Lomo al Trapo (Salt-Grilled Beef Tenderloin)
Preparing lomo al trapo calls for a resolute attitude at the grill. Tenderloin is costly, so you must have faith that you are not going to incinerate a prized piece of beef by enshrouding it in a dish towel and committing it to the flames like a sacrificial mummy. In Bogotá, Colombia, this showstopper is often prepared for a Sunday barbecue. This method, based on a version from the chef Jaime Pesaque of Sapiens restaurant in Lima, Peru, wraps the center-cut beef tenderloin in a salt-covered, wine-soaked towel. The wine infuses the salt and, through it, the meat, which grills in that package directly on red-hot coals. When the blackened bundle is brought to the table, you crack the crust to reveal the cooked tenderloin within and serve it up in thick slices, with chimichurri, horseradish cream or Colombian ají sauce. For step-by-step photos, see the article linked below.
Ingredients
- one whole (2-pound) center-cut beef tenderloin
- 5 poundscharcoal briquets or lump hardwood charcoal
- 1 cupred wine (any kind)
- 3 tablespoonsdijon mustard
- ¼ cupdried herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary or any combination of them)
- 1 teaspoonground black pepper
- 2 ½ cupskosher salt (preferably diamond crystal)
Directions
- 1
One hour before cooking, remove the tenderloin from the refrigerator and place it on a cutting board or platter so that the meat comes to room temperature.
- 2
Prepare a charcoal fire with the charcoal briquets or lump hardwood charcoal, using a chimney if you have one. You want all of the charcoal to burn until you have glowing red coals, about 25 minutes.
- 3
Meanwhile, pour the red wine into a medium bowl and soak a clean white cotton dish towel (about 18 by 12 inches) in the wine. (You will discard the towel after cooking.) Gently wring the towel out so that it is still soaked but not dripping wet. Lay the dish towel on a sheet pan with a long side facing you.
- 4
Slather the tenderloin with the mustard and sprinkle evenly with the herbs and pepper.
- 5
Spread 1½ cups salt over the wine-soaked towel, making sure that a few inches of salt will extend beyond the tenderloin so that the meat can be completely encased in salt when rolled in the towel. Place the tenderloin on the salt and press the remaining salt on top of the tenderloin. Lift the bottom long edge of the dish towel up and over the tenderloin, rolling the tenderloin up in the salt-covered towel. As you roll, pat the salt onto the meat as needed to completely encase it, folding the sides of the towel in as you would when making a burrito.
- 6
Secure the wrapped tenderloin by tying it with butcher’s twine or kitchen string, repeating knots every 1 to 1½ inches. You can do this with a series of butcher’s knots. If you don’t know the butcher’s knot, simple knots are fine. Any way you choose is fine.
- 7
Spread the red-hot coals in the grill to form a bed big enough to cradle the meat. Place the wrapped tenderloin directly on the coals. After 10 minutes, flip it and cook for 7 minutes. Insert an instant-read thermometer through the burnt towel into the meat to check the internal temperature. If the thermometer reads 110 degrees, remove the meat from the coals. If not, continue to cook to 110 degrees, flipping one more time if necessary. Set the charred package on a platter or cutting board and let it rest until the carryover heat raises the internal temperature to 120 degrees for rare, about 10 minutes.
- 8
Using a mallet or the back of a chef’s knife, strike the charred remains of the dish towel so that the salt crust cracks. Remove the burnt towel and chunks of salt and then transfer the tenderloin to a clean cutting board. Brush away any charred bits and salt and cut the tenderloin into 1-inch-thick slices, or slightly thicker if you prefer. Serve as is, or with chimichurri, horseradish cream or Colombian ají sauce.