So…I had this post written before Christmas, and I had the best of intentions to share it way back then. However, a combination of the busy craziness of the holidays, a post Christmas trip to New York, family illness and trying to re-enter the atmosphere of back to work afterward kept me away from my usual posts! So, maybe you will be able to enjoy our traditional Christmas meal next year for yours…or just any special occasion you might have coming up in the new year. And…FYI, in all the chaos, I forgot to snap a photo of the finished product…so, you’ll see all the steps up to that point! LOL. But trust me, it’s amazing! On with the original post! Growing up in Texas, we usually had barbecue brisket and or a special glazed ham for Christmas dinner. It was always yummy, and I loved it. But, after my husband and I got married, I was introduced to his family’s favorite Christmas meal. It was a recipe that my mother-in-law had found many years before in a cooking section of the newspaper, I believe. And, she says after all those years of searching for the perfect Christmas meal, this was the show stopper.
The star of the dinner was a melt-in-your-mouth tenderloin of beef stuffed with the most delicious bread crumb, mushroom, garlic and parmesan cheese mixture. It’s topped with an amazing sauce of butter, worchestershire sauce and mushrooms. I had never had anything like it, much less made anything this fancy! I thought it would take a gourmet chef to put something like that together, but I was shocked at how easy it was. It just tastes like it was made by a professional chef. And it can be assembled the night before, so your Christmas meal comes together in no time…more time for gifts and family! It smells unbelievable, and it reminds me of so many Christmases. I had to add it as part of my “Twelve Weeks of Holidays” series. I hope it becomes a special part of your family celebration.
The whole beef tenderloin.
.
Prepare the pan.
This is the chopped tapered end that will go into the stuffing later.
Sear the beef in hot pan. This locks in all the juicy goodness
After the sear…
The sautéed mushrooms, onion and garlic
The madeira…
Bread crumbs and parmesan…
The stuffing mixture…
Make the cuts for the stuffing…
Stuffing in…
Wrapped and ready…
Ingredients
- 4-6 pound whole beef tenderloin
- medium onion, chopped
- 1 lb mushrooms, chopped
- 1 cup bread crumbs made from french bread loaf
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup Madeira
- 4 T butter
- olive oil
- cracked black pepper
For the sauce, we melt butter in saucepan with some sliced mushrooms and worchestershire sauce and serve as an optional sauce over the meat.
Directions
Prepare roasting pan. Cover in foil and line with another piece long enough to wrap the meat in. Heat olive oil in large flat bottomed pan until very hot. Trim the small pointed end of the tenderloin and chop. It will be added to the stuffing later. Rub the tenderloin with olive oil and pepper. Place into hot pan and sear on all sides. Turn each side only after you’ve achieved a good sear. Just a couple or three minutes per side should be fine. Remove from pan and set aside in the prepared roasting pan. Melt butter in the same saute pan on medium heat. When bubbling subsides, add the onions and cook until soft. Add in mushrooms and garlic. Cook until mushrooms release their moisture. Add the mushroom, onion and garlic mixture into a bowl with bread crumbs and parmesan. Mix together until moistened and just holds together. Make cuts in the beef at one inch intervals slicing almost, but not all the way through. Spoon the stuffing in between the cuts. Add the excess stuffing around the meat in the pan. Wrap the foil around the beef. Refrigerate until ready to cook. I usually prepare through this step on Christmas Eve, and then on Christmas day I am ready to cook! Just remove from fridge and let sit at room temp for about 20-30 minutes. Heat oven to 500. Place pan in oven and check for doneness after about 15 minutes. Continue cooking to your liking. We like medium rare.