Hunk of Meat Monday

As most of you know, I am not a cook. I have a few great recipes, and I can feed a crowd, but it's not my best skill. If you find my best skill, please let me know... I'm still looking for it. :)

Sooooo.... although I have read many 'Hunk of Meat Monday' posts, this is the first time I've written one myself. I love reading all the posts by those young, energetic, cool women at The Real Farmwives of America and Friends, and that's where you'll find Leah's 'Hunk of Meat Monday.' She blogs over at Beyer Beware.

Today I'm sharing our traditional special occasion beef tenderloin. As I was preparing it for our Thanksgiving feast, all I could think about was, "wow, now that's a hunk of meat!" Three hunks, actually. That's why I thought I should share the recipe here. Because beef tenderloin is a bit pricey (ok, a lot pricey), we only have it a couple times a year, but I think the recipe would work with any nice, tender beef roast.

The recipe came from Jim's sister, Carol, who is a wonderful cook. I like it because it's easy to do, and almost like magic! To cook the meat, first preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Have the roast at room temperature.

Coat both sides heavily with seasoning mix (recipe below), and bake uncovered.

The instructions give the time as follows:
Rare - 3 minutes per pound
Medium - 4 minutes per pound
Well - 5 minutes per pound
Then comes the tricky part. Turn oven off. DO NOT OPEN for 2 hours. That's right. Turn the oven off, and don't open it. I always put a little note on the door to make sure no one opens the door to see what is cooking. :)

We like ours pink, and I've learned that three 'hunks', around 5 pounds each, baked for 18 minutes, come out just about perfect. I would always error on the side of under cooking rather than over cooking, since once it's over cooked, it's done.

Reheat to 500 degrees just before serving for 5 minutes. Slice thin, and enjoy!
Since it does tie up your oven for 2 hours (and I only have 1 oven - remember, I'm not a cook), I have found that I can take it out an hour or so before meal time, cover it in foil while I cook the other side dishes, and it stays nice and warm.

Seasoning Mix

2- 3 oz. bottles garlic salt

2 - 3 oz. bottles onion salt

1 - 3 oz. bottle celery salt

1 - 3 oz. bottle black pepper

1 - bottle seasoning salt

1/2 bottle meat tenderizer

1/2 bottle hickory smoke salt

Mix well. Store in jar. Good on chicken also.

For the seasoning mix, I have found that you can use what you have/what you like, and adjust according to your taste.

So there you have it! Delicious special occasion beef tenderloin. It also makes great leftovers... if there is any left... and my (big) boys don't often let that happen.