Smoked Beef Tenderloin with White Wine Mushroom Gravy
On September 19, 2019 (Updated May 11, 2024)
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Smoked Beef Tenderloin is the ultimate melt-in-your mouth smoked beef. Topped with a light, yet luscious white wine mushroom gravy, this dish is perfect for special occasions.
Smoked Beef Tenderloin
Now, I’m partially biased, but after testing many versions of this recipe, I feel like this one makes the best smoked tenderloin ever. To begin, rub the beef tenderloin roast with garlic, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme for a bright and punchy flavor. Next up, cook the beef low and slow on a wood-fired grill to add just a subtle hint of smoke. I prefer to use oak wood; it pairs beautifully with beef. Finally, sear the smoked beef tenderloin roast over high direct heat to lock in the juices and flavor and add a beautiful exterior crust.
I could stop right there, and I would still feel confident that this is the best beef tenderloin recipe that ever was. But I didn’t stop there. Oh no! I created the perfect topping for a beef tenderloin fit for royalty. That’s right, we top this beef tenderloin with a white wine mushroom gravy to give this beef that final pizzazz. Rich and indulgent, but light enough to not overwhelm the meat itself. It adds just the right amount of fattiness to an otherwise lean piece of meat.
How to Smoke a Beef Tenderloin
Beef tenderloin is one of the most lean cuts of meat on a cow, which means it has a tendency to dry out rather quickly and become chalky. To prevent that from happening, we will be using our smoker for the reverse sear method. This allows the internal temperature of the meat to rise slowly during a low temperature smoke session and cook evenly from edge to edge. Then we let the meat rest and finish the cooking process with a direct heat, high temperature sear to lock in the juices and add flavor. I go into more detail about perfecting the reverse sear method in THIS POST. You can use the same method on nearly any thick cut of meat and it works beautifully!
Temperature for Beef Tenderloin
When cooking beef tenderloin, it’s important to cook to temperature and not to time. I like cooking my meat to medium rare, but you should always cook your meat to your desired doneness.
- Rare: 125 degrees F
- Medium Rare: 135 degrees F. This is my favorite!
- Medium: 145 degrees F
- Medium Well: 155 degrees F
- Well Done: 160 degrees F
The most important thing is to keep an eye on the internal temperature of your beef tenderloin. I use and recommend an instant read internal meat thermometer. For this recipe, I used my bright orange Thermapen MK4. This thermometer delivers a quick read, and I can guarantee that my meat will be perfectly cooked every time.
More Tenderloin Recipes
Whether it’s pork or beef tenderloin, I love cooking with these cuts of meat. Check out more tenderloin recipes from Hey Grill Hey below:
Reverse Seared Tenderloin
Grilled Bacon Wrapped Tenderloin
Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Smoked Beef Tenderloin Recipe
Watch the video below, and let’s make something delicious! I’m all about helping you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a BBQ hero Check out more Hey Grill Hey behind the scenes action on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!
Smoked Beef Tenderloin with White Wine Mushroom Gravy
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1 1/2-2 pound beef tenderloin roast trimmed, with all fat and silver skin removed
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Wet Rub
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons coarse Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
White Wine Mushroom Gravy
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter
- 1 shallot finely diced
- 8 oz baby portabella mushrooms sliced
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, combine the garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil for the wet rub. Spread the rub on all sides of the trimmed tenderloin roast. Place the roast on the smoker and cook for approximately 1 hour, or until the internal temperature of the roast reads 115 degrees F if you want to finish with a rare roast. For medium rare, take the temperature up to 125 degrees F for this step.1 Tablespoon olive oil, 3 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons coarse Kosher salt, 2 teaspoons black pepper, 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, 1 1 1/2-2 pound beef tenderloin roast
- While the tenderloin is smoking, prepare the white wine mushroom gravy. In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the shallots and cook until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Carefully stir in the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are darker in color and soft, about 5 more minutes. Dump in the flour and stir until well combined.4 Tablespoons salted butter, 1 shallot, 8 oz baby portabella mushrooms, 2 Tablespoons flour, 1 cup white wine
- Pour the white wine over the mushrooms and stir vigorously, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any cooked on browned bits. Stir in the beef stock and heavy cream. Season with the salt, pepper, and fresh thyme. Set aside, but keep warm.1 cup beef stock, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, salt and black pepper
- Once your tenderloin has reached your desired temperature from the first step, remove the roast to a cutting board and allow to rest. Preheat either your grill, or a cast iron skillet with 1 Tablespoon olive oil, to high heat. Sear the tenderloin on all sides to form a nice exterior crust. This should only take 1-2 minutes per side. This final step will bring your tenderloin up to your desired doneness, 125 degrees F for rare of 135 degrees F for medium rare.1 Tablespoon olive oil
- Transfer to a cutting board, rest for an additional 5 minutes, then slice into 3/4 inch thick medallions. Serve topped with the warm white wine mushroom gravy and fresh thyme leaves.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
**This post was originally published December 2017. It has since been updated with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Going to try for Christmas…a few questions. Making two. Can I just double the Gravy Recipe and cook in same pan? Can I use Red instead of White?
Yes, and using red instead of white will change the flavor.
Omg!! Run! Don’t walk! Get to the store and get all the ingredients for this. We have made tenderloins with similar wet rubs. What makes this over the top is that gravy. It is crazy good! Thanks a million Susie! Love your page!
I used your recipe for my first-ever beef tenderloin and and absolutely nailed it. It was so tender, juicy and delicious. My wife declared it as a dish we MUST do again. As others have stated, I wouldn’t have thought a white wine sauce would pair with beef, but it really works!!
Question on this recipe, more specifically on the cream sauce and it pairing with the tenderloin but it would be wrapped in bacon and stuffed with shrimp. Season would be the same as yours in this recipe. Thoughts??
That sounds freakin’ awesome to me!!
What kind of smoker do you use and like the best? Do you use a pellet smoker?
I use a Camp Chef pellet smoker a lot, but I also have a drum smoker, offset smoker, ceramic egg smoker, and a couple others!
This doesn’t say if you should put liquid in the bottom of the smoker? I’m ready to cook, but a bit stumped on this step.
I don’t use water pans in my smokers. I’ve never needed them! Sorry for the late response!
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times & absolutely love it! Every time I go to buy the tenderloin though, I’m confused as to what type to get. One is always cheaper than the other. Publix has a whole beef tenderloin right now on sale for $11.99. Is that what I would get??
hi, i cant afford the tenderloin any other beef suggestions?
I made this last Sunday along with two other Hey Grill Hey recipes, the smoked mashed potatoes and the elote (Mexican street corn,
I’ve cooked a lot of tenders over the years as it is the favorite cut of both me and my wife. I have to say, that smoking it upped the flavor a lot.
The potatoes came off the smoker and we both were amazed as how good looking they were. The tops of the peaks had slightly browned and it had a nice look in the cast iron pan. I sneaked a taste and the flavor was great. Little did I know that the other two foods would make this one seem pedestrian.
The steak was about as perfect as you could want. Like a tender with added smokey flavor should be. I’ll be smoking them a lot more, I usually stick with the recipe the first time, but I did leave out the thyme because I didn’t have it with me. Didn’t miss it. I always used a dry rub in the past, but this experience will cause me to experiment with wet rubs occasionally.
My wife made the mushroom cream sauce. I can’t imagine anything being better on streak than a good Bearnaise. That is easily my go to sauce because it is easy and pairs perfectly with the meat. My second favorite is my wife’s mushroom wine reduction (that she cooks almost all day.) Until last Sunday, whatever was in third place was a distant third. Well, this white wine mushroom gravy was right up there. I don’t know if it surpassed the mushroom wine reduction sauce, but it certainly is in the running.
The corn (elote) was easy and fairly quick and everyone loved it, even more than the mashed potatoes. I’ll have to do this one again for self-preservation if nothing else. (The family might kill me if I don’t.)
It was an all Hey Grill Hey night and nothing was disappointing Tomorrow night, I am going to grill three different steaks (strip, porterhouse and T-bone) for the family to share and make the Hey Grill Hey smoked mac and cheese. If last Sunday was any indication, the dinner will be well received.
I’m going to do this tomorrow with a 6 1/3 pound tenderloin. I’m guessing that the cooking time will be quite a bit longer. Have you done a larger one and do you know how long it might take? I will be basing it on temperature but I want to know when to start. Thanks.
I think it’d be safe to assume 2.5-3hrs. Definitely go by temp, and give yourself extra time just in case!