Beef Tenderloin

In the world of steak, beef tenderloin—often called by its French name, filet—holds a special place. It is the tenderest of all the beef cuts, and it makes beautiful steaks you can cut with a fork. It’s easy to roast it whole and slice it and serve it in convenient, tender rounds. It’s a status Symbol because of its cost, and it makes it onto the menu of many an important banquet, not only because of its panache, but no doubt because it’s easy to cook and serve.

Most of the time when buying tenderloin steaks you’ll be buying steaks that have already been sliced or that you have the butcher slice for you. You may also want to buy a whole tenderloin—for roasting or because you want to cut your own steaks. In either case it helps to know a little about how whole tender-loins are butchered so you can recognize the best value. Whole tenderloins are often sold in supermarkets. They make great roasts, and are usually a better value than individual steaks. A tenderloin is a boneless, tapering strip of muscle, about 18 inches [45 cm] long. Tenderloins come covered with a thick layer of fat that can make up as much as 25 percent of the tenderloin’s total weight. Usually, in supermarkets, this layer of fat has already been removed, but if you see suspiciously low prices for tenderloin, look to see if the tenderloin still has the fat. Tenderloins typically weigh from 5 to 7 pounds [2.5 to 3 kg] with the fat still on, and from 3 to 5 pounds [1.5 to 2 kg] with the fat removed. You should also be aware that a long, thin muscle, called the side muscle— chainette in French— runs along almost the entire length of the tenderloin. The side muscle is easy to recognize, because most of the steak will be a single round muscle, but will have a little side piece attached. Most supermarkets, butchers, and restaurants leave this muscle on—it is, in fact, perfectly delicious, it just makes the steaks look less perfect. But if you’re being charged a premium price for either whole tenderloin or steaks, you should pay less per pound if the side muscle is left on. If you’re buying a whole tenderloin, the choice is yours whether to leave the side muscle on; it pulls away so easily you almost don’t need a knife. I usually leave it on unless I’m making something very fancy, like the tournedos Rossini. (If I do remove it, I cut it into chunks, sauté it, deglaze a few times with broth, and make a little sauce.) The tenderloin is also partially covered with a thin, shiny strip of connective tissue, called the silver skin. This is easy to remove, but if you’re buying a whole tenderloin from a butcher, ask him to remove it.