Châteaubriand Roast (Low-Carb And Whole 30)

Decadently juicy and flavorful châteaubriand roast is a one-of-a-kind meal. Each delicious bite melts in your mouth!

We eat a lot of real meat at our house. It doesn’t matter what kind. Beef, chicken, pork, lamb, or fish.

There are a couple of reasons for our apparently counter-cultural practice.  

First, we love it. Come on, you gotta love a sizzling T-bone (my favorite) with a sprinkling of Redmond Real Salt on top. Or how about a tender, lemony chicken piccata to delight your taste buds?

But, also, since listening to Dr. Gabrielle Lyon on Dr. Shawn Baker’s Human Outliers podcast we’ve realized the importance of getting the proper daily requirement of protein. The current USDA protein RDAs are completely out of touch with what’s necessary for good health.

Ahem… especially for us approaching our senior years. See here.

Anyway, we eat a lot of meat.

One problem though is the cost. Beef can be quite pricey. But I’ve been blessed with a hubby who is constantly on the watch for good deals from local supermarkets and butchers.

A few weeks back, he saw a special on beef tenderloin. I had never made a beef tenderloin before. Pork and turkey yes, but never a beef tenderloin.

But I decided to head to the supermarket and give it a try.

I hadn’t had time to investigate what kind of cut of meat it was so I asked the butcher. He said it was a type of roast beef.

Okay, great, I thought. I can cook a roast beef, and it was a good price for a roast. So I went over to the case to get one.

However, the smallest one was 7 pounds. Now, we have a larger size family, but I’m not feeding all the ranch hands as well. Just joking, we don’t live on a ranch, but you get my point.

But I really wanted to try making this cut of meat. So I brought it over to the butcher and asked him to cut me about 2.5 pounds of it.

He kind of didn’t want to do it. But I said, “Come on. Who’s going to buy a 7-pound roast?” He eventually saw my point.

Then he asked if I wanted it tied up. “Sure,” I said. And then he asked if I wanted the fat trimmed. “That’ll be great.”

Ooh, we have such helpful butchers here in North Carolina.

My châteaubriand roast

So with my treasure in tow, I was off to cook this lovely piece of red meat. Little did I know that I had in my possession a coveted Châteaubriand (pronounced “shaa-tow-bree-ahn”).

I’ve heard that name in the past, but I never really knew what it was. Well, it’s one of the tastiest and most tender roasts I’ve ever had.

John said, “It’s like taking roast beef to the ultimate level.” The meat was so tender that you could literally cut it with a fork.

And what a beautiful name: Châteaubriand. If this is the meat they ate at the Château, I can imagine what was for dessert. LOL.

Seriously, though, while being an exquisite cut of meat, it’s rather easy to make.

So let’s talk about this special recipe.

According to legend, in the 1800’s the châteaubriand was named after François-René de Châteaubriand. His chef would cook the boneless beef by wrapping it in poor-quality steaks, tie it up, grill it until charred, and throw away the outer steaks. The perfectly done inner roast was esteemed as the châteaubriand. 

What is the difference between beef tenderloin and châteaubriand?

Excellent question! Technically, châteaubriand is not a cut of meat but rather the name of the meal.

In order to have a long tube of fairly even thickness for roasting, the center-cut portion of the beef tenderloin is trimmed of fat and silver skin and then the butcher folds the ends in and ties them in place.

For this reason, it’s a very tender and flavorful meat.

Ingredients 

Now the ingredients are simple: just your trimmed roast folded and tied with butcher’s twine, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary.

Instructions

*Free printable recipe card is available at the end of the post.

First, preheat your oven to 350℉. Then combine salt, pepper, and rosemary in a small bowl.

Next, place your roast on an adjustable rack (like mine in the picture below) or on a grid fitted inside your roasting pan. Be sure to line the bottom of the roasting pan with foil for easy cleanup.

Then brush oil all over your roast and rub in your seasoning mixture.

Finally, bake in your oven for 15 minutes per pound. 

When your roast is done, transfer it to a cutting board and cover it loosely for 10-15 minutes before carving.

Once you’re roast is ready to slice, snip and remove each string. Traditionally, this roast is cut diagonally into 1/4- inch slices.

Oh! That feeling you get when you cut the first slice and see it’s perfectly done.

(I took those last two pictures with my iPhone so the lighting was different and they’re not as high quality as the other photos, but you get the idea.)

Ah, look at that. Perfectly tender and juicy meat that will melt in your mouth.

Pro tips and recipe notes

• This roast is best cooked rare to medium which is 130℉ as measured with a meat thermometer before removing your meat from the heat source. Since ovens vary, go by temperature, not time. If you prefer your meat a little bit more done, just roast it for 5-10 more minutes.
• Serve your meat as is or with gravy.
• This meat is quite flavorful in this recipe with a rub of salt, pepper, and rosemary. Feel free to go with other combinations of flavors like garlic, shallots, thyme, or even oregano. It’s up to you.

What goes with this roast?

Traditionally, this great dish is served with a wine sauce and château potatoes. But since we’re low-carb, I served mine with a side dish of cheesy roasted cauliflower. 

You might also like:

baby bok choy with sweet and tangy sauce, 

bacon wrapped asparagus,

or bacon Brussels sprouts.

If you want to impress your dinner guests, this roast is a perfectly elegant meal. Enjoy!

And if you have any questions, please reach out to me in the comments or shoot me an email, and I’ll respond ASAP!

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Watch How To Make It