Lomo al Trapo – Cloth-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin

By Three Guys From Miami

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 17 minutes
Total time: 27 minutes
Yield: 8-10 servings

A whole beef tenderloin, wrapped in cloth, and cooked directly on hot coals.

INGREDIENTS:

1 5- to 6-pound whole beef tenderloin

Marinade:

2 cups red wine
6 cloves garlic chopped
1 teaspoon powdered bay leaf

Meat rub:

2 teaspoons crushed black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons crushed coriander
2 teaspoons dill, dried
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

Meat:

1 new cotton cloth , wide enough to accommodate the length of your tenderloin and wrap around the meat several times
kitchen string
1 cup coarse sea salt (approximate)

Combine the marinade ingredients and marinate the meat in a large pan for two to four hours in the refrigerator.

Mix the rub ingredients together in a small bowl.

Remove the grate from your backyard barbecue and create a nice bed of coals to accommodate the full length of your tenderloin. Spread the coals out before you light them to get a good idea of how many you need. Then gather them back into a pile and use your favorite starting method: chimney, fluid, electric starter, etc.

Once the coals are hot, spread them back out in the bottom of the grill.

While you are waiting for the coals, remove your tenderloin from the marinade. Place the tenderloin on a clean cutting board and cover generously on all sides with the spice rub mixture.

Spread out your clean cloth on the countertop and spread on the salt, leaving about 1 1/2 inches salt free on all sides. Your salt should be approximately 1/4 inch thick.

Place the tenderloin on one end of the cloth. Sprinkle some salt on the exposed (up) side, then cover and roll as tightly as possible. Tie the finished bundle with twine at several locations

Now go against every instinct, cooking and otherwise, that you have ever had and lay this beautifully wrapped piece of expensive beef flesh DIRECTLY on the hot coals. The cloth will burn and char until it is coal black.

Turn the meat after exactly 9 minutes and continue cooking no more than 8 minutes more. Use an instant read meat thermometer and remove the meat when the temperature reaches 135 degrees F in the thickest part. (This will give you meat servings ranging from rare to medium rare.)

Remove the meat from the grill. Cut or chop away the burned cloth to reveal a beautifully roasted slab of beef.

Allow the meat to rest for a few minutes, then slice the meat to serving size pieces. The meat will be medium rare. You CANNOT cook this meat to well done or even medium well!!