This sous vide beef tenderloin is cooked to absolute perfect and served with an amazing red wine mushroom sauce.
It's the perfect special dinner that will have all your guests impressed and wondering where you skills came from.
Because you don't even really have to be a good cook to make this. Seriously.
It's so easy, just a few steps and ingredients for an ultra delicious gourmet meal. Beef tenderloin is the perfect cut or the sous vide as it can be easy to overcook using traditional cooking methods!
And because the sous vide makes it virtually impossible to overcook the meat, the results will always come out perfect, like this sous vide filet mignon or sous vide flank steak.
And on top of all that, it's so easy to make with less than 10 minutes of actual hands-on cooking time. The sous vide does the rest.
**check out this complete guide to the best sous vide steak for even more tips and tricks!
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Why This Recipe Works
- Ensures you don't waste money by overcooking an expensive cut of meat.
- The meat comes out perfect EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
- A quick sear on the outside gives it visual as well as taste appeal.
- The mushroom red wine sauce is just droolworthy - and EASY!
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What is Sous Vide?
Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator (i.e. the sous vide machine). This immersion circulator circulates water in a temperature controlled water bath at a certain temperature to perfectly cook your food every time.
Because the temperature doesn't change, and it keeps your meat (or dessert, veggies, etc.) at the same temperature, your risk of overcooking becomes very minimal.
To learn even more about sous vide cooking, head over and read "what is sous vide cooking and the benefits of sous vide cooking."
What is the Water Displacement Method?
The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).
Use a clip (I use sous vide magnets) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.
Tools Used
You will also want to check out these posts on the best sous vide containers and the best sous vide bags for more information!
If you don't have a lot of experience cooking sous vide yet, you may want to pop over and read what sous vide cooking is and the benefits of sous vide cooking.
More Sous Vide Beef Recipes
- Sous Vide Chuck Roast
- Sous Vide Chuck Steak
- Sous Vide Sirloin
- Sous Vide Ribeye
- Sous Vide London Broil
- Sous Vide Prime Rib
Ingredients
The full list of ingredients and amounts is included in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
You should be able to find a whole beef tenderloin in most markets - if not ask the butcher, they likely have one in the back.
Look for a tenderloin about 2-4 pounds, depending on the number of people you will be serving.
You'll need a high smoke point cooking fat for searing after the beef has finished in the sous vide. I like ghee for it's nutty, buttery flavor, but avocado, coconut or canola/vegetable oil works as well.
For the red wine sauce, we use a sweet red wine or even a port as this gives us the flavor we are looking for.
Instant coffee may seem strange to you, but it actually just brings out the flavor of the beef (it doesn't make it taste like coffee!).
Brandy adds amazing flavor to the mushrooms (any sliced white mushroom will work) and beef stock is use to ensure there is enough liquid after the bag sauce is added.
Soy sauce adds the perfect umami flavor to the sauce.
Step By Step Instructions
Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper. Use less salt for a smaller tenderloin, and more for a larger one.
Heat a sous vide water bath to 130F degrees. **This is my ideal temperature, but see below for temperature/doneness options.
Place the tenderloin in a vacuum seal bag with the fresh thyme and seal.
Cook in the water bath for 2-3 hours, ensuring the bag stays submerged to allow for even cooking.
Remove from the bag, reserving the bag sauce for the red wine sauce (below).
Pat dry, ensuring the outside is as dry as possible.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add the ghee, bacon fat or cooking oil.
Add the tenderloin and brown for 60 seconds per side, until a brown crust forms.
Remove, slice and serve.
What Temperature to Sous Vide Beef Tenderloin
| Temperature | Time | Doneness |
| 122-125F Degrees | 2 hours* | Rare - bright red throughout with slightly purple middle |
| 126-130F Degrees | 2-3 hours* | Medium Rare - red in middle with pink edges |
| 131-135F Degrees | 2-3 hours | Medium - warm pink throughout |
| 136-140F Degrees | 2-3 hours | Medium Well - slightly pink at center |
| 141-150F Degrees | 2-3 hours | Well Done - fully cooked through |
I personally prefer it cooked between 125F and 130F degrees for the best results.
How to Make Red Wine Mushroom Sauce
Heat the butter over medium heat and add the garlic and shallot. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and cook until mushrooms start to brown and lose their liquid, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down if garlic starts to brown too much.
Add the soy sauce, coffee, brandy, wine and bag sauce and cook 3-5 minutes, until the alcohol has burned off.
Add the beef stock until the sauce is at your desired consistency. Add additional salt if needed.
Expert Tips
- Make sure to remove all the air from the bag so prevent it from floating. If it floats, weigh it down with a wet towel or these sous vide magnets.
- Make sure your skillet is fully heated before adding the fat and the beef. It may start smoking a little when it's hot enough.
- Make sure to pat the beef as dry as you can get it before searing - this allows a crust to form easier without overcooking it.
- When searing, don't use a low smoke point fat like butter as it may burn over high heat. Add butter at the last 30 seconds of searing if you want that butter flavor.
- The longer you cook it, the softer it will get. I do not recommend cooking more than 4 hours as the texture will begin to get mushy.
- Do not cook the beef below 130F degrees for longer than 2-2 ½ hours as this can allow harmful bacteria to form.
Serving Options
This recipe is great for a fancy dinner party, holiday dinner, or just a special Sunday dinner. Serve it with some of these options to make it even more special:
- Serve it with this red chimichurri or sous vide hollandaise for a different sauce is you prefer not to use the red wine sauce.
- Serve alongside these sous vide scallops or sous vide lobster tail to make a nice "surf and turf" dinner.
- Sous vide broccoli, sous vide green beans, sous vide carrots make great vegetable sides. We also love honey roasted parsnips!
- Sous vide mashed potatoes, truffle mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes or sous vide mini potatoes are also great accompaniments.
- Don't forget dessert with this sous vide crème brulee, sous vide cheesecake or sous vide flan!
- Use a compound butter (use ½ stick salted butter) like one of these instead of the sauce:
- Mix the butter with 1-2 teaspoons of minced garlic (and/or minced onion);
- Mix butter with 1 teaspoon fresh herbs such as thyme, tarragon, rosemary, oregano, or sage;
- Add 1 teaspoon of truffle zest for an amazing truffle butter;
- Chop up a tablespoon of sundried tomatoes and mix them in with the butter;
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of blue cheese in with the butter.
Frequently Asked Questions
It takes 2-3 hours to sous vide a beef tenderloin to ensure it is heated through. If you are cooking below 130F degrees, don't cook for more then 2-2 ½ hours to avoid food safety issues. The longer you cook, the softer the meat will become. It is not recommended to cook longer than 4 hours as the meat will start to become mushy.
Sous vide beef tenderloin is best served rare to medium rare to avoid it drying out, so cooking at a temperature of 126F degrees to 130F degrees provides the best results.
Cooking for longer periods of time help collagen in muscle fibers to dissolve, which allows the beef to become more tender. Cuts of beef like tenderloin are already tender so they have a much shorter cooking time than a cut like chuck roast, which has a lot more connective tissue.
Storage/Reheating Instructions
Leftover can be store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Leftovers are amazing used sliced and served cold/hot on sandwiches as the meat is tender enough to bite through.
To cook in advance, place the beef in an ice bath for 10-15 minutes after removing it from the sous vide then store in the fridge for up to 5 days until ready to serve.
Reheat the beef in a sous vide water bath at 125-130F degrees, then sear according to the instructions above.
The beef can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and follow the above instructions for heating/cooking.
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Recipe
Sous Vide Beef Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 2-4 pound whole beef tenderloin
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoon ghee bacon fat or cooking oil
Red Wine Mushroom Sauce:
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 8 ounce packaged sliced mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee
- ½ cup brandy
- ¼ cup sweet red wine substitute port wine
- bag sauce
- ½-1 cup beef stock adjust based on thickness preference of sauce
Instructions
- Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper. Use less salt for a smaller tenderloin, and more for a larger one.
- Heat a sous vide water bath to 130F degrees.
- Place the tenderloin in a vacuum seal bag with the fresh thyme and seal.
- Cook in the water bath for 2-3 hours, ensuring the bag stays submerged to allow for even cooking.
- Remove from the bag, reserving the bag sauce for the red wine sauce (below).
- Pat dry, ensuring the outside is as dry as possible.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add the ghee, bacon fat or cooking oil.
- Add the tenderloin and brown for 60 seconds per side, until a brown crust forms.
- Remove, slice and serve.
Red Wine Mushroom Sauce:
- Heat the butter over medium heat and add the garlic and shallot. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms and cook until mushrooms start to brown and lose their liquid, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down if garlic starts to brown too much.
- Add the soy sauce, coffee, brandy, wine and bag sauce and cook 3-5 minutes, until the alcohol has burned off.
- Add the beef stock until the sauce is at your desired consistency. Add additional salt if needed.
Expert Tips:
- Make sure to remove all the air from the bag so prevent it from floating. If it floats, weigh it down with a wet towel or these sous vide magnets.
- Make sure your skillet is fully heated before adding the fat and the beef. It may start smoking a little when it's hot enough.
- Make sure to pat the beef as dry as you can get it before searing - this allows a crust to form easier without overcooking it.
- When searing, don't use a low smoke point fat like butter as it may burn over high heat. Add butter at the last 30 seconds of searing if you want that butter flavor.
- The longer you cook it, the softer it will get. I do not recommend cooking more than 4 hours as the texture will begin to get mushy.
- Do not cook the beef below 130F degrees for longer than 2-2 ½ hours as this can allow harmful bacteria to form.
Nutrition
cameron says
Absolute perfection! I love how you don't have to worry about overcooking it. We love it rare at our house and now it's ultra easy to not ruin an expensive piece of meat.
Danielle says
Sous vide is the best!