Reverse Seared Tenderloin with Charred Chiles
On October 26, 2021 (Updated May 11, 2024)
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Ready for an appetizer that hits all the marks? This reverse seared tenderloin is served on a toasted crostini and topped with charred chilis and a sprinkling of flaky salt for maximum flavor with minimum effort.
Reverse Seared Tenderloin
Back when I first created this recipe, my husband and I had recently come home from a trip to Spain, and I seriously couldn’t wait to start recreating some of our favorite recipes from the trip. A lot of the best tapas bars we ate at had these gorgeously seared tenderloin steaks served with large flaked sea salt and mild roasted green chiles. The only thing missing was a little kiss of wood smoke, and I knew as soon as we got home I was taking this recipe out to the backyard and getting it on my smoker.
Before diving in, make sure you cook this reverse-seared tenderloin steak on a grill that can keep consistent temperatures. I cooked mine on a pellet smoker, but feel free to use whatever is available to you. Reverse searing is the way to go to get a good steak, and a good smoker can help you achieve just that.
Smoked Tenderloin Steak
It’s all about the layers of flavor in this recipe. Grilled crostinis, topped with perfectly cooked tenderloin and charred chilis make the most amazing starter. These are so good, in fact, I’ve been tempted to eat enough to turn them into the main meal!
When it comes to the chile used for this recipe, go with what you have easily available. This recipe is meant to be a quick and easy appetizer, so don’t fret about finding any one specific chile. Personally, I couldn’t find any small, mild green chiles locally, so I used a larger Anaheim chile and sliced it into rings. A whole shishito pepper would also work well for this recipe.
The whole dish is assembled by layering up the crispy crostinis, the smoky tenderloin, and the charred chiles for a happy little bite full of flavor. I always hit it with just a little pinch of flaky salt and it’s ready to be consumed tapas style. This makes an awesome bite at a dinner party or as an appetizer for your next get-together.
How to Reverse Sear a Beef Tenderloin
It’s pretty easy to reserve sear a beef tenderloin, and it doesn’t take much time either. Begin with beef tenderloin cut into 1-inch thick medallions. From here, begin the reverse searing process on the smoker to get as much of that delicious smoke penetration into the meat as possible.
- Smoke. These steaks are slow smoke-roasted on the smoker at about 225 degrees F. Cooking at this low temperature brings the internal temperature of the steaks up nice and slow. While the steaks smoke, grill up some crostinis and the green chile on a sear box (if you have one of these attachments on your smoker) or a preheated cast-iron skillet.
- Sear. Once the steaks were within 10 degrees of the target temperature, switch them over from the smoker to the screaming high heat of the preheated sear box or skillet. I like my reverse-seared tenderloin steaks to be just around medium-rare, so I pulled them off the smoker at 120 degrees and let them come up the rest of the way to 130 degrees on the sear box.
I prefer cooking my steaks to medium-rare. If you like your steaks more well done, pull them off the smoker at 130 degrees F (for medium) or 140 degrees F (medium-well) and sear until they reach 140 degrees (medium) or 150 degrees (medium-well).
More Reverse Seared Recipes
Ready to reverse sear ALL THE STEAKS? Check out my other recipes and tutorials for getting the best steak every time.
Reverse Sear Tenderloin Recipe
Whether you enjoy this as a starter or main course, you and your guests will love this reverse sear tenderloin. We’ve made a few updates around here. This post debuted in May 2017. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Reverse Seared Tenderloin with Charred Chiles
Ingredients
- 4 1-inch thick beef tenderloin steaks
- 1 Tablespoon Beef Rub or equal parts salt, pepper, and garlic powder
- 1 anaheim chile
- 1 French baguette cut into thin rounds
- extra virgin olive oil
- coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat. Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F.
- Season the steaks. Season the steaks on all sides with Beef Rub or equal parts salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Smoke. Place the tenderloin steaks on the grill grates and close the lid. Smoke until the internal temperature of the steaks reach 120 degrees for medium rare.
- Prep for searing. While your steaks are smoking, preheat your sear box (or a cast iron skillet) to high heat.
- Char the chiles and crostinis. Drizzle your sliced pieces of baguette and your chile pepper with the olive oil. Place both on the preheated sear box. Toast the crostinis until golden brown on both sides (about 2 minutes) and roast the chile until the skin starts to blister, turning often. Remove all elements to the cutting board.
- Sear the steaks. Transfer the smoked steaks to the hot grill and sear on both sides for just a couple of minutes per side until your steaks reach the perfect internal temperature of 130 degrees. Remove the steaks to a cutting board to rest and season both sides of the steak with the sea salt.
- Assemble and enjoy. Slice the tenderloin steaks and the chiles. Layer the steak and chiles on the crostini and season with a little more coarse flaky salt. Serve straight off the cutting board for an interactive starter.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Are steps 4 & 5 mixed up? Step 4 has me slicing the meat, but step 5 has me putting it on the sear box. Or am I missing something? Love the site! I’m hooked on my Camp Chef pellet grill! Great recipes here! Thanks for all you do Susie!
Hey John! Good catch! Looks like those steps got swapped somehow. Definitely sear before slicing. Thanks!!
Looks so good