Stacy : Why are you always in trouble.
Are yous serving just the Tenderloin ( No Turkey )???
If so I would go with at least 4 or 5 Tenderloins.

NEED MORE INFO !!!!!! ???????????

Maybe some else can add some in put.

I'm a traditional person. I would have just Turkey & Stuffing.

LOU

Stacy, tenderloin is an easy main for a crowd as long as you don't overcook it and keep the recipe fairly simple. If you choose one with a sauce try and do the sauce in advance. Personally I don't care for stuffed beef tenderloin although I love stuffed pork tenderloin.

I would count on 4 oz for the ladies and 6 oz for the men. Then me, being me, would add a pound or two to that! LOL

Krasna posted a recipe a long time ago. I never made it but it sounded good. It had a Port sauce with it. The sauce required some last minute doing but not bad. Let me know if you are interested.

Stacy : Why are you always in trouble.

hee hee - Lou - You've got me pegged...thanks - yeah - no turkey.

Sharon, if you don't mind, I'd love to see it.

Stacy

Here you go!

Beef Tenderloin With Roasted Shallots, Bacon And Port (Krasna)

1 1/2 Lb shallots (about 24) halved lengthwise and peeled)
3 Tbl olive oil
6 Cup beef broth
1 1/2 Cup tawny Port
1 Tbl tomato paste
2 3 Lb beef tenderloins, trimmed
2 Tsp dried thyme (I'd use fresh)
7 bacon slices chopped
6 Tbl butter
1 1/2 Tbl all purpose flour
1 Bunch watercress (I'd omit)

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375F. In 9-inch- diameter pie pan, toss shallots with oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until shallots are deep brown and very tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Boil broth and Port in large saucepan~
until reduced to 3 3/4 cups, about 30 minutes. Whisk in tomato paste.
NOTE: This may be done a day ahead

Pat beef dry; sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. In large
roasting pan , saute bacon over medium until golden, about 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Add beef to pan; brown on all sides over medium-high heat, about 7 minutes. Transfer pan to oven; roast beef until meat thermometer inserted into center registers 125F for medium-rare, about 45 minutes. Transfer beef to platter. Tent loosely with foil.

Spoon fat off top of pan drippings in roasting pan. Place roasting pan over high heat. Add broth mixture and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Transfer to medium saucepan; bring to simmer. Mix 3 tablespoons butter and flour in small bowl to form smooth paste; whisk into broth mixture and simmer until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Whisk in 3 tablespoons butter. Stir in roasted shallots and reserved bacon. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Cut beef into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Spoon some sauce over.

Garnish with watercress. Pass remaining sauce.

Serves 12.

Note: I think if you had the butter/flour paste and the rest of the butter the shallots and the bacon all lined up the sauce would be easy enough to finish off.

Just FYI Stacy, I just came across this recipe while printing out another recipe -

From Mique for filet of beef -
GREEN PEPPERCORN SAUCE
Makes (3/4cup)
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons shallot, finely chopped
pound mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
1 teaspoon green peppercorns, rinsed and drained
Tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons brandy
1 cup whipping cream

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the shallot and saute over
medium heat until soft. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes, stirring
frequently. Add the parsley, peppercorns, and 2 to 3 drops of Tabasco sauce.
2. Warm the brandy and ignite it. Pour the brandy into the mushroom mixture
and stir until the flames subside. Add the cream. Boil the sauce, stirring
constantly, until it thickens. Add salt to taste.

thanks Sharon and Woodie - I've made and loved Mique's peppercorn sauce -

This is the recipe I was thinking of, what do you think?

Stacy honestly, that doesn't do it for me, but remember I said I don't care for a stuffed beef tenderloin. To me it's a waste of a gorgeous cut. I prefer it cooked whole with a sauce.

Thanks for the link though because I think that stuffing would be great in a pork tenderloin or a boned out turkey breast.

PS: But I'd love it if you cooked it for me..... : )

Stacy, I wouldn't stuff the tenderloin either. Keep it simple as the focus is on the meat but do a wonderful sauce. I would think that two whole tenderloins, cut and tied, would be enough unless you have XXXL big meat eaters...... If you order the tenderloin cut and tied, ask for the trimmings, you pay for them anyway. Last time I had two tenderloins, I did that and I had plenty of great trimmings that I made into stroganoff. I froze them and pulled them out a couple of weeks later, nice extra dinner.

Nancy

Stacy: It's according to how big the tenderloins are.

You have to figure at least 1/2 pound ( uncooked )to each person.
If you have leftovers , I'll be there. Or you can make stroganoff !!!
Lou

PS : Turkey is cheaper !!!

No, you are not out of your mind and I think the tenderloin is a great choice. We started doing prime rib several years ago and it has become the new tradition for my family. We are not ready for another turkey dinner a month later after TG anymore.

Mique's sauce is wonderful and that's the route I would take....a good sauce and simple but good sides.

David

Beef filet is really too wonderful as is to stuff with bread.
I would buy 8 pounds of beef tenderloin...you can buy the whole thing, trimmed and tied...or you can buy a "chub" whice is the center section...the part suitable for chateaubriand.
Anyhow I woould simply salt and pepper them....and perhaps rub with a bit of crushed garlic and roast by the 450 degree method. Can't remember what the rules are just now, but you roast for a given amount of time and temt the roast and let it rest.
And I would make a classic elegant sauce....bernaise. In my opinion not much in this world beats beef filet with bernaise!!
Linda C

thanks for all the advice. I will surely heed it and not stuff. I trust all of you better than anything else.

will be back tomorrow for details - but wanted to say thanks - Linda, I've done them by the Barbara Kafka methodat 500 degrees and loved it.

I guess ??? I should stick to this???

Roasted Whole Beef Fillet (Barbara Kafka's Instructions)
This dish bespeaks lavishness as it is paraded to the table by a pound cook. No one has to know how quick and easy it is to cook and cut across into neat slices. Served hot with Green Peppercorn Sauce , substituting beef stock, Béarnaise Sauce, Semi-Perigourdine Sauce or most impressively, with Thulier Sauce. The more elegant the sauce, the fewer the vegetables. A few roasted asparagus or roasted scallions are plenty. If there is no separate sauce, consider a Roasted Onion flower per person or Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Basil.
The meat can be thinly sliced as an hors doeuvre to go on bread with a little butter and mustard or served cold at a buffet with Tarragon mayonnaise or a salsa. As a cold summer main course, it needs no more than a green salad, mustard, cornichons, good bread and red wine.
I buy the meat by the inch. It cooks exactly the same way no mater the length as long as it is more than four inches long. When ordering, I usually allow about an inch and a quarter per person and an extra half inch for the two end slices. By this rules, six people will require an eight inch piece of fillet. The muscles in a fillet all run lengthwise that when it is sliced across for serving it is also tenderized.
The fillet is also called the tenderloin, and it is tender. It is along round muscle that hides behind the bones on which the shell steak and the rib roast reside. T-bone steaks have some of the shell and, on the other side of the bone, a circle of the fillet, or tenderloin. A filet mignon is a slice cut across the whole fillet to make an individual steak.
4 to 5 pound whole beef fillet (about 3 to 3 ½ inches in diameter, a good 18 inches long)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temp
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup red wine for deglazing, optional or 1 recipe Semi-Perigourdine Sauce.
Place oven rack on second level from bottom. Heat oven to 500°F.
Place fillet in an 18 x 12 x2 inch roasting pan. Rub fillet with butter and oil. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes. Turn. Roast 10 minutes more. Transfer fillet to a serving platter. Pour or spoon off excess fat. Put pan on top of stove. Add wine or sauce and bring contents to a boil while scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Let reduce by half. Season with salt and pepper.
Let rest 10-20 min.

Steelmag... that's a wonderful story. Maybe I'm just an emotional wreck tonight, but it put a big lump in the throat.

BTW, I've already ordered prime rib for Christmas dinner.

Nancy

I had already planned on making beef tenderloin for christmas eve, (when I do dinner) christmas day everyone goes somewhere else and gets turkey, so I didn't want to duplicate. Had a recipe picked out, until I saw chase's. The reviews for that recipe are amazing, which totally cinched it for me. Stacy you really should consider this recipe as it had over 100 reviews and most of them five star.
If you have your heart set on stuffing a beef tenderloin, personnally the only thing I would stuff it with would be lobster. (which I have done a few times to raving reviews, but also adds a whole other expense element).
Thanks Chase for the recipe!

Shelley

What a timely topic!
I plan to serve beef tenderloin for NY Eve, but am not yet decided on how to prepare it.

I was thinking to modify a recipe that calls for cooking individual steaks, then topping with a blue cheese, fresh breadcrumb, and parsley stuffing for a quick pass under the broiler. The filets get a wonderful crust and everything arrives at the table hot.

I was thinking of having the roast butterflied and stuffing it instead of topping it and discussed with my butcher who said that he'd add some wine to the stuffing (white) and would wrap the roast in bacon.

The only thing that is making me hesitate about stuffing it is the fact that it will get cold fast. I would make a reduction of some sort for it (a port reduction would go well) but I am not convinced that will eliminated the chill entirely. Heated plates will help, but I am still not convinced that this is the way to go.
We were working on the Christmas menu the other day with friends with who we share the day, and we eliminated a prime roast for much the same reason...the beef just gets to cold to fast. We'll be making individual rib eyes instead and building our menu around it.

We're pretty serious about our beef and nothing beats a smokin' hot steak off the grill (IMO).

sue

Hmmmmm....all this talk of beef tenderloin is making me wonder if we should change our Christmas Dinner menu?

As Linda suggested there is nothing better then filet with a bernaise sauce. I love bernaise and I've not had it in years.

Anyone have a good bernaise recipe?

Michelle

Stacy: I've always cooked the dinners,did mostly everything.
Sometimes we had 30 people. The menu was usually ,
Wedding Soup, Turkey w Stuffing, Ham, baked Sweet and White potatoes,
Vegetables and A Salad. After that we had Coffee and Dessert.

This year is different!!! I going to my Daughters to eat.
I don't have to do anything. So I'll just hang out and terrorize.

We have a Poly Anna thing on Christmas Eve.
Numbers are picked out of a hat. You can swap if you don't like what you picked.

Have fun Stacy, I'll be thinking of you, while I'm relaxing.
Lou

I started doing prime rib or crown roast pork for Christmas dinner several years ago. Noboby wanted the big turkey traditional thing. Last year I ordered scallops and shrimp from a company out east that ships them fresh overnight. It was a super meal. Simple, easy, tasty.
Bon Appetit had a filet stuffed with either mushrooms or shrimp last year. It looked gorgeous.

We always have prime rib or beef tenderloin for Christmas. Another who changed it years ago after tiring of having the same big dinner a month apart.

I use the high heat method and it is always delicious, the ends are well done and the center is medium rare, which is what we like, but there are always a few that want it cooked well done.

It is always served with au jus and horseradish sauce, but I may make the peppercorn sauce this year.