How to portion your filet for a perfect tenderloin steak, Continental style

serves:

Cleaning and preparing a whole tenderloin for portioning is easy when you follow these steps:

1. Cut off the chain. The chain can be used to make ground beef or can be kept aside for brown beef stock.

2. Remove the white glume from the top of the meat and excessive fat if present.

3. You now have clean tenderloin with the actual tenderloin (the long piece) and the head (the shorter, thicker piece)

4. Cut off the head in one piece. This head will normally produce two to three portions, depending upon the size of the filet.

5. Always portion against the grain when cutting. 

6. Cut off the pointed rear end of the tenderloin and the two pointed ends of the head and now start portioning.

7. Portioning should be done as followed: take the whole piece you want to portion and put it on a scale. In case you opt for 200 g portions and your piece weighs in at 830 g, you know you will actually be able to cut 4 portions. Take into account the actual shape of the meat and first make a cut in the middle, then, after double checking weight of both halves, again cut them in half. 

8. Bake the meat on the flat cut-sides, not on the round side.

9. After cutting the meat, gently push all portions to equal thickness. Don’t flatten them. Ideally, a height between 3 and 5 cm should be your targeted for a tenderloin steak.