Fillet of Beef

Show: Barefoot ContessaEpisode: Elegant and Easy

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (22)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(22)

Cook Time:
25 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
8 to 10 servings

Times:

Prep: 5 min
Inactive Prep: 20 min
Cook: 25 min
Total:: 50 min

Recipe Tools:

Select a Card Size

Add To My Recipe Box

Success

This recipe was added to your Folder_Name folder.

Do not show this message again

Add To My Recipe Box

Please sign in to add this recipe to your Recipe Box.

Ingredients

1 (4 to 5 pound) fillet of beef, trimmed and tied
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Place the beef on a sheet pan and pat the outside dry with a paper towel. Spread the butter on with your hands. Sprinkle evenly with the salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for exactly 22 minutes for rare and 25 minutes for medium-rare.

Remove the beef from the oven, cover it tightly with aluminum foil, and allow it to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Remove the strings and slice the fillet thickly.

Note: Be sure your oven is very clean or the high temperature will cause it to smoke.

Next Recipe

More recipes? Try these recommendations:

Similar Recipe

Cajun Beef Southwestern Salad (New Dynamic Beef Dishes)

Photo: Fillet of Beef

Similar Recipes

Recipes Like This

All About…

Recipe Collections

Showing 1-10 of 14

View all 14 Beef Collections

Comments & Reviews

recipe Fillet of Beef
Karen Roanoke, VA 10-08-2009
Flag

Why FN recipes don't always work for us
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I love Ina's recipes & tried to modify this one in my oven with a smaller fillet of beef which I wrapped/tied myself, also... got the smoky results reported by so many others (still, the beef was fab!). My take is that consumers are dealing with residential ovens & our beloved chefs on FNC have industrial gourmet ovens w/ventilation systems we don't usually have available, so I've learned that unless I want a complete kitchen/oven cleanup there are just some recipes I can't try to duplicate play/by/play. Lesson learned. Karen Roanoke, VARead more
recipe Fillet of Beef
Jerlyn Boulder, CO 04-05-2009
Flag

Easy and Impressive Fillet
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

We too were smoked out despite a clean oven. I think the butter burning on the pan is the culprit. Next time I will omit the... butter (maybe I'll try olive oil). Despite the smoky house, the beef was a huge hit. Because I had some guests who preferred rare and others that preferred medium, I did not tie up the meat to a uniform size. My fillet was close to 5 pounds and I found that it needed 10 more minutes to reach medium at the thin end and rare at the thicker end. Delicious!Read more
recipe Fillet of Beef
Trang San Ramon, CA 03-01-2009
Flag

My all time favorite!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I have made this recipe many times. Everyone that has eaten it, loves it and asks for the recipe. I love the gorgonzola... sauce that compliment it! The roasted cherry tomatoes recipe is also delicious with this dish. The oven does smoke but it is worth it. A trick; I leave the fillet out (not cold from the refrigerator), this helps the meat to cook more evenly (medium-rare) and not raw (cold in the middle).Read more
recipe Fillet of Beef
Elaine Miami, FL 12-30-2008
Flag

Easy peasy
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Served this for Christmas day dinner along with bernaise sauce. So delicious. Also, served roasted root vegetables. I... prepared a porcini mushroom risotto starter. Would recommend. A bit expensive, but so easy to prepare, especially when you have big number of guests and you want to spend time with them!Read more
recipe Fillet of Beef
Maria Peoria, AZ 12-26-2008
Flag

Most smoke ever
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Suzanne, I ran into the same problem ...... I made this for this year's Christmas Eve dinner in our brand new house. We had... our guests enjoying appetizers in our back yard while I roasted the filet of beef at 500 degrees (also in our new oven). I opened the oven door and YIKES!! My husband ran in the house because he saw the smoke filled kitchen and thought the house was on fire. Needless to say, we opened the sliding glass doors and windows (Thank God we live in AZ but it was cold out). The beef was fabulous but my new oven is a disaster. Just like Suzanne, it is filled with BLACK gunk. I've self-cleaned it once and must do it again. Could this be done in an outside barbeque grill on a pan?? I'm going to check out the Joy of Cooking method for next time.Read more
recipe Fillet of Beef
Suzanne Makawao, HI 12-21-2008
Flag

We got smoked out of the kitchen!!
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

I've used the Joy of Cooking method for cooking tenderloin for years, but I wanted to try something new that would take less... time. It did take less time, but at 500 degrees and covered with butter, the tenderloin splattered all over the oven. My oven is only 4 weeks old, and now it is completely BLACK inside. I'm hoping it self cleans all right. Also, when we opened the door to remove the tenderloin, the smoke that filled the room was unbearable. We had to open all of the windows and doors. Not very impressive for my dinner party! Someone actually asked if we had a fire extinguisher! My second floor still smells like smoke 24 hours later. As for the meat itself, it was very tender and medium rare inside, but the edges came out like potroast (I think the foil covering steamed it). There was also a distinct smokey flavor throughout the meat. Next time I'm going back to my Joy of Cooking recipe, and I'll spend the extra cooking time sipping a glass of wine!Read more