar. Shake vigorously to emulsify and then put in fridge.

    • Green salad: Put ¼ olive oil, one tablespoon balsamic, one tablespoon dijon, one tablespoon honey, salt, and pepper into a mason jar. Shake vigorously to emulsify and then put it in fridge.

  • Take the tenderloin out of the fridge ~one hour before putting on the grill

  • Prepare

    • Quarter potatoes

    • Slice asparagus into thirds (discarding woody stems)

    • Slice garlic scapes into one inch pieces

    • Thinly slice radishes

    • Cut snap peas into thirds at a diagonal

  • Toss the lettuce, snap peas, and radishes in a salad bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a lid, and put into the fridge.

  • Open wine to let aerate.

  • Start grill with one chute of hardwood charcoal using newspapers or paper towels soaked in vegetable oil

  • After charcoal is white on top spread over half of grill to leave one side with indirect heat. Put room temperature tenderloin over indirect heat and set a timer for twenty minutes.

  • Boil a put of salted water. Parboil potatoes for about five minutes and drain. Let cool and then toss with asparagus and garlic scapes into a boil with a splash of olive oil, a light amount of salt, and ten twists of pepper.

  • Rotate tenderloin at twenty minutes. Put thinly sliced onions with a little oil in a cast iron skillet over direct heat. Stir regularly. After ten minutes pour in red wine and add butter.

  • After tenderloin has been over indirect heat for 40 minutes (tenderloin has been on for forty minutes total) put it over direct heat to sear on all sides (one minute per side for two to four minutes total). Move the onions and wine to indirect heat.

  • Take tenderloin off the grill onto a wood cutting board with butter and fresh herbs. Let it rest, marinating in the butter and herbs, for ten minutes under tented tin foil.

  • Put potatoes, asparagus, garlic scapes into a grill basket. Put on the grill over the direct heat while the tenderloin rests. Rotate veggies every two minutes for eight to ten minutes total.

  • Put the hot veggies into a bowl and squeeze a lemon over them. Then toss with the caper dressing. Put on the table covered.

  • Slice the tenderloin on the wooden cutting board. Pour onion and red wine sauce over it. Put on the table covered with tin foil.

  • Toss the greens with the balsamic dressing. Put on the table.

  • Uncover and feast.

Sean McBride
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