Beef Tenderloin on a gas grill - a few questions

[austinsmoker]

So, I'm visiting my folks tomorrow for Father's day, and apparently I will be grilling a beef tenderloin.

I'll have a weber gas grill (my dad's) and the 3.5lb beef tenderloin that my mother already bought (before asking me what type of meat, or whether I even wanted to grill).

Don't get me wrong, I love cooking - but now I feel like I was put on the spot and with a disadvantage.

The family is all getting together and I don't even get home field advantage.

Oh, yeah, and I've never grilled a beef tenderloin before.

So - a couple of questions:

1) How hot would you guys and gals get the grill?

2) Is it worth trying to throw a little smoke on it? (I debated taking my AMNPS with me).

If so, what kind of wood would you use?  Would Oak be alright?

3) Any tips (other than make sure you don't overcook it)  :)

I'll have my maverick and thermopen, so temp shouldn't be an issue.

Just wondering if anyone has any tips on prep, temp, seasoning, etc.

Thanks so much for any advice.

And happy father's day to any of you out there who have reproduced so our tradition of smoking meats will not die.

:)

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

If I was in your situation, I'd setup the gasser with one side lit like indirect smoking.... Take the AMNPS & set it in there too,away from the flame of coarse... Put your tenderloin on the other side & cook it til IT of bout 130* then take off the AMNPS & crank up the heat and sear it up for a few minutes ! I'd personally take it to IT of bout 135* then pull it & rest for a bit in foil & a towel or two & serve er up.... Just my 2 cents that I'd do with the hand ya was dealt !

 

[austinsmoker]

Thanks, Waterinhole.

Much appreciated.

I may give the AMNPS a try (honestly I'm just looking for reasons to use it since I've only had it about a week).

Unfortunately all I have pellet-wise is Oak, Alder, and the 'Pitmaster's Choice' blend that came with it.

I was leaning towards Oak for a tenderloin.

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

I've done oak with beef & I thought it was good, try pecan someday too, also a great smoke !

 

[johnnyrockford]

Howdy! My wife's aunt grills one every year for Christmas. Set up the grill for indirect grilling. IF you can set the temp, shoot for 325--350. If not,no big deal. She sears the outside over direct fire first-just a couple minutes each side. Then pull it away from the fire and let it cook til it gets to 130-135.
Then pull it off the grill and let it rest 20 minutes or so.
Good luck to you. Happy fathers day!

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

JR, I used to do them that way on a gasser too.... I don't even own a gasser anymore though....Next time, try the reverse sear.... Let the meat soak up the smoke as it's coming to an IT of 130*, then do the sear to an IT of 135*.... The reverse sear is a real treat, not saying the way your describing isn't good, cause it is..... Just try the reverse sear one time, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

[johnnyrockford]

Thanks for the suggestion WHB, but that's how Mrs. Rockford's aunt does it! Im like you though, I've learned to reverse sear (thanks to this forum) and do that with all my steaks and chops.
And for me, its charcoal or nothing! At least until I'm not allowed to play with live fire anymore! ;-)

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Thanks for the suggestion WHB, but that's how Mrs. Rockford's aunt does it! Im like you though, I've learned to reverse sear (thanks to this forum) and do that with all my steaks and chops.
And for me, its charcoal or nothing! At least until I'm not allowed to play with live fire anymore! ;-)

No prob man, to each their own.... Haha, we all have our ways don't we ! :biggrin:

 

[demosthenes9]

Depending on how much smoke flavor you like, I might be tempted to cold smoke the meat for an hour and then turn the grill on.   Just don't tell anyone that you are doing it because they might freak out 

.   Reason being is that a tenderloin is going to cook fairly quickly and it might not have enough time to get a nice amount of smoke on it.

Then, as WaterinHoleBrew suggested, set the grill up for indirect cooking.   If it's an older Weber gasser, the burners will run left to right instead of front to back. If that's the case, light the front burner, set it on low and put the tenderloin across the back of the grill.  Definitely take your Mav and your Thermapen.   If you opt for a reverse sear, I'd pull the meat off the grill when it's 10 degrees under your desired finish temp and tent with foil.   If you like a serious amount of crust, pull the meat when it's 15 degrees from your target temp.

Fire up all the burners, set them on high and close the lid.   What you want to do is get the grates and the flavorizer bars below them as hot as possible.    Then put the tenderloin back on and roll it around the grates to work up a nice crust.    Probe with your thermapen and remove when it's about 5 degrees under the finished temp you are looking for.   Tent it with the same foil and let it rest.   Carryover cooking should bring it up the final 5 degrees.

As for the seasoning and the wood, rub it some olive oil then hit it with kosher salt and coarse ground pepper .   I use Pitmaster's Choice when I do my Prime Ribs and it's delicious.   That said, Oak would be a good choice as well.

 

[austinsmoker]

Thanks so much.

I appreciate everyone's input.

I probably won't be trying the cold smoking first, because I'm not sure how much everyone else values the smokey flavor (but I'll definitely try that at my house at some point).

Johnny - thanks for the detailed description.  That sounds fantastic.

Demosthenes, you're exactly right, the grill has burners that run left to right.

I'm about to head out here soon (they live a couple of hours away).

I'll let everyone know how it turned out.

Unless it turns into a disaster, in which case you'll just never hear from me again.

:)