Bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin is really tasty and I serve it with a balsamic and red wine reduction sauce that’s delicious. It’s perfect for any type of celebration from Christmas, birthdays, New Year’s Eve and more. I promise that you will love it and it’s not hard to achieve.
Bacon-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin
For this bacon-wrapped beef I used tenderloin/filet. You can use other lean cuts of beef, but nothing beats the butteryness of tenderloin. We actually don’t use the whole piece but rather only the Chateaubriand, which is the most cylindrical section of the tenderloin/filet. Don’t discard the tips though, you can use them for stir-frys such as lomo saltado or Korean barbecue or other recipes that require chopped lean beef. If you’re not going to use it in the next couple of days, it’s best to freeze it already-chopped.
Possible sides
It’s not hard to imagine a side dish for this bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin, I’m sure you already have a few in mind. I served it with my potato gratin. It’s a great combination because the creamy potatoes go really well with the slightly acidic sauce of the beef. It would also do really well with a fresh salad to balance out the heaviness of the bacon. Another really good idea would be a creamy pasta, potato salad or even a plain green leaves salad.
The sauce
For this bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin I wanted a sauce that was quick to make but also not overly complicated. As a matter of fact, you can make the sauce 5 days ahead and have it refrigerated. Then you just heat it up before serving and you’re done. To make it, we reduce a mixture of wine, balsamic vinegar and sugar until slightly thickened. This happens when the volume has reduced to 1/4 of the original. At this moment we add the butter and use a whisk to incorporate it. The result is a very shiny, slightly sweet and tangy sauce.
Ingredients
For the beef
- 1 piece beef tenderloin/ filet of around 1.2kg/2.6lb clean without fat or silver skin
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 180 g sliced bacon 0.4lbs
For the sauce
- 150 ml red wine
- 150 ml balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- Salt and pepper
- 20 g butter
Instructions
For the beef
- Cut off the thin ends of the tenderloin/filet to keep the most cylindrical part of it. This cut is called a Chateaubriand. The rest you can freeze to make recipes that need sliced or chopped beef.
- In a bowl, mix the mustard, brown sugar, rosemary, salt and pepper. Paint the chateaubriand with the mixture all around and on the edges.
- On a board, lay the bacon slices one next to the other, overlapping them because they lose some volume in the oven.
- Place the beef at the centre and wrap it with the bacon. Flip it so that the seam where the bacon meets is at the bottom and place it on an oven-safe dish or baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Roast in a preheated oven at 220°C/430°F for 20-30 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer and you want yours to look like mine, the internal temperature at the centre should be 52°C/125°F when you remove it from the oven. If you like it more cooked it should be 54°C/130°F and if you like it less then it's 52°C/125°F.
- Remove the beef from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. To prevent it from cooling off you can cover it with aluminium foil.
For the sauce
- Place the wine, vinegar and brown sugar in a pan or saucepan and make it boil over medium-high heat until it has ¼ of the original volume.
- Add the butter and mix using a whisk. Also, add salt and pepper to taste.
