Beef Tenderloin in Salt Crust

Alton Brown

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2004

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Good Eats: Eat this Rock!

Picture of Beef Tenderloin in Salt Crust Recipe Photo: Beef Tenderloin in Salt Crust Recipe
Rated 5 stars out of 5
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Total Time:
5 hr 40 min
Prep
25 min
Inactive
4 hr 35 min
Cook
40 min
Yield:
10 to 12 servings
Level:
Intermediate
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Ingredients

  • 5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper
  • 5 egg whites
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, and/or sage)
  • 1 (6 to 7-pound) whole beef tenderloin, trimmed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

Place the flour, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and water and add to the dry ingredients along with 2 tablespoons of the herbs. Combine with a potato masher until the mixture begins to come together. Then knead with your hands for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large zip-top bag, seal, and let stand at room temperature for 4 hours, or up to 24 hours.

Transfer dough to a floured surface and roll out to 3/16-inch thickness, approximately a 24 by 18-inch rectangle. Trim away extra dough, if necessary. Sprinkle the remaining herbs on the center section of the dough and gently press down.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In order to achieve uniform cooking, fold over slender tail end of tenderloin and tie with kitchen twine. Set a large electric griddle at its highest setting; brush the tenderloin with the olive oil and sear on all sides until well browned, approximately 10 minutes. Rest the meat for at least 5 minutes or until it is cool to the touch so as not to melt the dough.

Place the tenderloin in the center of the dough. Fold top part of dough over, flipping back about 1-inch of dough onto itself. Repeat with the bottom half of the dough. Press together the 2 flaps of dough and seal. Make sure the dough is not too tight around the tenderloin. At the ends of the tenderloin, press together dough to form a seal and cut away any excess. Transfer to a sheet pan, place in the oven and roast to an internal temperature of 125 degrees F, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. The tenderloin will continue to cook 10 to 15 degrees more. Cut salt crust at 1 end and extract meat by pulling out of dough tube. Slice and serve immediately.

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Newest Ratings and Reviews

Read all 85 reviews

  • on December 28, 2011

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    My family loves this!! they request it every year.

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  • on December 27, 2011

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    I tried this recipe for Christmas dinner. I followed the direction to the letter. The salt shell retains heat and the residual cooking time leads to overdone meat. The recipe needs to reflect the need to pull the meat out at 118F instead of 125F. Also, the recipe says to let stand for at least 30 minutes! By that time the roast is well done. Don't ruin an expensive piece of meat. Skip this recipe or take into consideration that the temps and times listed need to be changed.

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  • on December 26, 2011

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    Absolutely the best beef tenderloin I've ever had! Bought and trimmed to tenderloins from Costco (great place for tenderloin and made two batches of the dough. I was pressed for time on Christmas Eve due to our kids program at church so I browned the meat and let cool and placed into the dough. I was concerned about leaving the meat in the dough tube while at church for an hour and a half. I thought the dough might melt or stick to the meat. When we got home from church I put the beef in the oven. I was amazed at how quickly the meat was up to temp. I made a mistake of leaving in the oven to 130 and then resting the meat for longer than a half hour while other parts of the meal finished. The beef ended up medium to medium well but sill was outstanding. I need to remake this but will pull the meat out at 120 and watch the temp longer while it's resting. This was just great and the family has already demanded me to make it again.

    people found this review Helpful.
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