For this recipe, I smoked a whole beef tenderloin. I cut some medallions from it and saved the rest of the filets for another night. You can cook the tenderloin in the oven if you don’t have a smoker. The smoker adds a whole other amazing layer of flavor to the tenderloin and I highly recommend giving it a try!
Ingredients:
Beef tenderloin
Dijon Mustard
Garlic
Your favorite seasoning/rub
Gnocchi Ingredients:
1 package gnocchi
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup smoked Gruyere (you could also use smoked Gouda)
2 Tbsps. butter
2 cloves garlic (minced)
Salt
Pepper
Directions for the beef tenderloin:
Begin by removing the silver skin from the back of the tenderloin with a sharp knife.
Mix enough dijon mustard and garlic together to slather all around the tenderloin. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for an hour.
Turn your smoker on to 200 degrees and unwrap the tenderloin.
Cover the meat with your favorite seasoning or rub. I use Roger’s Rub, from Brown’s Meat Market. Smoke the tenderloin until rare (124 degrees).
Take it off the smoker and sear it in a cast iron skillet on really high heat with rosemary and butter to get a good crust, then put it back on the smoker. This will create an amazing bark that you can see in the pictures.
Pull it off at 135 degrees and let it rest. Perfect medium rare! Adjust when you remove the tenderloin if you desire a different end temperature.
Slice into medallions for plating with the gnocchi.
Directions for making the gnocchi Alfredo:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add gnocchi. Gnocchi cooks quickly, so be sure to keep an eye on it. Gnocchi is typically done when the pieces start floating to the top of the water.
Shred the smoked Gruyere cheese.
Add butter and garlic to a saute pan and heat over low heat. Allow to cook until the butter is infused with the garlic, about 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup of heavy cream, stir, and allow to come to a simmer. Increase heat to medium, if needed. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add a desired amount of salt and pepper.
Remove from heat and immediately add in the shredded Gruyere cheese. Stir to combine. It will take several minutes for the cheese to melt. The sauce will likely be kind of lumpy at first. Stir until smooth. If the sauce needs to be thinned, you can add additional heavy cream.
Add the sauce to the gnocchi and pair with the filet medallions.
**When grilling/smoking a whole tenderloin you want to make sure your meat is the same thickness throughout. You can go about this a couple of different ways. I chose to cut off the uneven ends and cut them into small pieces and make steak bites with garlic, butter, rosemary and seasonings.
About Smoke 'n Thyme with Dania
Dania Beck resides in the Upstate of South Carolina, and is a working mom who has a passion for cooking. Dania is quick to share that she has no culinary training. She likes to say, “I’m just a mom who loves to cook”. Dania hopes that by sharing her love of cooking through pictures and recipes, that she will inspire others. Dania says, “You don’t have to be a trained chef to make really good food. You just have to enjoy food and be willing to try”.
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