Beef tenderloin

Beef tenderloin is a special part of meat.

It comes from the loin of a cow. This muscle does very little work. Because it is not used much, it is very soft.

It has a thick part and a thin part. The thin end is called the tail. The thick end is called the butt. People use the middle for steaks. You can cook it in a pan. It makes a very good meal.

Beef tenderloin is a very soft part of beef.

It comes from the loin of a cow. This muscle sits near the backbone and kidneys. It does very little work. This is why the meat is so tender.

People use many names for it. In France, they call it filet. In Brazil, it is filet mignon. In the UK, it is called fillet.

The meat has two ends. One end is the butt. The other end is the tail. The tail is small and pointed. The butt is much thicker. You can cut the middle into steaks. These are often called filet mignon. Some people use the middle for Beef Wellington.

The tail is too small for big steaks. People often cook it with bacon. This adds a rich taste. You can buy it with fat on it. You can also buy it peeled. This means the fat is gone. This meat is great for steak tartare. That is a dish of very soft meat.

Beef tenderloin is a very special part of beef.

People love it because it is so soft. This meat comes from the loin of a cow. It is a muscle called the psoas major. This muscle sits near the kidneys and the backbone. It stays under the ribs of the animal. Because this muscle does very little work, it stays very tender. This makes it a favorite for many tasty meals.

There are a few ways to prepare this meat. You can buy it in three different ways. Some meat is sold unpeeled with the fat still on. Other meat is sold peeled to remove the fat. Some is sold as PSMOs, which means the side muscle stays on. This side muscle is also called the chain. Chefs use this meat for dishes that need soft texture. A great example is steak tartare.

This long muscle has two very different ends. One end is called the butt. The other end is called the tail. The tail starts past the ribs and is quite small. It is pointed and grows thicker as it goes. The butt end is much larger and thicker. The middle part is where the eye is most consistent. This middle part is very useful for cooking.

Different cuts work well for different recipes. The butt end is good for carpaccio. The center cut makes great steaks. You can make filet mignon from the center. People also use the center for Beef Wellington. You can even make Chateaubriand from this part. The tail is used for small rounds called Tournedos. These are often served in pairs.

Many places in the world use different names for this meat. In the United States, people say beef tenderloin. In the United Kingdom, they call it fillet. People in Brazil call it filet mignon. In France, the name is simply filet. In Italy, it is called filetto. Swedes call it oxfilé. In Australia, it is known as an eye fillet.

Beef tenderloin is a highly prized cut of meat from the loin of a cow.

It is famous for being exceptionally soft and easy to eat. Because of this texture, it is the ideal choice for dishes requiring very tender meat. One famous example of such a dish is steak tartare. Different cultures around the world use many unique names for this specific cut. In the United States, it is called beef tenderloin. People in the United Kingdom and South Africa call it fillet. In France, the name is simply filet.

In Italy, it is known as filetto. Swedes use the term oxfilé. In Brazil, it is called filet mignon. Finally, people in Australasia refer to it as an eye fillet.

To understand where this meat comes from, we must look at the anatomy of the animal. The tenderloin is actually the psoas major muscle. This muscle is located ventral to the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae. In simpler terms, it sits near the kidneys and the backbone. The muscle is positioned beneath the ribs of the cow. Because the psoas major does very little physical work, it remains extremely tender. This lack of activity is what creates the soft texture people value.

The shape of the tenderloin is long and oblong. It spans across two different primal cuts of beef. One part of the muscle belongs to the short loin. In Commonwealth countries, this is called the sirloin. The other part of the muscle belongs to the sirloin primal cut. In those same countries, this second part is called the rump. This means the tenderloin acts as a bridge between these two sections of the animal. Its position along the spine makes it a very distinct part of the loin.

When butchers prepare the meat, they sell it in three specific ways. The first way is "unpeeled." This means the fat and the silver skin remain on the meat. The second way is "peeled." In this version, the fat is removed, but the silver skin stays. The third way is known as PSMOs, or "pismos." This stands for "peeled, side muscle on." The side muscle is also referred to as the chain. Choosing between these depends on how much preparation the cook wants to do.

A whole tenderloin is divided into three main sections: the butt, the center cut, and the tail. Each section has a different shape and size. The tail is the smallest part of the muscle. It starts just past the ribs and is quite pointed. As it moves toward the other end, it grows thicker. The butt end is the opposite side and is much larger. The center cut sits in the middle of the two ends.

These different sections are used for very different culinary purposes. The butt end is often used for carpaccio. This is because the "eye" of the muscle can be quite large there. If you tried to cut the butt into equal steaks, they would be very thin. The center cut is much more consistent in diameter. This makes it perfect for portion-controlled steaks. Chefs use the center to make traditional filet mignon or tenderloin steaks. They also use this section for Chateaubriand and Beef Wellington.

The tail section is handled differently because its size is inconsistent. It is generally not suitable for making standard steaks. Instead, it is used for small rounds called Tournedos. These rounds are often too small to be served as an individual entree. Because they are small, they are often plated as a pair. Cooks frequently cook them with bacon or lard to add richness. The tail is also useful for any recipe that requires small pieces of very tender meat.