Unless you're used to selecting cuts of beef at the butcher shop, the difference betwixt tenderloin and filet mignon can be kind of confusing. I once asked my dad to pick up filet steak from the store on his way to a barbecue. Instead of tenderloin, he came with a sirloin!

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Beef tenderloin and filet mignon come from the same section of the cow. Tenderloin is the proper name of the big cut before information technology's sliced into 2-inch steaks across the grain of the meat and the fat is trimmed off of it. Once sliced, the steaks are called by their French proper noun, filet mignon, which means "fine steak" or "delicate steak."

Filet mignon is a scarce and costly steak. It'southward short in supply and high in need (which explains its higher toll). Information technology'southward very tender because it comes from the to the lowest degree-worked section of the least-worked muscle on a cow—the tenderloin along the back.

We often remember of fat equally bad. That'southward not necessarily the case when cooking steak. Fatty steaks are more moist and tasty considering the fat volition return into the meat while cooking. Since the saturated fat has been trimmed off of filet mignon, this type of steak should never be overcooked. If you leave it for too long on the grill, it'due south going to dry out and come out tough.

When to Season Filet Mignon

Season filet mignon immediately before cooking. The best seasoning for filet mignon, as with any beef steak, is coarse salt and freshly ground pepper.

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An alternative mode to season filet mignon is 60 minutes before cooking. Add together 1 teaspoon of salt per 8-9 ounces of steak. Sprinkle on both all of the filet. Crack black peppercorns or peppercorn blend. Permit it rest at room temperature on a wire rack in a blistering sail.

Using this method, the salt will depict the juices out to the surface of the meat and mix with them to form a salty brine. Letting the steak rest for enough time allows the meat to re-absorb the salt brine, turning naturally juicy and well seasoned.

Learn more than well-nigh this delicious method of cooking steak in my contempo blog mail, Should You Season Meat Earlier or After Cooking?

How to Cook Filet Mignon in a Skillet

There are plenty of ways to cook filet mignon. My favorite by far combines two cooking methods: searing and blistering. This works all-time for thicker cuts of filet mignon, about 1.5 to 2 inches, so that they chocolate-brown well on the outside and stay tender on the inside.

The secret to cooking the perfect filet mignon at dwelling is to first sear information technology in the pan, and then bake information technology in the oven. This cooking method gives yous a charred and caramelized outside that's perfectly juicy on the inside. Use a cast iron skillet, and then that you can transfer your stake from the stove summit to a preheated oven without needing to change the cookware.

Season the filet mignon on all sides with common salt and pepper to taste. Preheat a cast iron skillet on high, add a petty butter, and sear the steak for maximum 2-3 minutes per side, until you get a prissy and night golden chocolate-brown color.

Transfer the steak to the oven preheated to 400°F and melt, for 3-6 minutes, to the correct internal temperature depending on how you like your beef.

How to Grill Filet Mignon

If you're cooking filet mignon on a gas grill, preheat information technology to 450°F. Most gas grills volition accomplish this temperature when you set them to medium high.

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Season the filets with a generous amount of salt and pepper, and then put them on the grill and close the lid. Grill for 5 minutes on each side to make medium washed steak. Requite it one-2 minutes less for medium rare and rare, or 1-ii minutes more for done or well done.

If y'all're but getting started in grilling or making filet mignon for the starting time time, you'll still need to develop your chef'south intuition. Use a meat thermometer and check for readiness to the temperature to your sense of taste.

Internal Temperature for Filet Mignon

Use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature. Yous want to take the temperature at the center, right where the thickest muscle is.

Here's the right internal temperature for filet mignon based on how yous similar your beef:

  • 120-125°F for rare filet mignon with a cool-to-warm center with a soft and tender texture.
  • 125-130°F for medium-rare filet mignon with a warm red center and "steakhouse" texture.
  • 130-140°F for medium filet mignon with a hot pink center and slightly firm, just all the same fairly tender, texture.
  • 140-150°F for medium-well done filet mignon with a mostly chocolate-brown center that still has some pink in the middle and firm texture.
  • 150-160°F for well done filet mignon without any pinkishness or redness in the middle that's very firm and significantly drier.

How Much Does Filet Mignon Toll?

I checked the price of filet mignon at 5 butcher shops from different states. On average, a "standard" filet mignon steak that weighs half-dozen ounces (0.375 pounds) will set you dorsum $30.

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Store Production Weight Cost
Allen Brothers USDA Prime number Filet Mignon: Complete Trim 6 oz
(0.375 lb)		 $39.97
Lobel's USDA Prime Filet Mignon 6 oz
(0.375 lb)		 $39.95
Kansas Urban center Steak Company USDA Prime Filet Mignon 6 oz
(0.375 lb)		 $36.25
Snake River Farms USDA Prime number Filet Mignon 6 oz
(0.375 lb)		 $xxx.00
Omaha Steaks Butcher's Cut Filet Mignon vi oz
(0.375 lb)		 $21.25
Comparing the cost of filet mignon at online butchers

Filet mignon is cheaper compared to butcher shops if you buy information technology at a supermarket like Walmart ($17.82/pound for Beef USDA Choice Angus), grocer like Kroger ($19.99/pound for Individual Selection Angus Beef Fillet Mignon) or wholesaler similar Costco ($36/pound for Beef USDA Choice Black Angus).

In that location are means to bring down the price of filet mignon even more. Filet mignon is tenderloin that'southward been trimmed from the fat and cut into 2-inch steaks across the grain of the meat. If y'all purchase the tenderloin whole and untrimmed, then trim and cutting it yourself at domicile, you're going to pay less while enjoying the same quality of beef.

Please note: All prices listed in this article were upward-to-engagement at the time of publishing it. For comparison purposes, the prices were averaged downwardly to their 6-oz and i-pound servings where cuts or packs of cuts of this size were not available.

What Are Different Beef Cuts?

The home cook's guide to beef cuts
The brighter the color, the more expensive the cut

Figuring out the different cuts of beef can be a existent challenge. That challenge only gets bigger if you're into American BBQ as much every bit you lot're into international cuisines, where each cut carries different names (and is sometimes so specific to the cuisine information technology comes from, it has no equivalents abroad).

If you know the English cuts and their French equivalents, you can social club the correct cut for any recipe in pretty much every butcher shop in the U.S. or Canada.

So I took a list of French beef cuts from Wikipedia and, with the assistance of a weblog post at Grass Punk, mapped it to its English equivalents. Hither'due south the result:

# English Cut French Cutting
1 Ribs Basses côtes
2 Rib centre, Scotch fillet Côtes, entrecôtes
3 Sirloin Faux-filet
4 Tenderloin, Fillet steak Filet, filet mignon
v Rump steak Rumsteck
6 Round (role topside and part thick flank) Rond de gîte
7 Rump steak Tende de tranche
8 Thick flank Gîte à la noix
9 Rump steak (less known every bit spider steak) Araignée
10 No equivalent cut Plat de tranche, Rond de tranche, Mouvant
11 Skirt steak Bavette d'aloyau
12 Beefiness shank Hampe
13 Hanger steak Onglet
14 Rump steak or flank steak Aiguillette baronne
xv Flank steak Bavette de flanchet
16 Rib steak Plat de côtes
17 Shoulder steak Macreuse à bifteck
eighteen Chuck steak Paleron
nineteen Twin steak Jumeau à bifteck
20 Twin steak (used for making French pot-au-feu stew) Jumeau à pot-au-feu
21 Shoulder steak (used for making French pot-au-feu stew) Macreuse à pot-au-feu
22 Oxtail Queue
23 Part topside and role thick flank Gîte
24 Flank steak Flanchet
25 Flank steak that includes the lower part of the ribs Tendron
26 Brisket Gros bout de poitrine
27 Neck Collier
28 Cheek Plat de joue
29 Beef tongue Langue
English language beefiness cuts and their French equivalents

In Conclusion

Yes, filet mignon is made from the same cut equally the tenderloin. Filet mignon is really the tenderloin itself after the fatty has been trimmed and the meat has been sliced into i.5-inch to 2-inch thick steaks.

Tenderloin and filet mignon are the most expensive cuts of beef. And for a good reason. They are the nigh least-worked section from the least used muscle of the cow, which makes them very tender and juicy.

To cook filet mignon, sear the steak in the skillet for a couple of minutes, then finish it in the oven. Or simply put it on the grill and cook it to the internal temperature to your taste (the shorter the cooking time, the lower the temperature, and the rarer the meat).

Before putting the steak in the pan or on the grill, always give it a generous amount of seasoning. It's all-time to employ something simple like kosher salt and black pepper. This will give it just enough spice to permit the quality and olfactory property of the meat speak for itself.

Founding Editor

When Jim isn't in the kitchen, he is usually spending time with family and friends, and working with the HCW editorial squad to respond the questions he used to ask himself dorsum when he was learning the ropes of cooking.