Smoked Beef Tenderloin with Poached Eggs and Hollandaise Verde

Matt Basile

For the beef:

• 1 cleaned beef tenderloin roast (aprox 4lbs)
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt 
• 1.5 tablespoons black pepper 
• Zest from one lemon 
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano 
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder 
• 1 tablespoon mustard powder 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil  

Hollandaise Verde

• 2 jalapeno peppers
• ¼ cup (60 ml) cilantro leaves
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) canola oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 8 large egg yolks
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup (60 ml) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 tsp (10 ml) Worcestershire sauce
• 4 dashes hot sauce (like Tobasco)
• 1 tsp (5 ml) white vinegar
• 1 tsp (15 ml) salt

Poached Eggs

• ½ cup (125 ml) white vinegar
• water
• 4-8 large eggs

Set the oven to broil. Place the jalapeno peppers on a small baking sheet and broil for 5 to 8 minutes, turning once while cooking, until they begin to char. Put the jalapeno peppers in a food processor and add the cilantro, canola oil, and lemon juice. Blend into a fine paste.

 To make the Hollandaise sauce, fill a saucepan one-third of the way with water and bring it to a simmer. Find a heatproof bowl big enough to rest on the rim of your pot without the bottom of the bowl touching the water. Off the heat, whisk together the egg yolks, and lemon juice in the bowl until the mixture doubles in size. Place the bowl over the simmering water and drizzle the melted butter while continuously whisking. Add the butter slowly at first – if you add it too quickly, your sauce may break. Once the sauce starts to thicken, you can add the butter a little faster. Continue whisking until the hollandaise is smooth and thickened. Remove the bowl from the pot and whisk in the Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, vinegar, and salt. If your sauce becomes too thick, add a squeeze more lemon juice to loosen it up.

 Once the hollandaise is done, then fold the cilantro paste. Place the bowl on the warm cook surface but not directly on heat.

 Bring a wide, shallow pot of water to a slow rolling boil and add the vinegar. Crack 3 or 4 eggs into the water and poach them for 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the poached eggs one by one from the water and place them in a bowl of room-temperature water. Check the doneness of your eggs by gently poling them with your finger. If they feel too soft, return them to the boiling water to cook for another minute or so, then again lift them into the bowl of water.  Repeat with remaining eggs.

Mix all the dry rub for your steak in a bowl. Rub olive oil over the beef tenderloin. Generously season the beef tenderloin completely on all sides. Set your Weber SmokeFire to 300F. Once temp is reached, place your tenderloin directly on the lower grill. Smoke for about 1 hour but use the Weber temperature probe to read 120F.   Remove tenderloin from smoker and set new temp to 500F. Sear/ roast tenderloin on high temp to give the exterior a nice crust and cook until internal temp reach 130F. Remove from SmokeFire and let rest 10 minutes. Slice and top with poached eggs and hollandaise verde.