Porcini and Rosemary Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Port Wine Sauce
Ready to carve, indeed.
A 3-pound center-cut beef tenderloin (all trussed up), shallot, rosemary, red wine (and port), dried porcini, black peppercorns, butter. Yes.
Salting 4-24 hours ahead seasons the meat all the way through and gives it a great crust. We used 1 1/4 teaspoons of Diamond kosher salt for 3 pounds of beef.
Dried porcinis are ready to be blitzed in the food processor (or spice grinder). Make sure yours are completely dry and brittle, or they won't willingly grind into powder. If they're at all...
Next to the stage: rosemary.
And black peppercorns. Time to get our spice rub on.
Rubbed and ready.
Heat up a heavy skillet to sear your roast -- you'll make your pan sauce in it later too.
Once the olive oil is nice and hot, set your roast in to brown for a few minutes on each side. Have patience and don't fuss with it till a nice brown crust is forming.
Turn!
TasteFood has you transfer your beef to a separate roasting pan to finish cooking through in the oven, to keep the brown bits pristine for the pan sauce. Don't wash those bits away yet!
While your beef roasts away, plump up more dried porcinis in just boiled water.
Then strain.
And chop.
Brown bits return for pan sauce duty, butter starts the party.
Shallots, lots of shallots, will soften the edges of the red wine sauce.
We actually measured this cup of red wine, we swear. And we didn't even drink any (yet).
Deglaze that pan: scraping the bubbling wine around frees the brown bits from the bottom and enriches the sauce.
Next, simmer the sauce to reduce and thicken it up, concentrating the flavors.
A final swirl of butter to round out the sauce, and it's time to feast! (Do this only once your beef has rested and is ready to carve.)
Author Notes: This roast is worth celebrating. Dried porcini mushrooms are blitzed to a powder with fresh rosemary sprigs, creating an umami-rich crust for beef. It's stand alone good, but when served with a port wine reduction infused with rosemary and porcini, it becomes an elegant dinner worthy of any holiday celebration. If you have the time, salt the meat well in advance. This will ensure juicy results and a crispy crust. I used a combination of port and red wine for the sauce. The red wine may be substituted with additional port. - TasteFood
Food52 Review: TasteFood's roast is definitely a show-stopper. Salting and drying the meat in the fridge overnight ensures perfect seasoning, a lovely internal texture and a beautiful crust. The porcini rosemary rub smelled so intense that we were hesitant to use all of it on the meat, but we did and found the flavors mellowed nicely in the oven. We trussed our tenderloin, and you may want to as well for the best results. The rich, winey sauce gains an earthy depth from the additional porcini, and while it may be a thinner gravy than you're used to (to us, it's perfect), it is certainly not lacking in flavor. - A&M - A&M
Serves 6-8
For the Beef Tenderloin:
- 1 center-cut beef tenderloin, 3 pounds
- Salt
- 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- Olive oil
- Season the tenderloin all over with salt. Refrigerate 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Thirty minutes before roasting remove beef from refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Combine mushrooms, rosemary and peppercorns in spice grinder. Grind to a coarse powder. Rub beef with olive oil. Coat all over with porcini rosemary rub. (Note: Make sure your mushrooms are completely dry and brittle, or they won't willingly grind into powder. If they're at all pliant, you can dry them out in the oven until they break easily.)
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add beef and brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a roasting pan. Roast in oven until thermometer inserted in thickest part reads 125 F., about 30 minutes, for medium rare. Remove from oven and transfer to a cutting board. Tent with foil and let stand for 15 minutes.
- Carve beef in 1/4 inch slices. Serve with Port Wine Sauce.
For the Port Wine Sauce:
- 1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted in 3/4 cup water, liquid reserved
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
- 1 cup port wine
- 1 cup heavy bodied red wine
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- Strain the porcini water through an un-bleached paper towel into a small bowl. Reserve strained liquid. Coarsely chop porcini.
- Using the same skillet from browning the meat, add 1 tablespoon butter, shallots and chopped porcini. Sauté over medium heat until shallots are translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Add port wine, scraping up any brown bits in the pan. Add red wine, mushroom stock and rosemary. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered until sauce is reduced by about half to approximately 1 1/2 cups. Add salt and taste for seasoning. Strain through a fine-meshed seive into a small saucepan, pressing firmly on solids. Discard solids.
- Heat sauce over medium heat. Whisk in 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Keep warm until serving.
- Your Best Holiday Roast Contest Winner!






3 months ago Debbie Levi
Hi, this recipe looks lovely. Quick question - is it possible for me to seal the meat in advance (in the afternoon) and then roast it in the oven later just prior to eating? If so, what temperature should the meat be at medium (supposing i bring the meat up close to room temperature). Cheers
4 months ago Paula gilvarry
For Myles!
4 months ago anaevas
Mouth-watering. Thank you! Great recipe.
5 months ago Catherine Maher
Just made this tonight, thank you Jessica Seinfeld. It was delicious and so easy!
about 1 year ago bspears
I made this just the other night for the first time. I had to dry the porcini in the oven just a bit as suggested and this filled the house with a wonderful earthy aroma. The rub does have an intense smell but at serving time it has mellowed to a subtle collection of earthy flavors complemented beautifully by the reduction sauce. I have only been cooking for about a year and I thought I might have trouble with this recipe but it turned out to be pretty easy for me. I served it to some good friends from Texas who are not shy about letting me know if I killed a cow for no reason and they loved it. This definitely goes on the permanent list and I will be making this again. @tastefood.......just fantastic. Thanks!
over 1 year ago jifferb
I made this tonight and it was fantastic. Just one glitch - I am guessing this is because I did not ground the porcini-rosemary-peppercorn rub into a fine enough powder but when I seared the meat (only 3 min on each side), the crust burned. Which was a bummer - even though the meat and the sauce were still delish. What do you think - my fault for not grounding the mixture finer? Or was the pan too hot (the oil was not smoking)? Btw, we started with Mrs. Wheelbarrow's creamy mushroom soup (best mushroom soup recipe from the first book) and it went fabulously together. Anyway, will definitely make this again, but would like to correct this initial mistake. Thanks!
over 1 year ago whyo4
I know I'm late asking this but: What would be a good replacement for the wine? I'm thinking a bit of veg broth, chick broth and beef broth.
over 1 year ago TasteFood
I recommend substituting beef stock for the red wine.
over 1 year ago jmrobot
Made this for Christmas dinner....awesome!! I also added in herbes de provence, viking smoked sea salt and dried shiitake mushrooms to the rub. Then poured on some balsamic and wine before roasting. Added extra mushrooms and balsamic and leftover rub to the sauce to pour over. Delish!!
over 1 year ago hyphenatedchef
I also made this for Christmas and my family pronounced it the best feast ever. I think the recipe's simplicity is its strength, and the success may have partially been because I used a spectacular piece of beef (local, massaged, serenaded with Bach, etc). Re: salt, DStewnpg, did you maybe use a salt that was too fine? I salted mine the night before and it was perfect. My own issue with the recipe was that the sauce wasn't flavorful enough. I reduced it beyond what was called for (think I wound up wtih 1 1/4 cups) but still had to pump it up a little with an extra tablespoon of really good port AFTER it came off the stove.
over 1 year ago hyphenatedchef
I also made this for Christmas and my family pronounced it the best feast ever. I think the recipe's simplicity is its strength, and the success may have partially been because I used a spectacular piece of beef (local, massaged, serenaded with Bach, etc). Re: salt, DStewnpg, did you maybe use a salt that was too fine? I salted mine the night before and it was perfect. My own issue with the recipe was that the sauce wasn't flavorful enough. I reduced it beyond what was called for (think I wound up wtih 1 1/4 cups) but still had to pump it up a little with an extra tablespoon of really good port AFTER it came off the stove.
over 1 year ago DStewnpg
I made this yesterday for Christmas but it was a bit too salty. Was I supposed to rinse the tenderloin before I put on the olive oil and mushroom, rosemary coating. The sauce was amazing and I accompanied it with smashed red potatoes-baked then smashed individually, sprinkled a touch of rosemary, pepper and parmesan cheese then under the broiler, and sauted asparagus. The presentation was beautiful and the beef was cooked perfectly, just a little too salty. Thanks for any comments
over 1 year ago TasteFood
Next time, try using kosher salt for rubbing the meat. It is less salty than table salt while its large crystals are very effective in drawing moisture out of meats, which is what you want to achieve as it rests in the refrigerator overnight. Hopefully that will help!
over 1 year ago dymnyno
I am always looking for fabulous red wine recipes and this is one that is on the menu! Nothing against cheap cuts made delicious, but there is no substitute for the very best ingredients like beef tenderloin and fine red wine.
over 1 year ago SKK
I made this several weeks ago to rave reviews and my sister asked for the recipe to serve yesterday. She just called to say it was a total win. It is part of our family repertoire now - a real keeper! Thanks again for sharing this recipe!
over 1 year ago Michael Rawding
Also made this for Christmas dinner and it was smashing. Definitely on my list of classics!
over 1 year ago Mrs. McB
Delicious! I made it last night for Christmas dinner. It was simple to make, presented elegantly, and had wonderful complex taste. thank you!
over 1 year ago zoemetrouk
Thank you TasteFood! This recipe was divine. I made it last night and it was a huge hit and worth every penny! In fact, a few guest wanted the recipe for the port wine sauce to use with steak sandwiches and as a burger topping.
over 1 year ago jlsm
This recipe represents what I consider a great failing of this Website: a total disregard for cost. When testing, folks should ask themselves: Do the results justify the cost? In this case, no. After spending $80 on a 6-pound prime tenderloin, the recipe had me paying another $20 for dried porcini. The results were good, not out-of-this-world fantastic, which might justify the cost. I won't make it again.
over 1 year ago SKK
Quick question jlsm - where did you find beef tenderloin for only $13 a pound? That is truly a bargain!
You are totally justified in your choice in not making this recipe again. And one of the things I love about Food52 is when a recipe goes wrong, I can communicate with the author of the recipe to find out what I did that didn't work. This dialogue always contributes to my talents as a cook.
over 1 year ago hyphenatedchef
Anyone have any recommendations for side dishes that go well with this?
over 1 year ago gina_berthold
I made it with mashed potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, and roasted brussel sprouts. Went really well together.
over 1 year ago bettybites
My mouth is watering! Do you think this will work with a bottom round roast?
over 1 year ago Jblanke
I was planning on making this for Christmas but my 17 yr old grandson HATES mushrooms, do you think I can get away with this recipe or is the porcini taste too much?
over 1 year ago TasteFood
If you grind the porcini to a powder, the flavor will be perceived more as an enhancement of the meat rather than mushroom. If the porcini are a little chunky, however, more mushroom flavor will come through. And just omit the porcini from the port wine sauce.