This delicious chateaubriand recipe guides you from start to finish for a perfectly oven-roasted tenderloin roast with a reverse sear finish carved into medium-rare slices. Pair this white tablecloth meal with herbaceous compound butter and rich pan sauce with every melt-in-your-mouth bite of meat. It’s the perfect filet mignon roast to make for special dinners!

If you’re looking for the perfect main dish for a holiday gathering or special dinner party, this chateaubriand will be a great addition to your table. Even though it only requires several simple ingredients, this lean and fork-tender roast is the piece de resistance of beef cuts. Paired with your favorite vegetables and side dishes, this is a celebratory roast recipe worthy of special occasions, holiday feasts, and romantic date nights.

🥩  the cut: What Is Chateaubriand?

Where the word chateaubriand can refer to several things in the culinary world, from a method of cooking to a beloved dish of an early 19th-century French aristocrat. For this recipe, we are referring to the actual cut of beef.

The chateaubriand is cut from the whole beef tenderloin and is the perfectly cylindrical center cut of beef tenderloin. It is incredibly tender, due to the tenderloin’s position on a cow at the top of the back loin, a relatively unused muscle area, and very lean. Of all of the roasts, the tenderloin roast is the most tender cut.

However, because this cut of meat is so lean, it has a mild delicate flavor, lacking the beefier bolder flavors like in the teres major steak. And lacking heavy marbling often coveted in other cuts like the prime rib roast, the chateaubriand can easily dry out if overcooked.

Ideally, cooking this roast delicately to a perfect medium rare is best to retain juices and delicious flavor. The tenderloin roast, with its mild flavor, benefits hugely from being served with a classic red wine sauce, creamy peppercorn sauce, or compound butter.

Chateaubriand Ingredients

• Center-cut beef tenderloin roast called a chateaubriand. You won’t find this cut in most markets. We order meat online from WildForkFoods or trim a whole beef tenderloin ourselves. You could also ask at a local butcher shop. If you ask a skillet butcher for a chateaubriand roast, expect an expertly trimmed, even roast.
• Salt – we always use Kosher salt for cooking
• Canola oil – or other neutral cooking oil
• Garlic Junkie seasoning, Jack Daniels Steak seasoning, or your favorite peppery and punchy steak seasoning.
• Butter – unsalted, plus more for resting, or compound butter for resting
• Garlic – whole cloves
• Fresh Rosemary sprigs

How to Make Chateaubriand

Altho it sounds francy, don’t let that intimidate you. Follow the steps to this easy recipe for the best way to make a perfect Chateaubriand.

Prep the beef tenderloin roast

Remove from the package and pat the chateaubriand dry with paper towels.

Using butcher’s twine, tie the roast about every inch or so. This helps to maintain the overall shape while it’s cooking, altho an expertly butchered center-cut tenderloin should be even in thickness from edge to edge. And then season liberally with salt.

Place on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet in the fridge for 8 hours. This is going to dry brine the roast, which helps add depth to the flavor and dry out the surface for cooking.

Remove from fridge and set at room temperature for an hour.

Roast the chateaubriand

When it’s time to cook the roast, allow it to sit at room temperature for about 1 hour and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Place the roast, still on the baking sheet and wire rack, in the oven and cook for roughly 40-45 minutes—until the internal temperature reaches 120 degrees F with an instant-read meat thermometer.

Reverse Sear

Once the roast has cooked to 120, remove from the oven and preheat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.

When starting to smoke, add butter and oil to the bottom of the pan and swirl to coat.

When the butter has melted, add the garlic and rosemary and place the chateaubriand in the skillet. Brown the roast on all sides, roughly 2 minutes per side, about 8 to 10 minutes; use a spoon to continue to baste the roast in the melted butter as it rotates for an even sear. Use long tongs to flip the beef for safety and to help prevent the tenderloin roast from rolling in the pan.

Remove from heat and transfer the roast to a cutting board.

Rest and Serve 

Tent the chateaubriand roast with aluminum foil and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.

When ready to serve, slice the medium rare roast into even portions, about 1 inch thick. Because a center-cut beef tenderloin roast is pretty even from edge to edge, the portions should be almost exact.

All tenderloins are better with some added flavor. Sprinkle with a pinch more salt and freshly ground black pepper to serve along with our favorite steak toppings; herb compound butter, classic bearnaise sauce, smooth red wine sauce, brandy peppercorn sauce, or blue cheese sauce.  If you’re feeling really indulgent, add our favorite smoked crab imperial recipe on top.