Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Chipotle Sauce & Menonita Cheese
Submitted by ivona
Grilled beef tenderloin topped with melted Menonita cheese, Cotija, and a smoky chipotle sauce made from fire-blistered Roma tomatoes. A Mexican-inspired steak with serious heat.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
40 minThick beef tenderloin steaks get grilled over hot coals, then smothered in melted Menonita cheese and drizzled with a smoky chipotle sauce built from fire-blistered Roma tomatoes. This is bold, unapologetic Mexican grilling.
The chipotle sauce is where the magic happens. Grilling the tomatoes and onions over mesquite coals (or blistering them in a screaming-hot skillet) chars the skins and concentrates the sugars. That charred sweetness gets blended with chipotles in adobo, garlic, oregano, fresh cilantro, and lime juice into a smoky, spicy purée.
Menonita cheese (a Mennonite-style Mexican cheese) melts beautifully and goes over the steak in a creamy blanket. The crumbled Cotija on top adds a salty, dry contrast. Two cheeses, two textures, one steak.
Finishing with butter whisked into the warm sauce gives it a glossy, rich body that clings to the meat.
Chef Tips
- Grill with the lid closed for even cooking. The covered grill acts like an oven and gives you a better crust without overcooking the center.
- Remove the veins and seeds from the chipotles for moderate heat. Add adobo sauce from the can if you want it spicier.
- If you can’t find Menonita cheese, Oaxaca or Monterey Jack melt similarly and work as substitutes.
- Let the steaks rest 5 minutes after grilling before adding the cheese so the juices redistribute.
Variations
- Chicken version: Use thick-cut chicken thighs instead of tenderloin for a more affordable cut that handles the bold sauce well.
- Vegetarian: Grill thick portobello caps and top with the cheese and chipotle sauce for a meatless take.
Ingredients
Directions
Grill the tenderloins over a white ash fire, to desired doneness.
For best results the BBQ should be covered or closed, to act as an oven.
Heat the sauce through and whisk in the butter.
Melt the Menonita cheese.
Place meat on serving tray and pour cheese over the top of the meat.
Sprinkle with Cotija, and garnish with the cilantro.
Chipotle Sauce: Toss the tomatoes in vegetable oil and preferably grill the onions, and the tom atoes, over Mesquite coals.
The tomatoes should have blistered skins (if not grilling, blister tomatoes skins in a very hot skillet and then add the onions with some vegetable oil to a hot sauce pan).
Add garlic and continue to cook for about 2 minutes.
Add the oregano, cilantro, and the chilies, which have been ri nsed and cleaned of their veins, and seeds and cook slowly, covered, for about 20 minutes.
Let cool and then purée in the blender, adding the lime juice and s alt and pepper to taste.
For spicier sauce, add some of the adobo from the canned chilies.
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