Of all the different cuts I've had from CPB, I never got the tenderloin. Matter of fact, I had not bought or eaten filet mignon for the better part of 15 years. There are several other cuts that are extremely good, very flavorful, and at a much lower price point. When I did my last online order from CPB and had everything in the cart we wanted, I was short of getting free shipping so decided to give it a shot and ordered a 2 pound tenderloin roast. Invited a couple friends over and did it last weekend on the new cabinet smoker I built. Also tried something totally off-the-wall and creative: mushroom and onion mini casseroles. These were fun and unbelievably good. Some of you might want to try these so gonna get into some detail on them.
The roast
Rubbed with a little Worcestershire sauce, a light sprinkle of kosher salt, and loaded up with black pepper
Making our beloved sour cream and onion rolls. The dough after the second proof
Now we get the mushrooms started. Sliced Baby Bellas and into a pan with butter and garlic
A splash of beef broth, some black pepper, and a dollop of BTB beef base
Cook them till they are just starting to soften up. They will cook more later. Coarsely chop and into a bowl with lots of onions, bread crumbs, crushed red pepper, a sprinkle of kosher salt, and a bit of the broth from them being cooked.
Mix it all up really well and firmly press into 4" hamburger bun molds
Dough portioned out for the rolls and proofed for the third time
Doing loaded twice-baked potatoes. Taters cooked and hollowed out
Take what you scoop out of the taters and mix it with some butter, milk, sour cream, minced garlic, salt, pepper, bacon bits, shredded cheddar, and parsley. Then stuff it all into the shells.
Roast on the smoker at 235. Ran this temp for about 40 minutes to set the crust then dropped it to 210 to finish
Rolls done and out of the oven. I love those onion chunks all through the rolls and I always add more minced onion when starting the dough.
Put together a basic appetizer plate. The sausage was a gift from our good friend
xray
in a Christmas exchange we did. That stuff is insanely good!!
Roast is at 110 IT so onto the grill go the mushrooms and stuffed taters.
Roast done and getting happy for a few minutes while I get the rest of the stuff together
The mini mushroom casseroles off the grill and molds removed. They stayed together. That was a big concern before starting these as I've never seen anything like this done before
I think I've died and gone to Heaven!!
All sliced up. It's kinda messy with the pepper all over the place but oh well.....I shut the smoker down when the IT was 127 and cracked the door to let the heat out. IT maxed out at 131.
The whole spread. Rick and Susan brought a nice salad as a table offering
Finally time to eat. This is my first of several plates
When I say this was the best meal we have ever had, that is not an exaggeration in any way. I've been blessed to enjoy some extraordinary food in my life, including a few trips to 5-star restaurants. Nothing before this even comes close. The roast had a deep, succulent, rich beef flavor and was tender beyond belief. It was literally tearing while I was slicing it, and that knife is razor sharp. With the smoker temps so low the burners were just putting out a very light smoke and the mesquite I used was a perfect but faint background flavor. The rolls are always a hit and have become a mainstay. The taters shined in a big way and were about the tastiest ones I've done. A true star though were the mushroom mini casseroles. They were outstanding. My only take-away on them would have been to use more bread crumbs. They did stay together while cooking but you had to be really careful transferring them onto the plate. They just needed to be a bit firmer. Sorry to all but I didn't measure a thing...just threw it all together as I went. Final note: the tenderloin was so good that Tracy gave me the green light to order a whole case of them when we get some room in the freezers. That's a HUGE compliment from her being that the price per pound for them on the wholesale side is very good compared to grocery stores but you have to buy a lot of it. That makes for a pretty hefty price tag but it's oh so worth it!!
Well this one is a wrap...finally. Y'all stay safe, take care, and we will see ya soon.
Robert, Tracy, and the fat dog
The roast
Rubbed with a little Worcestershire sauce, a light sprinkle of kosher salt, and loaded up with black pepper
Making our beloved sour cream and onion rolls. The dough after the second proof
Now we get the mushrooms started. Sliced Baby Bellas and into a pan with butter and garlic
A splash of beef broth, some black pepper, and a dollop of BTB beef base
Cook them till they are just starting to soften up. They will cook more later. Coarsely chop and into a bowl with lots of onions, bread crumbs, crushed red pepper, a sprinkle of kosher salt, and a bit of the broth from them being cooked.
Mix it all up really well and firmly press into 4" hamburger bun molds
Dough portioned out for the rolls and proofed for the third time
Doing loaded twice-baked potatoes. Taters cooked and hollowed out
Take what you scoop out of the taters and mix it with some butter, milk, sour cream, minced garlic, salt, pepper, bacon bits, shredded cheddar, and parsley. Then stuff it all into the shells.
Roast on the smoker at 235. Ran this temp for about 40 minutes to set the crust then dropped it to 210 to finish
Rolls done and out of the oven. I love those onion chunks all through the rolls and I always add more minced onion when starting the dough.
Put together a basic appetizer plate. The sausage was a gift from our good friend
xray
in a Christmas exchange we did. That stuff is insanely good!!
Roast is at 110 IT so onto the grill go the mushrooms and stuffed taters.
Roast done and getting happy for a few minutes while I get the rest of the stuff together
The mini mushroom casseroles off the grill and molds removed. They stayed together. That was a big concern before starting these as I've never seen anything like this done before
I think I've died and gone to Heaven!!
All sliced up. It's kinda messy with the pepper all over the place but oh well.....I shut the smoker down when the IT was 127 and cracked the door to let the heat out. IT maxed out at 131.
The whole spread. Rick and Susan brought a nice salad as a table offering
Finally time to eat. This is my first of several plates
When I say this was the best meal we have ever had, that is not an exaggeration in any way. I've been blessed to enjoy some extraordinary food in my life, including a few trips to 5-star restaurants. Nothing before this even comes close. The roast had a deep, succulent, rich beef flavor and was tender beyond belief. It was literally tearing while I was slicing it, and that knife is razor sharp. With the smoker temps so low the burners were just putting out a very light smoke and the mesquite I used was a perfect but faint background flavor. The rolls are always a hit and have become a mainstay. The taters shined in a big way and were about the tastiest ones I've done. A true star though were the mushroom mini casseroles. They were outstanding. My only take-away on them would have been to use more bread crumbs. They did stay together while cooking but you had to be really careful transferring them onto the plate. They just needed to be a bit firmer. Sorry to all but I didn't measure a thing...just threw it all together as I went. Final note: the tenderloin was so good that Tracy gave me the green light to order a whole case of them when we get some room in the freezers. That's a HUGE compliment from her being that the price per pound for them on the wholesale side is very good compared to grocery stores but you have to buy a lot of it. That makes for a pretty hefty price tag but it's oh so worth it!!
Well this one is a wrap...finally. Y'all stay safe, take care, and we will see ya soon.
Robert, Tracy, and the fat dog
