How to bake the perfect Tenderloin steak

serves:

It is important to have a consistent weight and thickness of your tenderloin steaks to begin with. This will make for a more consistent timing while conceiving the right cooking method. We start from a thickness of about 3,5 cm for each piece of tenderloin. For this we have a separate topic. Now, with all the correctly sized portions in front of us, how do we proceed:

1. Take a pan with thick bottom and allow it to heat up properly on high heat.

2. Add butter and oil to the pan. Butter will give flavor while cooking oil is less lightly to burn. Combining them will color the meat nicely.

3. When the butter and oil are colored brown, put the meat in the pan. First point of contact of the meat should be closest to you and falling away from you, this to avoid burns from oil splatter. Add some fresh Thyme stems, some fresh Rosemary stems or both for extra flavor. 

4. Turn down the heat to medium high and allow the meat to sear properly, two minutes on each side. To keep the meat juicy, you can baste the meat once on each side, after one minute of baking. After searing, remove the meat from the pan and transfer it to a baking trey. 

5. Only then season the meat with freshly ground black pepper (can be quite coarse) and salt on both sides.

Now, to obtain the right baking method, we are going to continue baking in a pre-heated oven (170°C). Depending upon the quality and size of the meat, baking times will vary:

1. Rare or blue: between 2 and 4 minutes

2. Medium-rare or saignant: between 6 and 9 minutes

3. Medium or à point: between 12 and 15 minutes

4. Well done or bien cuit: between 18 and 22 minutes

now, allow the meat to rest in a pre-heated oven (65°C) for at least 15 minutes prior to serving