Recipe #17 - Main Course - Marinated Red Wine Teriyaki Whole Beef Tenderloin

Greetings, and today is a big day in my blogging life... Today's blog is my 50th blog since I started. I am amazed how much I enjoy the experience. It is everything I had hoped. I feel challenged every time I open my grill (one of my goals), my backyard has become a focal point for the neighborhood (another one of my goals), and I am certainly a better, more experienced griller than I was when I started (my main goal in starting this blog!). Anyone who has linked or bookmarked me, or just stops by on occasion... Thank you so much. I am starting to feel a part of the community. Anyone who just drops by on rare occasions, go ahead and link me up. I will be around for awhile. I have a back log of topics and recipes, and several ideas and plans for the future.

I added a contact email over to the right of this column. I am going to ask a favor...

The beloved MRS. Year on the Grill and I are going to be taking a very brief 3 day vacation the weekend after Labor Day. I would love to have 3 guest bloggers write something about their grilling memories, best recipes, family stories or entertaining ramblings about outdoor entertainment. Success stories, or disasters we can learn from; anyone have an idea, and would be willing to share? Drop me an email at YearontheGrill@yahoo.com and let's talk.

And now a thank you to a new blogger who honored me and my anniversary. Just a few short weeks ago, I was the new guy on the web. A gentle few of you took me under their wings and gave me some encouragement. Recently, I was able to be the first to link to a brand new blogger. Only a week old, but already has a weeks worth of posts, and has promised daily contributions.

A DAILY FOODIE HAIKU is just what it sounds like, and can be reached by clicking HERE. The author writes a daily short poem about Food and the people who love food. Today's post is all about... ME! Take a look, drop him a comment of encouragement and enjoy the writing.

OK...Time for the new recipe...

For the final 1/3 of my now legendary Whole Beef Tenderloin I have been blogging about recently... If you have not been following along, see these posts for the set up for making this dish...

7 Steps for Party Prep Plans to a successful night at the Grill

Party #3 - Happy Birthday Herme

Steven Raichlen Herb Crusted Grilled Beef Tenderloin

For this third of the Tenderloin, I decided I wanted a marinade. I was planning to serve a red wine with dinner, so I popped the cork on the first bottle a little early.

1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup Teriyaki Sauce
6 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon ground Ginger
1 tablespoon Chipotle powder

I mixed up these ingredients to form the marinade and put it in a plastic ziplock bag. Prior to adding the meat, a put a generous coating of sea salt and ground pepper on the meat.

Seal the meat up and try to get as much of the air out as possible.
Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Rotate the meat at the half way point, in order to get all sides as much of the marinade evenly distributed as possible.

Grill same as the other directions, Grilling a tenderloin is very easy, just grill over direct medium high heat. Grill all 4 sides for about 7 minutes each. After a total cooking time of about 30 minutes (divided evenly among the 4 sides), check the internal temperature. The thickest part of the meat should reach an internal temperature of 140 degrees for medium rare. If you want it done a little more, 145 for medium, and 150 for medium well.

BUT,,,Something I discovered... The wet marinade made heating to temperature a little faster than the dry rub allows. In the photo above, the darker piece of meat on the right is the marinaded hunk (this recipe). The smaller one on the left was the Steven Raichlen Herb Crusted Grilled Beef Tenderloin dry rubbed hunk of beef. I grilled exactly the same, and checked the temperatures at the same time. Even though the marinaded piece was slightly thicker (again, compare in the photo), there was a 5 degree difference in internal temperatures. I checked several spots, and it definitely cooked faster.

Once it has reached the desired temp (actually, slightly above what I wanted, 140 is perfect, this reach 145), wrap tightly in tinfoil, and allow it to sit and rest in a cooler (no ice) for 2-4 hours. It will retain plenty of heat, and even continue to cook for a bit, increasing the internal temp by another 5 degrees, to a medium , 150 degrees.

But, it worked out well. Of all three of the different ways I fixed the tenderloin, this was a VERY happy median between the spicy Horseradish Mustard sauce (not everyone's cup of tea due to the heat), and the, well frankly, bland tasting Herb crusted tenderloin. This had LOTS of flavor, very juicy and tasted great. If I were only making one type of tenderloin, I would certainly choose this recipe. Something in it for anyone to like, and nothing in it for anyone to avoid. A very good compromise recipe for those who love heat and those who prefer their meat filled with flavor, but without that extra lingering heat.

In conclusion, the great whole tenderloin experience was very satisfying. I wanted to try new things, go off the safe comfort zone of cooking, and offer my guests options (as well as fix something for me)... The size of the project allowed me to do a little of everything. the cooking details in Steven's amazing grill guide, HOW TO GRILL. made the experience very easy. I really loved the experience, and highly recommend you giving this a shot anytime you are cooking for several people. Easily feeds 10-12 people, and Labor Day is coming. Give it a try, if you have any questions, feel free to drop me a comment. I would be happy to offer more advice if this is out of your comfort zone, but want to give it a try.