Pepper-Crusted Beef Tenderloin Roast

Name: Pepper-Crusted Beef Tenderloin Roast
Yield: Serves 10 to 12
Ingredients: 4 1/2 teaspoons, kosher salt; 1 1/2 teaspoons, sugar; 1/4 teaspoon, baking soda; 9 tablespoons, olive oil; 1/2 cup coarsely cracked, black peppercorns; 1 tablespoon, finely grated orange zest; 1/2 teaspoon, ground nutmeg; 6 pound, beef tenderloin, trimmed

29 comments

Appears in Cook's Illustrated November/December 2012, America's Test Kitchen TV

Main Courses

Beef

Roasts

Tenderloin with a crunchy peppercorn crust sounds ideal—but not when it cracks off the roast or has a flavor so spicy that it overpowers the beef.

SERVES10 to 12

TIME1½ hours

has video

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Rubbing the raw tenderloin with an abrasive mixture of kosher salt, sugar, and baking soda transformed the surface into a magnet for the pepper crust. Cracking the pepper into rough pieces and sifting off any powdery grounds created the cru...

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