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PORTOBELLO BUFFALO TENDERLOIN

Healthiest Meals on Earth
by Jonny Bowden
An omega-3 omnibus
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 to 50 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (28 ml) butter or extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup (50 g) green onions, roots removed and thinly sliced
• 3 portobello mushroom caps, sliced
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) red wine
• 1½ pounds buffalo tenderloin, trimmed of fat and silver skin
• Garlic salt or sea salt
• Ground black pepper
• 3 slices non-nitrate turkey bacon
 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C, gas mark 2).

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter or heat the oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and heat through for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until all of the liquid is dissolved.

Butterfly the tenderloin and gently stuff it with the mushroom mixture. Secure with soaked toothpicks (see ‘Notes from the Kitchen’ below) and place in a roasting pan, cut side down. Sprinkle the outside with salt and pepper and wrap with the bacon. Cook for 30 to 45 minutes, or to desired degree of doneness, but don't let the internal temperature reach higher than medium (160°F [71°C]). The best practice for a slow-cooked roast is to remove it at 3° to 5° lower than your desired temperature and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes, because it will continue to cook for a short period of time.
 

Notes from the Kitchen
• Buffalo is best cooked medium-rare to rare. The more well-done it is, the drier the meat will become. The key to roasting buffalo well is to cook it slowly, at slightly lower temperatures than beef. Because of buffalo meat's high myoglobin content, it's darker red than beef. When buffalo is cooked to medium doneness, it looks like rare beef. Use a meat thermometer to determine relative doneness because while beef and buffalo look different when cooked, their internal temperatures should be the same.

• Here's how to butterfly and stuff a tenderloin. Place the tenderloin on a piece of waxed paper (or plastic wrap). Holding a sharp chef's knife parallel to the cutting board, slice through the meat, leaving a half inch (1 cm) connected on the opposite side. Open the tenderloin like a book. For thicker cuts of meat, you can cover it with more waxed paper (or plastic wrap) and gently pound with a meat mallet or small skillet until it is about one half-inch (1 cm) thick. Spread the filler mixture in a thick ribbon down the center (the spine of the book) and roll the meat up to create a long cylinder. Secure it with toothpicks soaked in water for 10 minutes or tie it with kitchen string. Place in roasting pan, cut side down, and cook through.